Hove in the Past: Clarendon Villas, Hove

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2021)

Background

Some of the villas were built to the plans of Arthur Farr for Mr J. Buckler, and these plans were sanctioned by the Hove Commissioners in September 1877. By February 1878 there were already some 59 inhabitants. In July 1884 the road was declared a public highway. Building work had been spasmodic, and in a similar way to other old roads at Hove, when building was complete, there came the problem of re-numbering the houses. Therefore, in February 1890 it was decided that the numbers on the north side of the road between Goldstone Villas and Goldstone Street would have to be re-numbered.

On 29 July 1889 number 39 Clarendon Villas was let for three years at £30 a year. It was described as a semi-detached red-brick house with stone facings, containing a top floor with two large attic bedrooms; on the first floor there was a bedroom with stove and dressing room, and two other bedrooms; on the ground floor there was a drawing room with bay windows and a white marble mantelpiece, a dining room, a library, a spacious hall and a WC; in the basement there was a housekeeper’s room, kitchen, scullery, larder, servants’ WC, and a coal cellar.

Schools

According to the 1887 Street Directory there were some small private schools at the following premises:

Number 49 – Gloucester House (for boys) run by Thomas Hale. This school was still in operation in 1890. It was re-named Hove High School in 1908 and it was the longest-running educational establishment in the road.

Number 51 – Boys’ School run by F. G. Boulden (see House Notes for 51 below)

Numbers 53/55 – Girls’ School, later called Bladen House, run by Mrs Simmonds. This school was still in operation in 1890.

Number 59 – Boys school run by G. Evans

There were many small schools at Hove and several were of very short duration. For example, by 1890 while Gloucester House and Bladen House remained, the others had gone. But a new school had popped up at number 9 – a prep school run by Mrs and Miss Unwin. In 1910 there was another prep school at number 57.

Hove Training Home for Young Girls

Originally, this institution was established at 83 Goldstone Villas, but a new home was opened at 41 Goldstone Villas on 9 May 1892 by Revd Thomas Peacey, vicar of All Saints. Mrs Hutson was the matron, and her youngest child presented Mrs Peacey with a bouquet of flowers. The following advertisement appeared in the Hove Parish Magazine for June 1892 ‘Ladies will greatly assist this useful and good work by applying for Servants, etc, at the above institution, where there are a great number of names on the registers, and a lady is in daily attendance to give all necessary information’. The home was entirely supported by voluntary contributions. By 1899 Miss Forbes was the matron.

Dr Barnado’s Home

At 57 Clarendon Villas from around 1922 until the Second World War there was a convalescent home for girls from Dr Barnado’s Homes in the premises. During all this time there would only appear to have been two matrons – Sister Godfrey was there until 1936, and Mrs A. Wallwyn-Shepheard followed her in 1937. In 1943 this house was leased from Dr Barnado’s to serve as a wartime Day Nursery, which by 1947 was known as Hove Day Nursery.

Hove Day Nursery

The Day Nursery dated back to 1877, and was originally at Livingstone Road, but moved to 12 Goldstone Villas in 1921. In 1943 a wartime Day Nursery was established at 57 Clarendon Villas, the premises having been leased from Dr Barnado’s. On this site there were 50 places for children aged from two to five years of age. It kept on going after the war, and in April 1956 the two nurseries amalgamated with all the children moving to Clarendon Villas.

Clarendon Mission Hall / Emmanuel

The inspiration behind the establishment of the Mission was William Taylor of 62 Clarendon Villas, and his close and wealthy friend William Willett of 64 The Drive, who was responsible for the construction of so many fine houses at Hove and London. The hall was designed by noted architect Thomas Simpson of 16 Ship Street, Brighton, and built by Mr Sawle of Worthing. It was heart-breaking that just after the building had been completed, a disastrous fire on 20 November 1885 reduced it to charred ruins; it had cost £4,700. The following year it was re-built and the final cost came to £7,200.

in 1893 William Willett built the Sunday Schools, adjacent to the Mission Hall, to the designs of William Henry Nash of 42 Ship Street, Brighton, the plans having been approved in September 1892. In 1894 the annual tea and prize-giving took place in the new rooms for the first time. An astonishing 850 children attended with the boys being seated in the ground floor rooms, while the girls were upstairs. The number of children included 150 infants who had their tea and left before the older children arrived.

