Hove in the Past: Newtown Road, Hove

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2022)

Background

The road began to be developed in the early 1880s when it was known as New Town Road. It was laid out on land once belonging to the Stanford Estate.

It is interesting to note how zealous the Hove Commissioners were in ensuring that any houses built at Hove met their exacting standards. Thus the builder Henry Pinker found himself in hot water following an official visit. The Surveyor reported to the Hove Commissioners that in the eight houses being built on the south side, he found the intermediate walls were built of rubble masonry and did not contain a proportion of piers and bonding courses of whole bricks equal to one-fifth of cubic contents of the wall. The same problem was observed in the eight houses being built by Henry Pinker on the north side. The Commissioners decided to serve a Notice to Mr Pinker under Bye-law 50.

It should be noted that Newtown Road was originally much smaller that the road we know today. The Directories describe it as stretching from Hove Park Villas to Fonthill Road, and no further. In the 1886 Directory only three houses were listed – numbers 1, 17 and 40. At number 17 there was a grocer’s shop run by A Deighton, grocer, and the business was still going strong in the 1950s when William Budge was in charge. Another long-standing operation was the Post Office and newsagents at number 15a.

By January 1890 it was reported that there were 30 occupied houses in New Town Road and the adjacent road then known as West Brighton Road but later re-named Hove Park Villas.

Road Works

In 1891 J. Parsons & Sons were awarded the contract for new road works to be undertaken at a cost of £580. In March 1893 the road between Fonthill Road and Hove Park Villas, 608-ft, was declared a public highway.

Water Pillar

In May 1892 it was decided to install a water pillar at a cost of £12 on the corner of Newtown Road and Hove Park Villas. This was for the purpose of street watering, and was used during the summer to help lay the dust.

Road Extension

In 1926 planning permission was given to W. T. Cripps to create a new road, an extension to Newtown Road.

Clark’s Bread Company

John Jackson Clark founded the company on 13 September 1887. It is instructive to note that at that stage the factory was not in Newtown Road, being built on land belonging to Goldstone Farm, and indeed the premises were later defined as being at 12 Fonthill Road, although it had a smaller frontage to that road. But it is safe to state that for many years Clark’s Bread Company was a dominating presence in Newtown Road.

Old maps show Goldstone Barn directly north of the factory, and it was nearby that the famous Goldstone was dug up and placed in Hove Park. On the south side a steep bank descended to the railway lines, while immediately to the east, and behind the houses on the south side of Newtown Road, was the well-known Dubarry Perfumery. Old photographs show a distinctly rural-looking path on the west side dipping down. But when the factory was extended, the road was levelled up.

The two photographs seen above, were published by the Brighton Herald, which began life in 1806, becoming the first newspaper in the Brighton area, changing its name to the Brighton Herald and Hove Chronicle in 1902, and to the Brighton and Hove Herald 1922; it ceased to be a separate title in 1971 and became part of the Brighton and Hove Gazette. In the earlier photograph dating from the 1900s, it is interesting to note the lettering on the roof does not face the north frontage. In the second photograph, probably dating from the 1950s, the factory has extended so far that it could not all fit into the frame, while the road looks remarkably smooth.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Clark’s was such a success that the factory was extended in 1905, 1914, and 1919 with a special wing devoted to producing cakes and confectionery. Clark’s lasted for a long time but unhappily the firm went bankrupt in 1976, and 368 people lost their jobs. (For more detail, please see under Goldstone Farm.)

Clark’s Trading Centre

In 1993 the Christian Outreach Centre moved here, and by August 1994 there were 350 people in the congregation. It was said that much of the success was due to Pastor Ashley Schmierer and his wife Ruth who came over from Australia. In November 1999 planning permission was given to the church to move from Newtown Road to premises in North Street, Portslade.

Direct Supply Aerated Water Company

This company had premises in the road in the 1920s. In 1926 they received planning permission to install a new boiler room, and in 1928 for a bew oil store too.

St Agnes Church

It is interesting to note that when the site was levelled in order to start building the church, two old semi-detached cottages were demolished, and during this work, the date ‘1750’ was discovered under the gable. There were once six cottages belonging to Goldstone Farm, and the last one was not removed until 1968.

