An island in the snow

Winter, of course, is when we expect severe weather conditions; it’s also when we often hope for a decent cold snap and a flurry of snow. What we tend to forget is just how destructive true winter weather can be. One of the greatest local tragedies occurred in December 1836, when Brighton and surrounding areas were covered with a thick blanket of snow. Strong winds formed deep drifts, one of which built up above a row of cottages in Lewes, at the edge of the Downs. Residents were urged to leave their homes because of the risk of avalanche, but some refused to do so. When the snow eventually came crashing down, 15 people were buried in their homes. Six were saved, five of them children, but the others either suffocated or were crushed to death.

Brighton has endured other memorably cold winters, including 1881, when gales and blizzards brought the place to a standstill. Shops and businesses were closed, and trains were stuck in deep snowdrifts. Quite simply, people stayed at home. As a report in The Argus pointed out, ‘To take down the shutters and open the doors would be to run the risk of the snowy hurricane invading and burying the place.’ In 1929, Brighton experienced what was romantically described as an ‘Arctic visitation’. Fountains and boating pools turned to ice - to the delight of skaters – as did the lake in Queen’s Park. Even the sea was affected. ‘The wash…that broke over the Banjo Groyne and the large groynes at Black Rock froze hard during the night, and early on Tuesday morning the warm sunshine made these groynes glisten like two huge solid blocks of ice.’

More recently, the winter of 1962-63 has gone down in the history books as one of the coldest on record. Temperatures remained below freezing for 27 days, closing schools and prompting headlines such as ‘Sussex slides to a snow standstill’. On New Year’s Eve, The Argus reported that Brighton had become ‘An island in the snow’ - all routes out of the town were blocked by the heaviest fall of snow in living memory. Great news for skiers, who were in action in Preston, Moulsecoomb and Hollingbury Parks, but not so good for the elderly or those in need of medical care. As Christopher Horlock, author of Brighton In The Sixties, explains, ‘Power cuts added to the misery of the big freeze and, at one point…candles were used to light wards in the Royal Sussex County Hospital.’ Still dreaming of a white Christmas? Perhaps we should be careful what we wish for.