Childhood pastimes
When the Marina was first built, people had to pay to get in, but residents had a pass to get through the turnstiles. Before the Marina was built, I used to spend a lot of time playing in the rock pools at Black Rock, under my parents’ supervision. A lot of my spare time as a child was spent either on Whitehawk football pitches, where we used to climb onto the roof of the white-house, and the brick building by Whitehawk Road, East Brighton Park and Black Rock swimming pool.
Can you share any Whitehawk memories? Please leave a comment below
Bombs on the golf course?
Wilson’s laundry was on Arundel Road and there was St Mark’s School. I was told as a youngster that several bombs fell in the Whitehawk area during WW2, and that some of the bunkers on the golf course were made by bombs. My first job after leaving school was in a factory called W.S. Perkins Ltd . Around 1980, my parents moved to Chailey Road in Moulsecoomb, then in the mid 1980s they moved back to Whitehawk. By this time the estate had been rebuilt and my family lived in Alfriston Close, very near to what had been Nuthurst Road, where I’d spent my earlier years.
A special place in my heart
At this time, I was living in at work, which was then St Dunstan’s in Kemp Town. In 1987 my Mum died from cancer, and a few years later my Dad moved to Sutherland Road because the family had spread their wings by this time. I haven’t lived in Whitehawk since the late 1980s, but it still holds a special place in my heart. I am now 55 years old, and I still get annoyed when I hear people criticising the estate. If the opportunity arose I’d quite happily live there again.
Comments about this page
I have been dipping in and out of this wonderful site for quite a while. I too have fond memories of St Mark’s, I was a pupil there until 1963 after which I went to Brighton Secondary Technical school in Hanover Terrace, sadly both of these schools are no longer, along with a large number of other places I remember from my younger days. I can still remember the ‘smell’ of St Marks, teachers like Mr Green, Miss Maywhinney and Miss Knight (fearsome!) who, although I didn’t realise it at the time, left me well prepared for later life. At this time we lived in Rifle Butt Road (also gone now!) and spent long summer days at Black Rock or East Brighton Park, I guess we all remember things as being better then but following a recent visit to Arundel Road I was saddened to see how it is today. I think we were privileged to grow up at a time when things were more ‘innocent’, people seemed to have more respect then but then is that a product of age?, I am not completely sure.
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