The first pastor was Revd William Taylor, and by 1902 he had also established a Mission in Clarence Street, Portslade.

The Mission Hall at Hove saw activity throughout the week, as can be seen by the following list from 1907:

Sunday - Services at 11.a.m. and 7.p.m.

Sunday School at 9.45.a.m. and 2.45.p.m.

Open Air Meeting at 5.45.p.m.

Prayer Meeting at 6.15.p.m.

Monday – Mothers’ Meeting at 2.30.p.m.

Prayer and Praise Meeting at 8.p.m.

Tuesday – Band of Hope (a Temperance Movement) met at 6.p.m.

Young People’s Christian Endeavour Society met at 8.p.m.

Wednesday – On third Wednesday of every month, Gospel Temperance Meeting at 8.p.m.

Thursday – Service at 8.p.m.

Friday – Singing Class at 8.p.m.

Memorial Tablet

In 1932 a marble tablet was unveiled in the Hall bearing the following inscription:

‘Erected in affectionate memory of William Taylor, for over 50 years the faithful Pastor of this people, trusted and loved by all who knew him, also of Sarah his wife, his devoted helpmeet in his labours for the Gospel. W. Taylor, November 1931, S. M. Taylor March 1928’.

Present at the ceremony were the children of the marriage – the Revd W. J. Taylor (of Darlington) and the Misses M. and E. Taylor. The daughters performed a rendition of God’s Way is the Best Way. Mr and Mrs W. H. Gosling, two of the oldest workers connected with the Mission since its inception, unveiled the tablet.

The next pastor was Revd W. Alexander Findlay.

Expansion

There seems to be much confusion over the four different names of the church that took over the Clarendon Villas building in 1978 but is the same organisation. For the sake of clarity, it is easier to make a list:

Brighton & Hove Fellowship

Clarendon Church 1978-1993

Church of Christ the King 1993-2017

Emmanuel 2017

The Brighton & Hove Fellowship used to meet at the Connaught Road Schools before they moved to Clarendon Villas, and as their charismatic leader Terry Virgo stated they simply embraced the existing name and in 1978 became the Clarendon Church. In memory of their humble beginnings, one of the rooms at their new abode was called the Connaught Room. They began with just 30 members but numbers rose so rapidly that newcomers were obliged to bring their own deck-chairs. Within six years the number had risen to almost 600 members. The growth was reminiscent of the early days of the Mission because it was essentially a young congregation with more than 100 teenagers meeting for the mid-week organisations. By April 1984 an extensive renovation of the building was completed; it cost £200,000 but there was no need for a public appeal because the congregation raised the money, and Terry Virgo was still at the helm. By 1986 the numbers had grown to 800, and by September of that year the congregation met at five different locations. In addition to its home in Clarendon Villas, there were meetings at halls in Lewes Road, the Old Steine, Southwick and BHASVIC. Once a month all members met for a larger celebration, either in the Dome or in Hove Town Hall.

In 1987 seven members spent a fortnight in South Africa led by Terry Virgo. They built eight houses, helped in a children’s clinics, besides teaching and healing in a township outside Cape Town.

In April 1991 it was stated that the church worked under the umbrella of charismatic Christians in the Newfrontiers Group. People talked in tongues, and there had been instances of healing. In contrast to struggling, traditional churches, the 850-strong congregation of the Hove-based church gave £28,000 a month.

In 1993 the church converted the former Comet Warehouse in New England Street, Brighton, into their new centre with the new church of Christ the King on the first floor. Remarkably, the first £250,000 needed for the work was raised in a single event, an extra floor being added in 1995. In December 1999 it was stated that the total cost amounted to £3.75 million, but church leader Peter Brooks said all loans had been cleared. Meanwhile, the church, now popularly known by its initials CKK, used the Clarendon building for administration. In 2017 the church became Emmanuel.

House Notes

Number 3

(Sir) Prof. Owen Morgan Edwards lived at number 3 in 1903. He was a Welsh historian, educationalist and prolific writer. He founded the periodical Cymru in 1891 to promote the Welsh language and history. Due to the sudden death of the sitting MP he served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Merionethshire for one year and did not seek re-election. Prof Edwards was knighted in 1916.

