Located to the west of Brighton, the first known settlement in Hove was from around the 12th Century. The area started out as a small fishing village surrounded by farmland.
Hove expanded from a single road (Hove Street). The village only had 101 residents living along the road in 1801, compared to over 7,000 residents in nearby Brighton.
With Hove being more isolated than its neighbour, Brighton, the village became known for its smugglers and illegal activity. Contraband was stored in buildings and there was even a pitched battle in 1818 between the smugglers and government agents, before a coastguard station was opened in 1831.
With the growth of Brighton, a knock-on effect was felt in Hove with several large Regency villas being built throughout the 19th Century. However, Hove was still associated with being poor and rundown, so the new estates tried to distance themselves from the area, choosing names like the Brunswick and West Brighton.
Brunswick was built first, in 1820s, before Cliftonville was designed and developed under Frederick Banister from the late 1840s; and West Brighton Estate was created in the 1870s and 1880s.
One of these properties, 8 Kings Gardens, belonged to the Sassoons, an influential family who were close friends and confidants of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. King Edward VII visited and stayed with the Sassoons in 8 Kings Gardens many times during his lifetime, both as a Prince and visiting later to lunch with them while he was King.
By the 1850s, Hove’s population had already grown to around 4,000. By the end of the Victorian era, Hove was a fully developed town with borough status.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries several neighbouring parishes, including Aldrington and Hangleton, were separated from Hove. The neighbouring district of Portslade was later merged with Hove in 1974.
More recently, in 1997, the borough merged with Brighton to form the Borough of Brighton and Hove, and it was then granted city status in 2000.
St Andrew’s Church
Dating back to the 12th century, St Andrew’s Church was reconstructed and enlarged to its present form between 1834 and 1836. With the size of Hove increasing, the previous Church was not believed to be large enough to cater for the growing local population.
The architect George Basevi was asked to work on the design and London-based building firm Butler & Green carried out the construction. The new building was reopened on 18th July 1836 with a seated capacity of 430. An additional 200 seat extension was added at the West end in 1839.
Today St Andrew’s Church is a Grade II* listed building.
Hangleton Manor
Hangleton Manor is believed to have been built around 1540 for Richard Bellingham. As part of the build, two 12th Century carved stones were used at the front of the house after the Priory of St Pancras in Lewes was demolished as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The 16th Century building started off as a fairly simple construction. However, over the years the building has been altered several times, including the insertion of new windows and blocking up some of the older windows, in the second phase of alterations believed to have been done by Richard Bellingham’s grandson.
In 1597, the manor was sold to Thomas Sackville who was Lord High Treasurer of England. The Sackville family owned the manor for 370 years. The family tenanted out the property and most of this time it was used as a working farm.
However, in 1930 the manor separated from its agricultural past. Although the land was still worked by tenants, the manor itself underwent various changes in its role, including being a private residence, a hotel, a country club and a restaurant.
During the Second World War, the military occupied the manor and the building started to decline. It became a Grade II listed building in 1956 before becoming derelict in the 1960s. It was vandalised and by 1967 the building was in a very bad condition.
After changing hands a few times, Hangleton Manor Ltd became the official owner and the manor was renovated before opening as a licenced club.
Since then, the manor has changed hands again multiple times and had over £350k spent on renovation work. Today the Manor is a pub-restaurant.
Timber windows in Hove (BN3)
Unlike the streets of Brighton, Hove and nearby Aldrington predominately have a grid-like pattern, with parallel avenues and streets intersecting at right angles. However, there are exceptions to this. Adelaide Crescent was modelled on the Royal Crescent in Bath and, as its name suggests, the road forms a crescent shape.
One of the key people responsible for the layout and development of Hove was Sir Isaac Goldsmid. Palmeira Square was named after Sir Isaac Goldsmid, after he was awarded the title of Baron de Goldsmid and de Palmeira by the Portuguese government.
Today many of the grand Regency and Victorian mansions have been converted to flats, but their traditional beauty remains. There are multiple Conservation Areas across Hove helping to preserve the character of the area, including the Brunswick Town Conservation Area, Old Hove Conservation Area and Hove Station Conservation Area. Hove is also home to around 600 listed buildings.
As a result, timber windows can be seen on buildings across Hove, with several properties having traditional bay sash windows and box sash windows.
One of the exceptions to the general Regency and Victorian style of Hove is Arundel House located on The Drive. Arundel House was built 1898 and is designed in the Free Jacobean style.
The Sash Window Workshop have extensive experience working in Conservation Areas. We specialise in the replacement and draught proofing of timber windows in period properties and understand the importance of preserving the character of the property, while making windows and doors more energy efficient.
For a free, no obligation quotation to upgrade your windows or doors, contact us on 01344 868 668.
First side image: © Josh Tilley (Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Second side image: © The Voice of Hassocks (Own work, Public Domain, Link)
Third side image: © Malcolm Jacks (CC BY-SA 2.0)
