Brighton Revisited

I anticipated this post would be purely selfish. And yet after digging a bit deeper, perhaps it has some relevance to Regency-world lovers also.

As I have mentioned, Brighton has family associations for me. My dear mother in law, Kit, lived there as a girl, and it is where she met her husband Richard Samuel.  And it is not every family that can lay claim to a huge building in a major town - or at least a small part in its beginning.

This is the Burton Tailors building on the corner of North and West Streets in Brighton.

Richard Samuel and his brother Lawrence had a hand in its construction in 1926.  They were bricklayers.  And this is how Sam, as he was known, who originated in London's East End, met Kit, because just up the road from here lies Wyckham Terrace. Clearly whoever designed the building was trying to capture some of the Regency style of the town.

If you are wondering about the blob at the top of the picture. That is a rain drop. England, people! Raining!  Naturally, I could not resist investigating the building's history. Burtons occupied the store until the 1990's. But what a wonderful surprise, look the tailors are gone to smaller premises and now it hosts a lovely bookstore.  Waterstones.  Such a thrill to find such a neat connection.





Travelling back in time, courtesy of the regencysociety.org the corner was occupied by Geo. Bull, Grocer and Tea Dealer in 1875




http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume21/source/jg_21_003.html

But here is the real treasure, North Street in 1851.  G. Bull occupies number 71 on the corner. Father or grandfather, perhaps. I think North Street might well have looked similar in the period of the Regency, don't you?

http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume21/source/jg_21_001.html 


Until next time....................

Brighton Revisted 3

St Nicholas of Myra is an absolute treasure. It dates from the fourteenth century, though there has been a church in Brighthelstone since Saxon times. The main source of income for villagers was mackerel fishing and therefor the church is appropriately dedicated to the patron saint of fishermen and children.

The fact that this is the church where my mother in law was married makes it special to our family, but as a regency buff it is also special because of its association with those members of Regency society who would have attended church here during the summer months.

Here are some of the fascinating things about St Nicholas of interest to Regency aficionados.  The Duke of Wellington attended the school "The Academy for Young Gentlemen" run by the vicar of St Nicholas.  It was common practice for vicars to supplement their income by teaching the boys of local gentlemen at that time.

During the Regency, their were galleries in the church for local fisherman, charity pensioners and Charity-school children, while the more affluent worshiped in the box pews at ground level.  These galleries were removed during a major renovation in 1853.

The Church acquired a new organ in 1813, instrument built by H.C.Lincoln and pipes by Bevington.
If you have an interest in seeing the church before the restoration I have a picture showing the pews which hints at the galleries above, but the quality is such that I cannot include it here.

What does remain is the fifteenth century screen which is absolutely beautiful. It is thought to have come from East Anglia. Parts of it were destroyed when  the Cromwellians had a go at it, it was restored in the late 19th century.

While the stone pillars and arches were also there, the Galleries aforementioned were on a level with the festoons of the screen, making the church a much smaller and more crowded place.

 The Font, pictured here is from the 12th Century.

Made from a solid block of Caen Stone it is known as the finest piece of Norman carving in Sussex.

Of course my big question was, did all those Regency notables worship here at the only church in what became Brighton.  The local history says it was too far up the hill.

A chapel was therefore built nearer to the Pavillion. The Prince Regent rented one of the pews at 13 guineas a year.

However the Vicar at the time, preached a sermon about King David seducing Bathsheba and sending Prinny off from there in high dudgeon, never to return.

At the time of the Regency, the bell tower sported 8 bells and was known for marathon peals, ringing as many as 11,088 changes over six hours in 1779.  It became the first 10 bell tower in 1818.




Until next time................

Brighton Revisited 2

Oddly enough, the Brighton Pavilion and Prinny's antics made little impression on my m-i-l.  The highlight of her youth were her friends, the beach and swimming in the sea.  She regularly swam from the Palace Pier (now the only remaining pier) to the West Pier. The swim between the two piers was 1500 meters or roughly a mile and there was an annual race, which was likely her impetus for swimming there and back.  Neither of these piers were in situ during the Regency. 

However, there was a pier (designed by Captain Samuel Brown, RN) built in 1823 in Brighton, during the reign of George IV.  This is John Constable's rendition of Brighton beach, with the Royal Suspension Chain pier in the background.

 I love this picture of the beach, the wind and waves, the people walking, the fisherman in the foreground.  It is easy to imagine what Brighton was like in the time we are interested in.

This is Stein Street (as against old Stein). A tricky corner if ever there was one. We can imagine a Regency Hero trying to navigate this in his curricle with all the widows and young ladies looking on.


And in case you are imagining golden sands, here is the beach.  It is in fact golden pebbles.




More to come.

Brighton Revisited

The Royal Pavilion at Brighton stands out as an icon in the world of Regency fiction. Brighton became the place for the haute ton  in the summer with its libraries, Assembly Rooms, sea bathing and promenading all under the eye of the Prince of Wales. If you were in with the in crowd, then you would also be invited to a ball a the Pavilion.

It was here that Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold spent time together before Prinny gave his assent to their engagement. Some of that story, you can find in my short story, Princess Charlotte's Choice.

But that is not the only reason Brighton means a great deal to me. My very dear mother-in-law, while not born here, grew up here. Later my husband spent many happy childhood holidays on Brighton Beach while staying at his grandmother's boarding house.

So this particular visit to Brighton was not only a visit to one of the hearts of Regency England, it was also a walk down memory lane.  And typical of memory lane, the weather was also typically wet all day. It drizzled on and off for the first part of our day, and as you can see the minarets of the Pavilion barely stood out against the grey of the sky.

 By the way, not everyone holds George IV as he later became, in contempt.

This is a statue of him erected by public subscription in 1828.  He was, of course, instrumental in changing Brighton from a small fishing village known as Brighthelmstone.  The town itself adored our Prinny for the wealth he brought to their City.










Walking south from the Pavilion you come to Old Stein, where our characters can promenade and strut their stuff in the fashionable quarter of Prinny's Brighton.

The Old Stein was originally an open green with a stream running through it to the east of the village used by fishermen for the drying of their nets and of course ended at the beach. During our period it was enclosed and became much smaller than when Brighton had been simply Brighhelmston.

We had a lovely time wandering around the area and I will share more about this next time.....