Number 8

Hablot Knight Browne (1815-1882) He was the celebrated illustrator (pseudonym Boz) of many familiar works by Charles Dickens such as Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, and A Tale of Two Cities. He lived at 8 Clarendon Villas with his family, and died there on 8 July 1882. He is remembered today by a blue plaque. (For further details please see Hablot Knight Browne under Hove Plaques.)

Number 12

Major Clement Heddington Dale lived at this address from 1909 until 1915. He was one of the few remaining survivors of the grand corps known as “Havelocks Saints”. Major Dale served with the 102^nd Madras Fusiliers. He was with General Havelock in 1857 at the recapture of Cawnpore and the Relief of Lucknow. In 1885 he took part in the quelling of the rising of the North-West Territories of Canada and was mentioned in despatches. Dale spent many years in Australia after leaving the Service before returning to England to retire in Hove. Major Dale was the last Knight appointed by Queen Victoria before her death in 1901. Major Dale died in 1915 and he was accorded the honours of a military funeral at Hove Cemetery, attended by Mrs Dale, his widow, and his two brothers Admiral Dale and Colonel Dale.

Number 13

Count George Walram De Borchgrave D’Atena (1862-1941) and his wife Caroline lived at this address from 1910 until 1913. His relative and fellow Belgian, the Countess Marie de Borchgrave D’Atena, lived at 26 Denmark Villas from 1918 to 1926.

Number 27

The Menges Family
copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Brighton Herald 2 December 1899

The talented Menges family lived at 27 Clarendon Villas, which they called ‘Wahnfried’, from 1893 to 1913. The name of the house reveals that George Menges must have had a great admiration for Richard Wagner because ‘Wahnfried’ was also the name of Wagner’s house in Bayreuth. It is a word that is very difficult to translate with one authority favouring the meaning ‘dream fulfilment’.

However, when it came to naming his musical establishment at 167 North Street, Brighton, he opted for the solidly British title of the Victoria Academy of Music.

Katherine Whitcher (1867-1955) grew up in Worthing and was talented enough in her violin playing to travel abroad for further studies. She met George Menges in Germany and their mutual love of the violin was a great bond between them; they married in 1892. Moreover, the couple had four children, and two of them turned out to be violin prodigies. Kate was a strong character, and much involved in her children’s lives; she was also highly regarded as a music teacher.

Isolde (Marie) Menges (1893-1976) – She was born at 27 Clarendon Villas on 16 May 1893. She began her violin lessons at the tender age of 3½ on a special instrument designed for her size. As a youngster some of her closest friends were the sisters of novelist Ivy Compton-Burnett, Topsy, Juliet and Vera; they were also musically gifted and lived nearby at 20 The Drive. George Menges gave violin lessons to Topsy, Juliet passed her music exams, Vera studied under Myra Hess, and Topsy and Vera once gave a public recital at Hove. Three of the Menges children, Isolde, Ludwig and Elfreida, plus their parents George and Kate, formed a string orchestra to which Vera and Juliet contributed piano parts.

This enchanting portrait of Isolde Menges

was painted by Hove-based artist Ida Verner

In her eleventh year Isolde began to study with Emile Sauret (1852-1920) a French violinist. He must have had an instant rapport with the young Isolde because he too had been a child prodigy performing in public from the age of eight. Isolde then studied for three years with Leopold Auer (1845-1930) at St Petersberg – he being a noted Hungarian-born violin teacher; this was followed by a spell at Dresden.

Isolde’s London debut took place in February 1913 when she played works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Wienieawski, as well as Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. Then there were concerts in Europe and the USA, but just as her career was taking off, the First World War broke out, and future engagement in Russia and Holland had to be cancelled. There was additional trauma for Isolde because of her surname – she suffered from anti-German hostility, and even her loyalty to the country of her birth was questioned. She decided to remove herself from this poisonous atmosphere in 1916 by sailing to the USA where she spent three years, and gave concerts. In 1920 she married conductor and composer Harold Tod Boyd, and their son David Tod Boyd was born in London and later followed a musical career of his own.

