Prestonville is a largely residential area in the northwest of
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, part of the English 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 ...
. It covers a long, narrow and steeply sloping ridge of land between the
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
and Dyke Road, two major transport corridors which run north-northwestwards from the centre of Brighton. Residential development started in the 1860s and spread northwards, further from central Brighton, over the next six decades. The area is characterised by middle-class and upper-middle-class housing in various styles, small-scale commercial development and long eastward views across the city. Two
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
churches serve Prestonville—one at each end of the area—and there are several
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s.
Brighton and Hove City Council describe the area as a "pre-1914 residential inner suburb whose street pattern, architecture and character have been well preserved", giving a "strong sense of place". "High-quality" Victorian buildings can be found amongst the housing, and two residential streets consist of a homogeneous "railway suburb" built by the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
to rehouse people displaced from around Brighton station when the company extended its goods yard. While not successful in this aim, the estate left "a legacy of good-quality housing" which still survives.
Location and topography
Prestonville covers a sloping ridge of land on the western side of the valley through which London Road and the Brighton Main Line run. The land drops down steeply from Dyke Road, the ancient route to
Devil's Dyke on the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
.
Now one of the city's major roads, it formed the historic boundary between the parishes of Hove and
Preston. Later, when Preston became part of Brighton, Dyke Road formed the border between the Boroughs of Hove and Brighton.
The centre of Brighton is about 1.2 miles (2 km) to the southeast, and central
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 cen ...
lies to the southwest.
Anticlockwise from the south, the boundaries of Prestonville are defined as
Seven Dials, Chatham Place, Howard Place, the
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
between
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and
Preston Park stations, Tivoli Crescent North and Dyke Road.
Old Shoreham Road, a major road at the southern end of Prestonville, formed the northern boundary of Brighton Borough, and therefore the boundary between Brighton and Preston parishes, until 1873.
Prestonville has good tree cover in the form of mature street-planted trees, but open space within the area is lacking.
Dyke Road Park and
Preston Park are nearby though. Long views eastwards and southeastwards across the city can be obtained from many streets in the area, particularly in the northern section.
When Prestonville was developed in the 19th century, although southern parts of the area were very close to
Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the southern terminus of the Brighton Main Line in England, and the principal station serving the city of Brighton, East Sussex. It is from via .
The station is managed by Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates ...
and its locomotive works, its attractiveness for residential development was not affected because the prevailing wind blew smoke and pollution in the opposite direction.
History
![OpenStreetMap of Prestonville, Brighton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/OpenStreetMap_of_Prestonville%2C_Brighton.png)
The ancient parish of Preston, a area of arable land cut through by the valley of the Wellesbourne, was the first parish north of both
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 cen ...
and
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
.
Old Shoreham Road, now a major route through the southern part of Prestonville, formed the boundary.
St Peter's Church (the old
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
) and
Preston Manor were on the east side of the valley. The western boundary was formed by Dyke Road, which led to
Devil's Dyke on the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
. Preston parish became part of the parliamentary borough of Brighton and Hove in 1868 and was added to the municipal borough of Brighton five years later as Brighton's urban development spread northwards,
encouraged by its "rapid growth as Britain's premier seaside resort".
Prestonville's development contributed to an increase in population in Preston parish from 756 at the time of the 1841
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
to 2,470 30 years later.
The
tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave the ...
of Preston parish before it became urbanised shows that most of the land between Dyke Road and the future route of the railway line was owned by Thomas Stanford and farmed by his son Thomas junior. Thomas senior himself farmed a field in the southeast corner of present-day Prestonville, and another by the Old Shoreham Road–Dyke Road junction was owned by
Sir Isaac Goldsmid, 1st Baronet
Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet (13 January 1778 – 27 April 1859) was a financier and one of the leading figures in the Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom, who became the first British Jew to receive a hereditary title.
Biography
...
.
A
post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...
called Port Hall Mill, next to the house called Port Hall, existed between 1795 and 1887. Another mill, Preston Mill, occupied the present site of Old Mill Works in Highcroft Villas between 1797 and 1881. Before 1797 it stood on the land now occupied by
Regency Square on Brighton seafront. Two paintings of 36
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...
of
oxen transporting it up the hill to its new location can be found in Preston Manor. Later names for the mill included Trusler's, Black and Streeter's Mill.
