Category: Street scenes

Our local Coastguard Service was originally located in the cottages on the beach at the end of Ferry Road but by the early 1900’s were relocated to Kingston then soon after to purpose built accommodation at Southwick. Sad to say the view of them there is now obscured by later buildings incredibly permitted to be erected in front of all of them except for the Chief Officer’s house that fronts on to the main road.
This photo of the cottages as they once appeared is a composite produced jointly with Neil De Ville.

Not much left – even the council offices have gone since the colour photo was taken.
(using black & white photos from Marlipins  and Lofty’s Michael Norman collections)

A somewhat different East Street circa 1900 with Eade’s Store where Toast by the Coast is now and next door George Hedgecock’s shoe shop (nowTeddy’s).
Lower photo from the Hedgecock Collection on this website

A little known story is  about the demolition of the lovely old cottages in Middle Street that were replaced by today’s car park. Why just those in between other similar cottages in the street? It seems the whole row  were considered then to be unfit for human habitation and, true or not, one of the criteria was said to be a lack of natural light (which of course many old buildings do suffer from). During the inspection of those in Middle Street the  council official responsible for approving the demolishing had reached the cottages beyond today’s car park and, when asked if she needed the light on to be able to see, replied she could see perfectly well. In doing so she could not then condemn it and that, I am told, is why the rest survived.

From right to left, anti-clockwise:- A newspaper cutting of an otherwise anonymous group and Shoreham location has ‘Standen Family’ written on it. A check through our street directories shows the Standen Brothers at Southdown Nurseries in Mill Lane (where the greenhouses are in the aerial photograph). A 1950’s parade of Morris dancers provides a closer view of the nursery just beyond the lodge to the cemetery and lastly a view of the entrance and shop in the 1930’s.

You don’t often see this part of the High Street in old photos
(courtesy of Neil De Ville)