In the 1920s Isolde played piano trios with Ivor Janes and Harold Samuel. Later on she specialised in organising concerts especially for school-children, taking the time and the trouble to tell them about the pieces being performed. In 1922 she became the first person to make a complete recording of Beethoven’s concertos. In 1931 she was appointed a professor at the Royal College of Music, and in the same year she founded the Menges Quartet, which soon earned a considerable reputation in musical circles; their rendition of works by Brahms being particularly admired. In January 1939 the Menges Quartet, with two extra members, gave a first performance at the Wigmore Hall of Double Trio by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Isolde died at Richmond on 13 January 1976. Her obituaries were fulsome, particularly the one in The Times where her ‘fastidious musicianship ‘ the ‘liquid quality of her tone’ and her ‘delicacy and firmness’ were remarked upon.

Herbert (Sigfried Frederick) Menges (1902-1972) – Herbert Menges was born at 27 Clarendon Villas too on 27 August 1902. His earliest memory was of his sister Isolde playing her violin, and he also started violin lessons when he was three years old. His success was such that just a year later he made his public debut as an infant prodigy at Hove Town Hall. Perhaps his violin playing came too easily to him – at any rate as he grew up he became more interested in the piano, taking lessons from Mathilda Verne and Arthur de Greef. In 1921 he began his studies at the Royal College of Music where he had the good fortune to be instructed in the art of composition by such luminaries as Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. While he was still a music student he conducted the Brighton Symphonic Players on 18 May 1925, founded and promoted by George and Kate Menges. Herbert remained the director of what later became the Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society until 1972.

In 1927 Herbert Menges became musical director of the Royalty Theatre, London, and in 1931 he founded the London Rehearsal Orchestra with the aim of enabling young musicians to study new and difficult compositions. Also in 1931 he became director of music at the Old Vic Theatre. He wrote and arranged music for nearly all of Shakespeare’s plays with his most successful incidental music being composed for Love’s Labour Lost in the 1949 production. Menges was also responsible for the musical side of John Gielgud’s productions, such as Richard of Bordeaux. Altogether, Menges wrote over 100 scores for various stage productions, and as John Burrell of the Old Vic once remarked ‘Good theatre music means Herbert Menges’.

However, it is remarkable to note that Menges remained primarily a conductor; he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Liverpool Harmonic Orchestra, the BBC Orchestra, and the opera at Sadler’s Wells. In addition, Menges was involved with the London String Players from 1928 to 1937, and being top musicians they were in constant demand. One of the many famous conductors that Menges persuaded to visit Brighton was Sir Hamilton Harty who later lived in Brunswick Square for a while. Menges also found time to enjoy such recreations as philately, reading, and watching cricket. He died in London on 20 February 1972, and the following Sunday the Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Orchestra performed the Requiem by Brahms.

When the aforementioned orchestra celebrated its 75^th anniversary on 20 and 21 May 2000, there was a celebratory concert at Hove Town Hall, and an exhibition devoted to the works of Menges, including numerous newspaper cuttings and meticulous lists Menges kept of all the pieces performed with relevant annotations, and signed photographs from the likes of Rubinstein, Myra Hess, Solomon, Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpman. Also on show was was a kneeler from the Musician’s Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, London, with ‘Herbert Menges 1902-1972’ in tapestry work. Another interesting plaque was from the Dome, which will be re-installed when the refurbishment has been completed. It reads ‘ In this hall Herbert Menges First Musical Director of the Brighton Philharmonic Society conducted 326 concerts. He founded a tradition, which is his permanent memorial’.

Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society – The orchestra gave its first performance on 18 May 1925 at Hove Town Hall. Naturally, when the orchestra celebrated its 75^th anniversary on the 20 and 21 May 2000, the chosen venue had to be Hove Town Hall. One concert included Tchaikovsky’s Serenade in C for Strings, the first piece ever played in public by the orchestra. Some of the other music performed on the anniversary was by the orchestra’s former presidents – Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten. The orchestra also performed Howard Blake’s Diversions for Cello and Orchestra. Blake has local connections, having been educated at the Brighton, Hove & Sussex Grammar School. He used to attend the concerts at the Dome when Herbert Menges was the conductor. Today, Blake is one of Britain’s best-known composers and his music for The Snowman is very popular.

On that first occasion, way back in 1925, the ensemble was conducted by a youthful Herbert Menges, then still a music student. The founder and promoters of the Orchestra were George and Kate Menges whose aim was to give periodic concerts of a high standard to the music lovers of Brighton and Hove. Indeed, the enterprise proved to be so successful that after a few years, the venue was switched to the Dome, which of course had a greater seating capacity. When the Dome was being renovated in 1934/35, the orchestra reverted to its old stamping ground at Hove Town Hall.