Waterhall Mill at
Patcham
Patcham () is an area of the city of Brighton & Hove, about north of the city centre. It is bounded by the A27 (Brighton bypass) to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west. ...
contains some of the machinery salvaged when it was demolished.
The northward growth of housing into this area began in the 1840s after the opening of
Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the southern terminus of the Brighton Main Line in England, and the principal station serving the city of Brighton, East Sussex. It is from via .
The station is managed by Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates ...
. The
West Hill and
Seven Dials areas were built up with housing,
then between 1848 and 1858 roads such as Chatham Place, Russell Crescent, Howard Terrace and the southern part of Prestonville Road were laid out.
Old Shoreham Road had not been reached by this time, though. North of the road was an area of farmland on the west side of the Wellesbourne valley, cut off by the
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
from
Preston village, the church and the manor house. The land belonged to New England Farm, established in the 1810s south of Old Shoreham Road (therefore in the parish of Brighton), and an
abattoir
A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility.
Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
had been proposed to be sited there. A developer called Daniel Friend bought the land, however, and laid it out with middle-class housing from the 1860s.
He bought about of land from the
London and Brighton Railway
The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...
, who had in turn acquired it in about 1839 (just before the railway line was laid out) from William Stanford of Preston Manor. In the early days of the railways, it was common for the newly formed railway companies to buy more land than they needed and to sell the remainder for residential development.
The earliest streets developed north of Old Shoreham Road were the northern section of Prestonville Road, Prestonville Terrace, Hamilton Road (on which stands the Prestonville Arms pub),
Hamilton Terrace, Brigden Street and the lower section of Stanford Road, all of which date from between 1865 and 1869. York Grove, built on the site of the New England Farm buildings, predated these streets by about five years.
(The main farmhouse, built before 1820 in a
Classical style with a prominent
Doric-columned porch, was retained and is numbered as 26 York Grove.)
Ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrysid ...
spread north along Dyke Road during the 1870s, reaching Highcroft Villas which was itself built up from 1880. The 1880s was a period of major development in Prestonville, as the land around an 18th-century house called Port Hall was developed with housing. Coventry Street, Exeter Street, Port Hall Street, Upper Hamilton Road and the northern part of Stanford Road date from this time. Four more roads—Buxton, Chatsworth, Lancaster and Stafford—were built during the 1890s.
Further north, the roads bounded by Dyke Road, Highcroft Villas, The Drove and the railway line date from the last five years of the 19th century, and the area northwards towards Tivoli Crescent North was completed by the start of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Millers Road, one of the roads from this era, was named after the former Preston Mill, as was the Dyke Tavern pub on Dyke Road (originally the Windmill Inn).
The 1871 census shows that many of the early residents of Prestonville were railway workers based at Brighton station or the nearby
Brighton railway works
Brighton railway works (also known as Brighton locomotive works, or just the Brighton works) was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dat ...
; other occupations included schoolteachers, managers, a tax inspector, a retired admiral, a bookseller and a draper's assistant. Two houses on Hamilton Road were used as an orphans' home and a private school respectively.
At this time, much of the housing was rented, and "a move from one street to the next could represent a climb in social status". In ascending order of social position at this time were Brigden Street, Prestonville Terrace, Hamilton Road and Stanford Road.
Many of the houses on Compton Road and Inwood Crescent were built by the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
(LBSCR) soon after 1900 to house families displaced from the streets around Brighton station. In 1898, the LBSCR received permission to
compulsorily purchase
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
171 houses and demolish them to allow Brighton station goods yard to be expanded. Clearance of the site took place between 1901 and 1904. The company bought some houses privately as well, bringing the total number of displaced households to 225.
The
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
which permitted the compulsory purchasing obliged the LBSCR to rehouse the people elsewhere in Brighton, based on the terms of the
Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Background
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 was a public health act, not a housing act. It empowered local authoriti ...
upon which it was based.
