Local life stories

Much has been written about the history of Brighton but for house detectives, books dealing with specific areas, either from a personal or historical perspective, are most valuable. Local life stories portray the experiences of ordinary people, often with great humour and poignancy. In ‘Oh What A Lovely Shore’, published by QueenSpark Books, Leonard Goldman recalls moving to 5 Powis Square, a listed building in Clifton Hill, in the early 1920s. Just five years old at the time, Goldman recalled that ‘it must have been comparatively expensive, probably about a thousand pounds’ but went on to say ‘Even in a house like this, there was no running hot water … mother used to wash our hair in a zinc bath in the scullery.’

Further insights can be found in more objective, academic works. In The Growth of Brighton and Hove, 1840–1939, historian Sue Farrant describes the residential development that took place in Brighton between 1870 and 1914 on land belonging to the Stanford family of Preston Manor. Unlike fashionable Hove, Farrant observes that ‘the Preston area was laid out as a middle-class town suburb, with villas and semi-detached houses on the main thoroughfares, and more modest, normally terraced housing in the side roads.’ Newly built properties were often advertised in local papers, another valuable research tool for house historians.

Brighton has a rich architectural heritage, its buildings ranging in style from Regency townhouses to 1930s suburban developments. Visual material, such as old maps and photographs, brings individual buildings and streets to life, while original building control plans, many of which still exist and can be viewed, by appointment, at East Sussex Record Office, provide a tangible reminder that even the oldest houses were once new. It’s good to know that, in a world of constant change, our homes have endured and, with luck, will continue to do so. Just think; one day, our lives will become part of their history.