There have been several name changes, the main ones being as follows:

1925 – Symphonic String Players

1941 – Brighton Philharmonic Society

1945-1958 – Southern Philharmonic Society

1950s – Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

1989 – Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society

The reason for its name ‘Southern Philharmonic Society’ was because the Arts Council provided financial aid that allowed them to perform in Hastings and Portsmouth, as well as Brighton. But when the funding dried up in the mid-1950s, it was deemed time for a name change.

In the second season Dame Myra Hess played at one of the concerts – it being the first of 20 visits she made. In 1946 she became president of the orchestra. Another frequent visitor was Solomon (Cutner) who performed with the orchestra no less than 22 times, but then he was a childhood friend of Herbert Menges. Other celebrities who have performed with the orchestra include the following:

Benno Moiseiwitsch

Arthur Rubinstein

Arthur Ashkenazy

Moura Lympany

John Ogden

Yehudi Menuhin

Igor Oistrakh

Jacqueline du Pre

Kathleen Ferrier

Andres Segovia

During the orchestra’s 75 years of existence there have been only three musical directors – Herbert Menges 1925-1972 / John Carewe 1974-1987 followed by Barry Wordsworth, who has also been principal conductor since 1989. Sir Thomas Beecham became the first president in 1934. The famous pianist John Lill was president from 1993.

In October 2000 Ronald Power retired as chairman, having joined the board in 1970, and become chairman in 1988. He was presented with a silver tray, the work of Ditchling silversmiths Pruden and Smith.

In 2001 it was stated that the Society was still an independent organisation, and it is to be congratulated on having a ‘lean management’. The backbone of the Society are the Friends whose number exceeds a thousand.

In 2021 the Society is still in existence, although like other performing arts, it has been badly hit by the pandemic. But it is pleasant to record that plans are afoot to celebrate their 100^th anniversary in 2025, although, sadly, there can be no repeat of a concert at Hove Town Hall since there is now no hall. The new musical director is Joanna MacGregor CBE.

Number 32

Alderman William Jago lived at this address from 1892 until 1896, and then moved to 9 Wilbury Avenue. He was born at Marzion, Cornwall and trained as a mining engineer. However, after completing his studies, he found that mining was in the doldrums so he went into teaching and he became the first headmaster of the science side of the original Brighton School of Science and Art. Among his students was JJ Clark who was studying agricultural chemistry. Later, Jago became associated with Clark in the formation of the famous Clark’s Bread Company and Jago remained a director for many years. Jago was also a successful analytical chemist and he won international fame for his work in cereal chemistry. He wrote books including Inorganic Chemistry, which became a standard textbook for generations of students. Then, in mid-life, he started an entirely different career by qualifying as a barrister. His involvement with Hove Council dated back to 1898 and in 1913 he was made an Alderman. He was Mayor of Hove from 1923 to 1926 and during that time he entertained the Duke and Duchess of York. Jago celebrated his 80^th birthday by giving a dinner party at Hove Town Hall and the guests included his six surviving brothers and sisters. His son W Claude Jago presented him with a silver salver, tankard and cigarette box. William Jago died aged 84 on 28 March 1938. His wife Elizabeth Mary died on 17 January 1928 and they were buried in Hove Cemetery.

Number 38

Lieutenant Colonel Nugent Macnamara (1828-1917) was born in Guernsey. He lived at this address from 1897 until 1913. Lt-Col Macnamara of the Royal Marines Artillery was a veteran of the Crimean War and saw action at the siege and fall of Sevastopol. He was awarded the Turkish Medal the Order of Medjidie 5^th Class.

Number 50

The Catholic Social Club met at this address from 1912 until 1917.

Number 51

In 1887 this house was F. Boulden’s, Lisburn House School, a boarding and day school.

The Honourable Alice Baring (b.1834) lived at number 51 twice, from 1889 to 1890 and later from 1893 until 1897. Alice was the daughter of Sir Francis Thornhill Baring the first Baron Northbrook who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Viscount Melbourne Government of 1835 to 1839. Her brother, Thomas George Baring, Earl of Northbrook, was Viceroy of India from 1872 until 1876.