The company bought land from the trustees of the Stanford estate in 1901 and 1903 for £5,600
and erected 123 houses and flats of various styles. They were of good quality and were larger than the
terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s they replaced, but as a rehousing scheme the development failed because very few of the displaced people actually moved there.
The houses were still owned by the railways (latterly by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways) until 1965.
On 25 May 1943, during the
Brighton Blitz
The Brighton Blitz was the bombing of Brighton by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Brighton was attacked from the air on 56 recorded occasions between July 1940 and February 1944. Casualties in the area were 198 killed a ...
, four houses on Compton Road were bombed and one resident died. Postwar flats occupy the site of numbers 20–26.
Another bomb just missed Highcroft Villas, landing on the railway line below.
The Prestonville area saw little change after the war, although some other houses were demolished in favour of blocks of flats. An example was the former Hove Villa, built in 1840 on Old Shoreham Road but in institutional use from 1899 (first as a
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
, then as a private school). It was demolished in 1972 and twin blocks of flats called Prestonville Court were built in its place.
Demographics and community
![Exeter Street Hall, Prestonville, Brighton (August 2013)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Exeter_Street_Hall%2C_Prestonville%2C_Brighton_%28August_2013%29.jpg)
At the time of the
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, Prestonville's population was estimated at 5,616 and a housing density of 56 dwellings per hectare was calculated.
Of the housing stock, 31% is
terraced housing
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
, 8%
semi-detached
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...
, 8%
detached
A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...
and 53% flats of various types. Flats in converted houses are prevalent in the area. In terms of tenure, in 2001 66% of dwellings were owned and 34% were rented, mostly from private landlords. According to the council's demographic classification system, the highest proportions of households are defined as "suburban privately renting professionals" (24%), "affluent urban professional flats" (21%) and "young educated worker flats" (14%).
For the purposes of local governance, Prestonville is split between Preston Park ward and Withdean ward, two of the 21
local government wards in the city of Brighton and Hove. The boundary runs along Highcroft Villas.
As of August 2013, Preston Park ward was represented by three
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
councillors, and Withdean ward had one Green Party and two
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
councillors.
The Prestonville Community Association is a local community and action group.
In 2012, when St Luke's Church put Exeter Street Hall up for sale, members of the community formed an
industrial and provident society
An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules.
The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...
to "secure
tas community resource for the residents of Prestonville" by buying, refurbishing and promoting it.
The company offered to sell shares in the building to residents and other interested parties.
Prestonville is served by Stanford Junior School, but the nearest pre-school facilities are a mile away
and there is no secondary school in the area: it lies within the
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of
Dorothy Stringer School
Dorothy Stringer School is a secondary school located in Brighton, East Sussex, England. It has over 1,600 pupils and 115 members of staff. There are 64 forms, each with an average of 26 students.
Location and history
The school, named after ...
and
Varndean School
Varndean School is a secondary school serving a large area of Brighton, England.
In 2013, 2017 and 2022, Ofsted inspectors described Varndean as a 'Good' school. Varndean shares the Surrenden Campus with Balfour Primary School, Dorothy Stringe ...
.
Buildings
St Luke's Church () occupies a "landmark"
position at the junction of Old Shoreham Road and Stanford Road in the south of Prestonville, near Seven Dials. This
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church was built in 1875 to the design of John Hill. Its
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
church hall on Exeter Street dates from 1884 and retains its original red-brick exterior.
The
Church of the Good Shepherd () is at the junction of Dyke Road and The Drove in the north of Prestonville. It was built between 1920 and 1922 and was designed by
Edward Prioleau Warren
Edward Prioleau Warren (30 October 1856 – 23 November 1937) was a British architect and archaeologist.
Life
He was born at Cotham, Bristol, the fifth son of Algernon William Warren, JP. Sir Thomas Herbert Warren was his elder brother. He was e ...
. Both the church and the small brick walls surrounding it are Grade II-listed.
