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Where was this Hollingbury bus photographed?

This photograph was taken sometime around 1968 – it is a digital copy of a colour slide of a Brighton & Hove Bristol K double-decker Hollingbury bus, taken in one of the streets in Brighton.

Can you tell me where the photographer stood to take the shot?

If you can help, please leave a comment below.

Hollingbury bus
From the private collection of Arthur Staal

Comments about this page

  • Lovley photo, I think the photographer stood in front of the Royal Pavilion, and the white building to the left is in Pavilion Parade, and it’s looking south towards the Palace (not Brighton) Pier.

    By Peter Groves (10/04/2012)
  • At the traffic lights at the junction with Edward Street, with the Royal Pavilion to your right as you look at the picture.

    By Ken Ross (10/04/2012)
  • The bus is travelling towards St Peter’s just going past the Royal Pavilion on the main road from the seafront.

    By Kathleen Catt (nee Cornford) (10/04/2012)
  • Looks like northbound opposite the Pavilion at the lights at the bottom of Edward Strteet, to me.

    By Ken Valder (10/04/2012)
  • It looks to me like The Old Steine is in the background and The War Memorial is on the right side of the photo?

    By Anne Newman (10/04/2012)
  • This seems to be at the north end of Grand Parade at the crossing near the bottom of Edward St.The building to the left is now a part of the University of Brighton and the home of QueenSpark Books.

    By Geoffrey Mead (10/04/2012)
  • This seems to be at the north end of Grand Parade at the crossing near the bottom of Edward St. The building to the left is now a part of the University of Brighton and the home of QueenSpark Books.

    By Geoffrey Mead (10/04/2012)
  • The bus is outside the Pavilion travelling north.

    By Carol Homewood (10/04/2012)
  • This is the bottom of Edward Street, with the Royal Pavilion to the right of the picture.

    By Jan Jenkins (10/04/2012)
  • The photographer is standing at the T junction of Edward Street and Pavilion Parade; it does quote 1970 in the left hand corner.

    By Michael Brittain (10/04/2012)
  • Well I think it’s just before the Old Steine, it was a long time ago. I have lived in Canada for 30 years so the memory is a bit faded.

    By Robert.Dawson (10/04/2012)
  • Coming from Old Steine with the Royal Pavilion on the right as you look at the photo.

    By Jennifer Tonks (10/04/2012)
  • I’d say that the bus is waiting at the traffic lights at the bottom of Edward Street. The bus is facing north with the Pavilion to its left.

    By David Scott (10/04/2012)
  • I would put the date of the photo a little later than ’68 – I would have said early very 70s given the new bus behind which I remember coming into service, I think, the year I started at Varndean – 1970. The location is almost certainly near the Pavilion as that looks like the Old Steine in the background.

    By Geoff (10/04/2012)
  • Great! Another challenge for the greying cogs. This 46b is a route I will have taken many a time from town as once it reached the terminus in Hollingbury it then became the 26b. After a short break it would then journey on up the Carden Hill, (where I would get off), and down Ditchling Road back to the Open Market and finally the Old Steine from whence it started off. Our usual route would be the 26b but if there was a good enough reason to hop on board the 46b it was sometimes just as quick even though it included the wait at the terminus. I am curious to the small print in the bottom left corner of the picture; 1970 Amsterdam RAIL. I am also curious as to the position of the bus. That needs a bit more study and thought. Thank you for the photo. Charming to see again the driver in his private cabin and the fond memories jogged of the conductors calling, ‘Hold very tight please.’ And then the ‘ding ding’ of the bell informing the driver we are ready for off. Looking forward to other comments on the where-abouts. 

    By Sandra Bohtlingk (nee Baldwin) (10/04/2012)
  • This was taken at the bottom of Edward Street.

    By Julie Annets (10/04/2012)
  • This could be the Level. It looks like the ‘Palace Pier’ entrance is across the road behind the buses.

    By D Ruff (10/04/2012)
  • I would hazard a guess at it being the Old Steine looking back down towards the Pier ?

    By Lorraine Luke (10/04/2012)
  • This photo was taken by someone standing by the Royal Pavilion opposite Eden’s Sauna. The pale blue building is on the corner of Pavilion Street. If you were to go a bit more around the corner you would find the Marlborough pub and the old registery office. Hope this helps

    By Andy Mountford (10/04/2012)
  • This looks like the bottom of Edward Street, the Pavilion side looking towards the seafront.

