Hello. This post is a continuation of ‘Somewhere in Between’, an occasional visual diary from my travels around the backstreets, shortcuts and dead ends of Brighton and Hove. A collection of pictures made while walking and cycling through some of the less well known corners of the city.
Brunswick town is right on one of my doorsteps. It’s a pebbles throw from my gallery and I pass through regularly on my way to the beach. A lot of my customers have at least one of their homes here (it’s definitely the kind of neighbourhood where people purchase a second) and I do a lot of deliveries by hand. Along the way I’ve seen every type of housing, from palatial to poky, and had a nose around some fabulous workshops, garages and studios.
Brunswick Square is the obvious focal point of the area. Originally designed and built in the 1830s as ‘first class’ housing for the wealthy and cultured, its towering, neoclassical terraces open onto a central garden and the sea beyond. To this day the harmonious intent of the architecture is maintained through a legal requirement to paint each building in the square with the same distinctive yellow, known as ‘Hove Cream’, at least once every five years. A south coast version of painting the Forth Bridge perhaps.
Like so much of Brighton and Hove, it’s been through periods of decline and rejuvenation. Most of the buildings are now split into flats of varying shapes and sizes, but the grand exteriors (and lack of through traffic) makes it a unique and beautiful part of the seafront, leaving you in no doubt that you are now in Hove, actually.
More interesting than all of this (to me at least) is the warren of backstreets and mews that surround all of this overt opulence. The whole of Brunswick town was originally conceived as a kind of mini-town on the edge of Hove, bordered by open countryside as well as the sea. The development included everything that would have been needed to keep the wealthiest occupants serviced and provisioned. ‘Middle class’ housing was built in the surrounding streets, and there were service roads and mews providing coach houses for the square, homes for the working classes, and stables, stores and workshops for all the tradesmen and produce that the gentry required.
In a sense it’s not all that different today. Although the square itself is occupied by a far more diverse and eclectic population than back in the 1800s, the surrounding streets are still home to a wonderful variety of housing, garages, studios, boutique shops and the kind of occasional filth that is perhaps best kept hidden down a very dead end. There are alleys, tunnels, a theatre, cafés, restaurants and more pubs than anyone could reasonably need. Nearly two hundred years on, it seems that it would still be possible to live in Brunswick town and have all you require right on the doorstep.
When I pass through, and I make a point of doing so whenever I can, I am always struck by the intertwining of the seedy and the sumptuous. A short walk away from the beach, and just behind some of the most expensive housing in the city, is a messy mix of creativity, purpose and poverty. Tiny businesses burst onto the streets, Airbnbs and manicured mews houses sit beside boarded up buildings and bin stores. This is a look behind the facades, the bits of Brunswick we weren’t really meant to see, repurposed for the 21st century but full of stories and echoes from the past. Dates are dotted on walls (1864, beneath some grubby windows) and the street names provide some lovely historical clues (Donkey Mews is a favourite).
There is a wealth of wonderful information about the whole area on the Regency Town House website, alongside a look at how one of the original houses in the square would have once been laid out and operated day to day. The Regency Town House itself (number 13 Brunswick Square) is a remarkable building, and is slowly being restored to its original splendour. I was lucky enough to exhibit some of my work there back in 2017 and they often have exhibitions and open days. Do pay a visit if you can. A little more on the people and places in the square follows at the end of this post.
A selection of pictures from some recent morning meanders through the backstreets of Brunswick.
A couple more that I think probably don’t count as Brunswick town, just a block too far north. But I enjoyed finding Winston Churchill’s prep school and some fantastic fire escapes just up the road. The backs of these houses are so much more interesting than the front.
If you want a residents eye view of Brunswick Square, then look no further than my good friend Alex Bamford. As a resident of the square himself, he regularly exhibits work in his home at number 21a, and over several years he photographed some of his fellow square dwellers for his project ‘The Brunswick Set’.
From Alex’s website:
“Brunswick Square in Hove was built in the 1830's as a fashionable home to Lords and Ladies. This project documents today's residents and shows how these once grand houses have been adapted for modern living”.
It is a fabulous set of portraits and a fascinating look at the variety of homes in the square. Do check out the rest of Alex’s work too, he is one of the most creative people I know and I’m always keen to see what he’s up to. You can also find him on Instagram if that’s your thing.
Finally, like so many others I have abandoned Twitter and set up on Bluesky. If you’re over there do say hello. I am at finnhop.bsky.social.
Thanks for reading!
Once again, I am absolutely captivated by something both familiar and unfamiliar that comes from your extraordinary vision. I moved, with my father and stepmother, to Hove aged 17 and lived there, with them, on my own and with my partner and wife, until our move to Yorkshire when I was 32. I walked or cycled everywhere in those days and knew most of these streets well. Not only are your images fantastic art, they are also, or at least will become, of great historical importance. By the time I moved away, I had fallen out of love with Brighton and Hove and I certainly have no desire to go back. However, your work gives me the opportunity every now again to don a pair of rose tinted specs and remember what a great place it was to grow up. Thank you 🙏🤠
Love the visual tour and history.