In 1890 the Hon. Alice Baring rented the house to Catherine Gurney (1848-1930) who established the Police Seaside Home and the Provincial Police Orphanage at number 51. The orphanage moved to Redhill in 1895. Two other women helped the idea come to fruition: May Griffin made arrangements for number 51 to be rented and Miss Bell provided £500 to pay the rent for three years. May Griffin who lived with her mother at 70 Clarendon Villas, later became Honorary Secretary and Lady Superintendent of the soon to be built Police Seaside Home in Portland Road, Hove.

Catherine Gurney OBE came from a Quaker family who was related to the Gurney bankers of Norwich. Her grandfather, W.B. Gurney, and her great aunt, Martha Gurney, played a leading role in the abolition of slavery. Catherine was related to the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney).

Besides the purpose built 1893 Police Seaside Home in Portland Road, Hove, Catherine also founded the Police Convalescent Homes in Harrogate, Oxfordshire and Auchterarder in Scotland. She also founded a number of Police orphanages and schools. The legacy of Catherine’s philanthropy is still with us today in the form of The Gurney Fund, which is a registered charity of which HM Queen Elizabeth is a patron.

Sir Melville Mcnaghten the Assistant Chief Constable of London stated in his 1894 memoranda that Aaron Kosminski was one of the suspects in the notorious 'Jack the Ripper' murders of 1888 to 1891. In Chief Inspector Donald Swanson’s handwritten notes he states, he believed Aaron Kosminski was 'Jack the Ripper', and knowing of a Police Officer witness who had seen 'Jack the Ripper', was living at that time in the Seaside Home in 1890, he had Kosminski transported under Police guard to be identified at 51 Clarendon Villas. Unfortunately for Swanson, although he believed this ‘witness’ had recognised Kosminski as the murderer, the witness refused to testify in court. Aaron Kosminski died in 1919 in Leavesden Asylum.
There are mixed opinions amongst ‘Jack the Ripper experts’ in recent times, some believe the identification of Kosminski never took place in Hove while others believe the opposite.

The Honourable Alice Baring moved out of number 51 in 1890 while the Police Seaside Home had occupied her home and moved in with her sister Hannah at 48 First Avenue. They had originally lived together a few years before at 16 Palmeira Square in 1881. After the Police had vacated the building in 1893 to move to Portland Road, Alice moved back into number 51 and lived there until 1897.

Number 68

Major George James Teevan lived in this house from 1900 to 1902. He had followed an Army career in the 94^th Regiment before becoming Chief Constable of South Shields. On 2 July 1884 at the age of 45 he was appointed Chief Constable of Hove Police at a salary of £200 a year, plus uniform. He later lived in a house called Pembridge Villa in Connaught Road.

In 1889, after five years of service, Major Teevan requested an increase in his salary – in fact an extra £50 a year. Presumably, the General Purposes Committee thought this was a bit steep, and requested an account of his duties. ‘He (the Chief Constable) is chiefly engaged in the mornings in his office or attending Court when the Magistrates are sitting. He frequently visits the office during the day … the greater part of the remainder of his time is occupied in perambulating the Town, visiting the beats of the constables and in other ways, which he thinks conducive to the best mode of discharging his duties of his office …He always appears in uniform before the Bench and the Police Committee … He has no allowance for house rent, fuel or light, or any other emolument beyond his salary.’ His other appointments were as inspector of bathing machines. hackney carriages and boats.
In October 1904 Major Teevan decided to retire because of serious defects in his eyesight. He received a pension of £200 a year.

In 1914 East Sussex County Council established a tuberculosis clinic at number 68, and there was also a Welfare Centre. Between April and September 1917 some 1,272 mothers, 1,010 infants and 193 children had visited the Welfare Centre. Business was so brisk that by 1919 there were two Welfare Centres – one run at the Clarendon Villas Mission Hall, and the West Hove Centre, which was run in conjunction with Portslade. In 1921 Hove Council shut down the Clarendon Villas Centre, being poorly attended by then, and because of the extensive work carried out by the Women’s Hospital.

Sources

Census Returns

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Street Directories

Hove Council Minute Books

Middleton, J. A History of Women’s Lives in Hove and Portslade (2018)

Parsons, P. Somewhere for the Children. History of Hove Day Nursery (1977)

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Spurling, H. Ivy When Young 1884-1919 (1993 revised edition)

Wojtczak, H. Notable Sussex Women (2008)

18 October 2021

Clarendon Villas, Hove