2-10 Bristol Gardens: 1962
2 to 10, Bristol Gardens, on the south side, from the corner of Church Place, October 7 1962. These buildings were originally stables and coachmen’s’ quarters for the large mansions in Sussex Square. They were demolished in 1964.
Do you remember these old buildings? If you do, please post a comment below.
2-10 Bristol Gardens: 2014
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I wonder if these old buildings, shown in the first photo above, are the ‘Sussex Square Stables’ which I refer to in my enquiry on the MyB&H message board dated 20th February this year? If so, in the 1861 census one John Perman, a coachman, lived above one of them with his family. He appears to have been related to my wife’s Perman family and we wondered who he was coachman for? There seem to have been several likely candidates but unfortunately I didn’t get any responses to my enquiry then. (NB: There were also stables for some of the Sussex Square houses in Arundel Place and Eastern Place which were used as motor trade premises in the ’50s.) He later lived in Tunbridge Wells and it appears that some of his descendants went to the USA, but I haven’t explored that line of the family further as yet.
When I lived in Sussex Square and Church Place (Bristol Garage) during the 1940s and ’50s the far buildings were occupied by Steve’s Garage. He appeared to specialise in Lancias and you can just make out the sign over the door which reads ‘Cars for sale’. Prior to this the East Brighton Riding Stables operated from there. I have a circa 1954 photo taken by my mother showing these buildings from Church Place, and ‘East Brighton Riding Stables’ is written on the wall facing Church Place. My photo also shows the old convent building which was on the opposite corner of Bristol Gardens, later in the 50s demolished to make way for their chapel. My father once told me that one of the lower windows in that building had a puppet theatre in it just after the first War. Sometime I will do a decent print to post on the site.
Hi Tim, some years ago I undertook some research into the Bristol Gardens Nursery and so far as I can recall, all of the land to the north of the roadway (later named Bristol Gardens) at the rear of Sussex Square was owned by and part of the nursery. The map of 1845 shows nothing on the land before then. I believe each house in the square had buildings at the ends of their gardens which were used for stables / coach houses / servant’s accommodation and thus the houses on the south side of Bristol Gardens. A plan of the nursery in 1856 shows there were two small stables located centrally on the northern side and another on the eastern corner, although these were still distinctly part of the nursery. However it is possible that they may have been leased to the residents of Sussex Square.
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