St Agnes was the daughter church of St Barnabas, and thus when F. T. Cawthorn submitted plans for a Mission Room, it was on behalf of Revd H. W. Mayrick, vicar of St Barnabas. The Mission Room opened in 1903 but the actual church, designed by A. G. Humphrey, was not dedicated until 1913. The church was declared redundant on 26 July 1977. Brighton & Hove Albion FC purchased the building for £17,500, and it was used briefly for training purposes. But in 1980 work started on converting the building into a gymnasium, which then became the home of Brighton & Hove Gymnastics Club.

In August 1999 local residents were furious when they found out that the people responsible for the building had ordered the nearby copse to be destroyed. They pleaded with contractors to halt their work but it was to no avail. The reason given was that drug-taking had been going on there, and it was felt better to clear the site. But residents missed this small oasis of greenery, which also provided nesting places for birds. New town houses were built on the site.

In December 2021 the next stage in the life of the St Agnes building became apparent. Building work and scaffolding had at last gone away, and a new sign proclaimed the building was now ‘Natural Fit Club’, a centre for health, fitness and relaxation. There was a gym, a spa, an indoor heated pool, and a cafe lounge, while the Yoga Studio is situated in the airy space beneath the shelving roof.

House Notes

Number 2 – In 1920 two businesses were located here. There was James Francis, a cab & motor proprietor, and Francis & Son, chimney cleaners. By 1931 it seems Mrs Francis was the sole occupant.

Number 4 – Mr Kerridge, a builder, lived here in 1920, and it would be interesting to know whether or not this house was one he was responsible for building. By 1931 the house also served as the office for Kerridge & Son, builders.

Number 15A

At first the shop was run as a combined newsagent’s, stationer, and Post Office, and in 1920 Mrs M. Collins ran the show.

By 1931 Frank Whitewood was in charge, but by 1956 the business was run as two separate enterprises, both being located at 17A. Mr A. R. W. Parks was the newsagent while Mrs E. L. Crowhurst was the sub-postmistress.

In the 1950s in order to encourage children to save money for a rainy day, you could buy a savings stamp, and stick into a small booklet until you had filled the book and could pay the money into your Post Office Savings Bank. The stamps featured two charming portraits of the royal children – Prince Charles in a characteristically solemn mood, and Princess Anne sporting a mass of fair curls.

Number 17 – This must be one of the oldest houses in the road, because it was only one of three mentioned in the 1886 Directory when Mr Deighton ran a grocer’s shop there. By 1920 Mrs Ellis was the grocer, and in 1931 It was William Rudge, who was still there in 1938, and W. H. Rudge was running it in 1956. It was a delightful old-fashioned grocer’s establishment with sawdust on the floor and the wonderful aroma of freshly-ground coffee in the air. There were up-to-date touches such as the large cold meat slicer where a whole joint of cooked ham could be sliced to your requirements.

Number 37 – In 1938 Stanley James Bourne, estate agent, lived in this house.

Number 38 – In 1931 Harold Scott, a gardener, lived here.

Number 42 – Robert William Reed, insurance agent, lived in this house in 1920, while in 1931 Mr S. C. Lewery, dentist, occupied the premises.

Number 49

Goldstone Cottages – These old cottages were listed under Newtown Road in the 1931 Directory:

1) Mrs Poundberry

2) Thomas Rose

3) George Bradley

The modern face of Newtown Road

Hove Planning Approvals

1882 – A. C. Udney for Walter Pinker, six houses, and two shops and houses on the north side

1882 – A. C. Udney for W. C. Tamplin, a hotel on the corner of Newtown Road and Hove Park Villas

1882 – A. C. Udney for F. Napper, eleven houses, and four shops and houses combined

1889 – Charles Nye for S. C. Smale, eight houses, north side

1890 – C. Nye for A. W. Leeney, two houses, south side

1891 – C. Nye for G. Kerridge, seven terraced houses, and six shops and homes in Newtown Road and Fonthill Road.

1891 – C. Nye for Mr Stephen, dwelling house and store, north side, west end

1892 – C. Nye for J. R. Lidbetter, four terraced houses

1893 – Mr Jay for M. R. Hatton, one house, north side

1893 – H. Alderton for J. J. Clark, van shed

1902 – A Carden for H. Saunders, temporary sheds, timber yard, rear of south side

Sources

Carder, T. The Encyclopedia of Brighton (1990)

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Street Directories

The Hovarian December 2021

25 April 2022

Newtown Road, Hove