    By Marina (11/04/2012)
  • It looks like the St James’ Street side of Old Steine.

    By Martin White (11/04/2012)
  • The bus is stopped at the lights out side the Royal Pavilion at the bottom of Eastern Avenue just north of the Old Steine. 

    By KW Barrington (11/04/2012)
  • This photo was taken by the traffic lights at the bottom of Edward Street, opposite the Royal Pavilion. The bus was traveling from Old Steine.

    By John Leach (11/04/2012)
  • To me it looks like it is passing the Royal Pavilion.

    By Lisa Ingham (nee Elliott) (11/04/2012)
  • It looks like it was taken opposite the bottom of Edward Street facing towards the seafront. The building on the left is now part of Brighton University. I was about 11 when this was taken and remember these buses very well, they were fabulous.

    By Paul Clarkson (11/04/2012)
  • The buildings on the left are in Pavilion Parade, which faces the Royal Pavilion (out of photo to the right). The bus has just left the Old Steine bus stop northbound, and is waiting at the traffic lights at the t-junction with Edward Street, where the photographer is standing. Its next stop will be in Marlborough Place, just north of Church Street and the Pavilion grounds.

    By Alan Hobden (11/04/2012)
  • What a great picture. The bus is heading north with Old Steine in the background and the Pavilion to the right (just out of shot), and is waiting at the traffic lights at the junction with Edward Street. The Daimler behind on route 54 is one of a batch delivered between December 1969 and March 1970, and MPM 493 was sold in August 1971, so the shot was most likely taken in the summer months of 1970 or 1971, judging from the leaves on the trees.

    By John Wilkin (12/04/2012)
  • It looks like it could be in Pavilion Parade, facing north, at the junction with Edward Street, with the Old Steine in the background.

    By Geoff Collins (12/04/2012)
  • Grand Parade, travelling north, opposite the Royal Pavilion.

    By Dan O'Shaughnessy (12/04/2012)
  • The bus MPM 493 I believe went into service in about 1958 on to number 1 and 3 routes. It was part of a batch of 7’6″ buses that were got for St James street, as the council would only allow these size buses up/down that street, Shortly after they went into service the council changed their minds and allowed wider buses up/down that street. I also believe that they where the last KS buses built, Lodekkas coming into service in 1959. The picture looks like it was taken, as said by many above, by the Pavillion near Edward street

    By John Todd (18/04/2012)
  • Great picture! Location has already been confirmed. Date is surely 1970 given the inscription (though why Amsterdam Rail?), the following Daimler which was not in service when I conducted on BH&S in 1968 and the Hillman Hunter (I think) next to the bus which has a 1969 registration. Lots more transport pictures, please.

    By Len Liechti (29/04/2012)
  • The car beside the bus is a Mk. 2 Ford Cortina.

    By Mick Peirson (30/04/2012)
  • It’s going along Grand Parade with Pavilion Parade on the left. I used to work in the blue building when it was Bosley & Co solicitors in 1969.

    By Jill Aberdeen (16/06/2013)
  • 1970, as it says on the photo. How has no one noticed this?

    By sg (25/09/2013)
  • See earlier comments above, referring to the year shown on the photo.

    By Alan Hobden (07/11/2013)
  • Definitely the Old Steine at the junction of Edward Street with the Palace Pier entrance in the distance. IF that’s a G registration on the Cortina that would be new in 1970!

    By Joe Stoner (14/06/2020)
  • The southern end of the Pavilion Parade terrace, shown to the left of the ‘bus awoke some very distant memories. My first job on leaving school was as “dogsbody” in an accountants office at number 5 or 7 – can’t remember exactly – Pavilion Parade. That section of the terrace is not quite in shot in the picture. At that time, in summer 1952, it was occupied by a firm called Graves, Goddard and Horton-Stephens. I spent eighteen months doing nothing particularly challenging until I was “rescued” by the need to do my National Service in the Air Force. The two years that followed certainly set me on really worthwhile career path.

    By David Robertson (15/06/2020)
  • I followed you to Graves Goddard & Horton-Stephens in 1961 for two years adding up columns of figures in client’s cash books. I am still very fast at adding columns and there is not much call now for £ s d.
    You are absolutely correct about the bus location.
    I used to go to The Royal Pavilion Hotel every Saturday morning to meet a crowd of friends and find out what to do on Saturday evening.
    I also saw The Beatles at The Hippodrome!!

    By Richard Poore (19/08/2020)

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