Brunswick Town is an area in
Hove
Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
, in the city of
Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. 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 c ...
of the Brunswick estate.
History
Originally, the area had been part of Wick Farm. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, nearby
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
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. It consists of Arundel Terrace, Lewes Crescent, Sussex Square, Chichester Terrace, and th ...
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 ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
, 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
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and played a prominent role in passing the Reform Act 1832 and Slavery A ...
*
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 English ...
, composer
*
John Horace Round, historian
*
Robin Maugham, writer
*
Robert Bevan, artist
*
Philip Salomons, 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 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
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 rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivise ...
, 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 Andrei Czolak of
Labour and Ollie Sykes of the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
. Sykes previously represented the ward for eight years until he stepped down in 2019. In July 2024 he replaced Labour councillor Jilly Stevens, who stepped down due to ill health.
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 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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
. 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 St. Andrew's Church, Church of St Andrew, or variants thereof, may refer to:
Albania
* St. Andrew's Church, Himarë
Australia Australian Capital Territory
* St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Canberra, founded by John Walker (Presbyterian minis ...
.
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