Brunswick Town is an area in
Hove
Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...
, in the city of
Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is best known for the
Regency architecture
Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period co ...
of the Brunswick estate.
History
Originally, the area had been part of Wick Farm. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, nearby
Brighton had become very fashionable. The
Kemp Town
Kemp Town Estate, also known as Kemp Town, is a 19th-century Regency architecture residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. It consists of Arundel Terrace, Lewes Crescent, Sussex Square, Chichester Terrace, and ...
estate there had been a success in 1824 architect
Charles Busby entered into an agreement to build a similar development on land lying at the extreme east of Hove, adjacent to Brighton. The name "Brunswick" was taken from House of Brunswick, a term sometimes used for the
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...
, the name of the British royal family at the time.
Brunswick Town was built as a collaborative project between Busby and the landowner, the Reverend Thomas Scutt. Construction started in 1824. The first houses were completed by 1826. Busby designed Brunswick Town as a long row of terraced houses facing the sea. In the middle point of this sea-facing terrace was a central square, which stretched back. This square was named Brunswick Square. The terraced houses, in Brunswick Terrace and in Brunswick Square, were built for the upper classes, they were designed as 'first-class' housing. Beyond these houses were second-class houses in streets such as Waterloo Street.
The early 20th century saw the area enter decline. At the extreme eastern edge of Brunswick Terrace, on the border of Hove and Brighton, the modernist
Embassy Court apartment block was completed in the 1930s, envisaged by local politicians such as Sir Herbert Carden as the beginning of a transformation of the entire seafront, which would have entailed the obliteration of Brunswick Terrace. By the late 1940s Brunswick Square itself had become so run-down that the Council was considering wholesale demolition and redevelopment with modern housing. These plans encountered strong local opposition, in particular through the founding of the Regency Society which fought successfully against the plans.
In the late 1990s the top of Brunswick Square, where it meets busy Western Road, was closed to motor traffic, changing the nature of the square from a through route to a residential area. The Embassy block was also redeveloped, having fallen into decay.
Notable residents
Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace have had a large number of prominent residents.
*
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
*
James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan
*
Roger Quilter
Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the E ...
, composer
*
John Horace Round
(John) Horace Round (22 February 1854 – 24 June 1928) was an historian and genealogist of the English medieval period. He translated the portion of Domesday Book (1086) covering Essex into English. As an expert in the history of the British ...
, historian
*
Robin Maugham
Robert Cecil Romer Maugham, 2nd Viscount Maugham (17 May 1916 – 13 March 1981), known as Robin Maugham, was a British author.
Trained as a barrister, he served with distinction in the Second World War, and wrote a successful novella, ''The S ...
, writer
*
Robert Bevan
Robert Polhill Bevan (5 August 1865 – 8 July 1925) was a British painter, draughtsman and lithographer. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group.
Early life
He was born in Bruns ...
, artist
*
Philip Salomons
Philip Salomons (1796–1867) was an English financier, Jewish leader and High Sheriff of Sussex.
Early life
Philip Salomons was born in London in 1796. He travelled extensively in the United States as a young man, and became a naturalized Ameri ...
, financier, who built a
Roof-top synagogue at 26 Brunswick Terrace
*
Admiral Sir George Augustus Westphal, served in over 100 actions and wounded at Trafalgar on HMS Victory lived at No 2 Brunswick Square 1836-1875
*
Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
was schooled in Hove in the Brunswick area between 1883 and 1885.
*
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rightsWarren Allen Smith: ''Who's Who in Hell, A Handbook and International Directory for Human ...
, English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist
* Nick Tyson, the curator of
The Regency Town House, a heritage centre at No.13
Politics
Brunswick is currently part of the local council's Brunswick & Adelaide ward which is represented by two
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
councillors, Phélim Mac Cafferty and Hannah Clare. Phélim was first elected to the ward in May 2011 alongside former councillor Ollie Sykes, gaining it from the Liberal Democrats.
Culture
The Brunswick Festival takes place each year, centred on Brunswick Square.
The Old Market, built in 1828 to serve Brunswick Town, was restored in 1999 and is used as a theatre.
Listing designations
Many of the buildings in the area are
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
. Some are listed at the highest grade, Grade I. These include the four components of Brunswick Terrace; Nos 1-6, Nos 7-19, Nos 20-32, and Nos 33-42; the East, and West sides of Brunswick Square, and the
Church of St Andrew.
Gallery
1-6 Brunswick Terrace, Hove Seafront, East Sussex, England UK 40626645224.jpg, 1-6 Brunswick Terrace
7–19 Brunswick Terrace, Hove (NHLE Code 1281033) (January 2012).JPG, 7-19 Brunswick Terrace
20–32 Brunswick Terrace, Hove (NHLE Code 1187546) (January 2017) (2).JPG, 20–32 Brunswick Terrace
33–42 Brunswick Terrace, Hove (IoE Code 365503).JPG, 33–42 Brunswick Terrace
Brunswick Square (East Side), Hove (IoE 365495).JPG, Brunswick Square, East side
Brunswick March 2017 02.jpg, Brunswick Square, West side
Basement 10 Brunswick Square.jpg, alt=An old basement corridor with flagstones. The corridor is long and extends into the distance., The basement of 10 Brunswick Square. This is part of Regency Town House
Interior-hallway-to-flats-brunswick-terrace-hove.jpg, Typical entrance hallway to a Brunswick house converted to flats
See also
*
Landmarks and notable buildings of Brighton and Hove
Footnotes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
Brunswickon ''My Brighton and Hove''
Regency Town HouseThe Old Market— a history of the market and its later use as a riding school
Brunswick Square and Terrace Residents' AssociationEast Brunswick Residents' Association
{{B&H Buildings
Areas of Brighton and Hove
Hove
Conservation areas in England