It is a brown-brick building in a late and "simple" interpretation of the Gothic Revival style. The tower and an extra bay to the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
were added in 1925–27,
and the church hall was opened by
George Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon
George Clement Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon, PC (15 May 1871 – 24 November 1940) was a British Conservative politician who served in a number of ministerial positions in the inter-war years.
George Clement Tryon was son of Vice-Admiral Sir George ...
on 15 July 1936. The church was funded as a memorial to former Vicar of Preston Rev. Gerald Moor.
The Al-Quds Mosque () was founded in the 1970s when a group of Muslims who were visiting the area donated money to fund an Islamic centre and mosque. The community bought a converted house which had been used as a nursery school.
Two other Grade II-listed buildings are located further south on Dyke Road. The
Booth Museum of Natural History
Booth Museum of Natural History is a charitable trust managed, municipally-owned museum of natural history in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. Its focus is on Victorian taxidermy, especially of British birds, as well ...
was built in 1874 to house the extensive collection of British birds, insects and other specimens collected by naturalist Edward Booth. It originally stood in the grounds of his home, Bleak House, and became a museum in 1890. Many more collections have been added to the stock of over half a million specimens, and in 1998 the museum was designated as a "collection of national importance".
Architecturally, the long, low, shed-like building has an
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
/
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
exterior with
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
brickwork. Set into a full-width brick porch are two arched doorways with
voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
s.
(Bleak House itself was demolished 1939; flats called Elm Court and Fairways occupy the site.)
At the junction of Port Hall Road and Dyke Road is Port Hall, a double-fronted house dating from the early 19th century. Prominent four-centred arches surround the doorway and the windows, and above the first floor runs a
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
with battlements and a frieze. The name is set into a panel on the parapet.
Prestonville has two educational buildings of architectural interest. The Grade II-listed Stanford Road School, a primary school which was built in 1893 as one of "a distinguished
group of board schools"
designed by
Thomas Simpson
Thomas Simpson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (20 August 1710 – 14 May 1761) was a British mathematician and inventor known for the :wikt:eponym, eponymous Simpson's rule to approximate definite integrals. The attribution, as often in mathe ...
and his son
Gilbert Murray Simpson
Gilbert Murray Simpson (1869–1954) was a British architect from Brighton who did most of his work in the seaside resort. In 1890 Simpson joined his father Thomas, architect to the Brighton and Preston School Board and the Hove School Board, a ...
for the Brighton and Preston School Board. The exterior is lavish, featuring brown and red brick, stone, tile and render, elaborate arched windows, many gables, a clock tower and a wooden
bell-cot
A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
; and the interior "retains its original plan and detailed features".
At the corner of Old Shoreham Road and Dyke Road is the
Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College
Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College, usually abbreviated to BHASVIC (pronounced "Baz-vic"), is a sixth form college in Brighton and Hove, England for 16- to 19-year-old students. The college is in the Prestonville area of the city. It is ...
(BHASVIC), which is on Brighton and Hove City Council's register of
locally listed buildings. The "splendid"
former grammar school was designed by London architect S.B. Russell in 1913, extended in 1934–35 by
John Leopold Denman
John Leopold Denman (15 November 1882 – 5 June 1975) was an architect from the English seaside resort of Brighton, now part of the city of Brighton and Hove. He had a prolific career in the area during the 20th century, both on his own and ...
, and made
DDA-compliant in 2005 with some "adroitly, boldly handled" access ramps designed by Nick Evans Architects. It is a
Neo-Georgian/
Queen Anne-style complex with extensive red brickwork and wings joined to a central section by a series of staircases lit by round windows), and occupies a prominent corner site. It retains its original iron gates with the emblems of Hove and Brighton Boroughs and East and West Sussex.
The Quebec Army Reserve Centre at 198 Dyke Road is home to the B (Royal Sussex) Company of the
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Qu ...
.
There is also an
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...
hut on the premises at which the Brighton detachment of the Army Cadet Force meets.
The Quebec Army Reserve Centre was built during World War II as an army
drill hall
A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practise and perform military drills.
Description
In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, ...
; after the war the
Territorial Army moved out of their smaller accommodation in central Brighton and it became their headquarters.
Transport
Prestonville has convenient access to rail services.
Brighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the southern terminus of the Brighton Main Line in England, and the principal station serving the city of Brighton, East Sussex. It is from via .
The station is managed by Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates ...
is near the southeast corner of the area. Its dramatically curving train shed can be seen from some of the nearby terraced streets. At the northeast corner of the area is
Preston Park railway station
Preston Park railway station is on the Brighton Main Line in England, serving Preston Village and the northern suburban areas of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is down the line from via and is situated between and .
The sta ...
, the first station outside Brighton on the
main line to London. There is a rear entrance to the station at the junction of Woodside Avenue and Tivoli Crescent North.
The railway line runs at a much lower level below the ridge and forms the eastern boundary of the Prestonville area.
Bus routes operated by the
Brighton & Hove Bus Company operate along Dyke Road. Route 27 runs between
Westdene
Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is an affluent northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 road, A23 (London Road) and the Brighton Main Line, London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean ...
and
Saltdean
Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately east of central Brighton, west of Newhaven, and south of Lewes. It is ...
via Brighton station,
Old Steine
The Old Steine () is a thoroughfare in central Brighton, East Sussex, and is the southern terminus of the A23. The southern end leads to Marine Parade, the Brighton seafront and the Palace Pier. The Old Steine is also the site of a number of Ci ...
and
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards.
Name
The name Rottingde ...
.
Some services on routes 14 and 14C run along Dyke Road on their journeys between
Hangleton
Hangleton is a residential suburb of Hove, part of the English city and coastal resort of Brighton and Hove. The area was developed in the 1930s after it was incorporated into the borough of Hove, but has ancient origins: its parish church was ...
and
Peacehaven
Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles () east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road. Its site coincides with the ...
.
The weekend-only route 77 service between
Brighton Pier
The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old Steine. Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be constr ...
and Devil's Dyke runs approximately every 45 minutes along the whole length of Dyke Road.
Bus journeys to the centre of Brighton take around 10 minutes.
Car ownership in Prestonville is lower than the city average,
and the proportion of people who walk to work is 22%.
Dyke Road is often congested at peak times, and the section of Old Shoreham Road running through the New England railway bridge is another pinch point. Links to the east across the railway line are poor: other than the bridge at the south end of the area, there is the Dyke Road Drive overbridge near the centre and a narrow tunnel towards the north.
When Brighton and Hove City Council introduced the first phase of the city's 20 mph zones in April 2013, the southern part of Prestonville as far north as Highcroft Villas was included and therefore became subject to this speed limit. The rest of Prestonville, except Dyke Road, is to be included in Phase 2.
People associated with Prestonville
Inventor
Magnus Volk
Magnus Volk FII (1851–1937) was a British inventor and pioneering electrical engineer.
He is most notable for having built Volk's Electric Railway, the world's oldest operating electric railway.
Career
Aside from the Volk's Electric Railwa ...
lived at 128 Dyke Road towards the end of his life.
Sculptor and artist
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
was born at 32 Hamilton Road in 1882 and spent his childhood nearby at 53 Highcroft Villas.
Theatre manager
Charles B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...
was born at 15 Prestonville Road in 1872.
Gallery
File:Housing on East Side of Exeter Street, Prestonville, Brighton (August 2013).JPG, Terraced housing on Exeter Street
File:Housing on South Side of Old Shoreham Road, Prestonville, Brighton (December 2013).JPG, Villas on Old Shoreham Road (south side)
File:Housing at Dyke Road–The Drove junction, Prestonville, Brighton (October 2010).JPG, Edwardian houses at Dyke Road–The Drove junction
File:Housing in Prestonville, Brighton (December 2013, seen from Howard Place).JPG, The southern part of Prestonville
File:Housing on Millers Road, Prestonville, Brighton (December 2013, seen from Dyke Road Drive).JPG, Millers Road, backing on to the railway
See also
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List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove
The city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England, has more than 100 extant churches and other places of worship, which serve a variety of Christian denominations and other religions. More than 50 former religious buildings, althou ...
*
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{Brighton and Hove
Areas of Brighton and Hove