Memories of a now demolished pub

Memory 1:
Does anyone remember the pub called The Dog Tray in Edward Street? Before it was demolished, (probably in the early 1980s) we had a wander around the back onto the waste land behind and came across a strange little gazebo filled with plaster images of poodles. We thought we had stumbled on some strange “Poodle Cult” but I think we found out it was something to do with the art college. I’ve still got one of the little plaster poodles with a label round its neck which I found there on the ground!

By Jan Hill
Submitted to website on 14-12-2002

Memory 2:
I remember “The Dog Tray” (Tray was the name of the dog, not a dog-tray!) which must have been built no earlier than the 1930’s beside the Edward Street entrance of the Southdown bus garage, though Inever went inside (the pub, not the bus garage). The exit from the bus garage on to Grand Parade was only just wide enough for an 8′ wide vehicle, which usually had to exit fairly smartly with accompanying plume of exhaust smoke! When the bus garage was demolished, old flint-fronted buildings were exposed, set well back from Edward Street; they might have been an old forge or former farm buildings.

By Martin Nimmo
Submitted to website on 14-12-2002

Memory 3:
The Dog Tray was built after the widening of the west end of Edward St in the mid 1930’s. If I recall, it was built in 1936/7. One of the many Brighton ‘picture books’ has a view of the street, with the pub just in the pic on the left hand side looking east up the street.

In a past life as a minion management person at Sainsburys, I used to have to attend the Law Courts when we had (frequent) shop lifters up before the bench. I used to spent happy sessions in the ‘Dog’. Then I think it was early seventies Watney’s decor….all Red Barrel motifs and plastic everything – not CAMRA by a long chalk!

By Geoff Mead
Submitted to website on 17-12-2002

Comments about this page

  • I have read with interest about the Dog Tray pub. but can you please tell me if this site had a pub before this called the Rising Sun because my Great Grandfather John Godley was the owner of this pub.

    By Pam Patchen (26/12/2004)
  • We are currently doing our family tree and foung George Back – pub owner during the 1891 census at 9-10 Edwards Street, and beer and fish seller in 1901 at the same address. The name of the place is Dog Tray, so it was already there in the late 1800! If anybody knows anything about the pub or the owners please don’t hesitate to contact us.

    By Dan Back (23/09/2005)
  • In 1861 the beerhouse at 10 Edward Street was called The Poor Dog Tray – (landlord Aaron Godley, age 67). The Rising Sun (landlord Frederick Clifford) was next door at no 11. Other pubs in that stretch of the north side of Edward Street were William IV, Plasterer’s Arms, The Three Kings, The Painter’s Arms, London Unity and the Globe Inn. All before reaching number 40.

    By David Fisher (08/08/2006)
  • Does anybody know anything about a pub in George Street in the 1880s called the George and Dragon? I believe my ancestors Thomas and Charlotte Pannett may have run it.

    The best place to make an enquiry like this is on the Notes and Queries Board which you will find HERE.  Comments Editor

    By Janine Pannett (25/09/2006)
  • I am not sure if I am allowed to say this (and no disrespect to any former regular, landlord or owner) but when I worked as a very temporary summer filing clerk at the DHSS just up Edward Street in the early 1970s, I was warned by the permanent staff not to go in the Dog Tray pub due to the thriving trade in illegally cashing DHSS giro cheques that went on there!  I was also put in charge of reorganising the DHSS filing cabinets and the height of my achievement was to manage to label one so that it began with JAM and ended with JELI, but that’s another story.

    By Adrian Baron (01/02/2007)
  • My dad was born in the Rising Sun pub, in 1926!

    By L. Smith (25/04/2007)
  • My ancestors, Charles and Jane Romaine, ran The Rising Sun public house in Brighton. Does anyone have any information or photos, as it is no longer standing.

    By Miss N Vincent (20/07/2007)
  • My parents ran the Dog Tray Inn from 1948/9 to 1959, after moving from The Sussex Arms in Gardner Street where I was born in 1947. My younger brother as born there in 1949 and we have a photo of him outside in his pram. It had a roof terrace and we used to play up there.

    By Anita (10/08/2008)
  • Does anyone remember the Harp Pub in Brighton? Apparently my great grandfather owned it along with three others in the town.  Sadly it no longer stands.  Any information would be useful.  Many thanks.

    By Tony Lintott (12/08/2008)
  • Can anyone tell me if there was a pub at 38-39 Edward Street?

    By David Meadows (06/05/2009)
  • Yes, it was “The Globe” run by Benjamin Funnell. From census info, he took over between 1861 and 1871 and ran it until his death in 1878. His wife, Mary (née Stace), continued until after 1881. It was also a boarding house.

    By Andy Funnell (13/07/2009)
  • The Globe! Thank you Andy Funnell. I have now also found this on L. Burton’s birth certificate; it appears he was born 1856 there. londonpublichouse.com shows his father, also Leonard Burton, in 1854 as landlord and Benjamin Funnell in 1878. The inn was built around 1832

    By David Meadows (27/08/2009)
  • There was a Harp Tavern at 18 Gardner Street. It is shown as a ‘beer Retailer’ in the 1954 issue of Kelly’s Directory. The 1962 edition shows no mention.

    By Peter Coppard (25/11/2009)
  • 157, Edward Street was the Little Globe; we lived there from 1940 to 1945 and also had a house at 27 (now numbered 28 due to changes) High Street and had sailors billeted on us during the war, who were to become telegraphists. Does anyone remember the sweet shop newsagents across the road run by Mr Stringer and his sister? It was next door to Carringtons the Bakers. When we came up from the Pavilion which was the air raid shelter in the wine cellars. I used to play with the Bakers son, we used to drop old scale weights into the flower tubs like bombs and then dig them out – he later became a world class ice skater.

    By Ken Ross (25/08/2013)
  • Ken, I certainly remember Mr Stringer the newsagent. I got the very first copy of the Eagle comic from his shop. My Dad had Welfares Greengrocers in the same block of shops. It was on the corner of Blaker St. I lived in 15 White St.

    By David Wickham (25/08/2013)
  • I remember Stringers and I remember the day it closed in 1962. The Stringers were sat in the doorway looking very lost. There was always a musty smell in there. The Sunday treat was a bottle of Hooper Struves. I lived at 4 White Street. The Godleys lived at No.15, then on two floors and there was a nun from the church on the top floor.

    By Dave Borley (26/08/2013)
  • Attn. Dan Back, My great-grandmother was Susanah Back. She lived at the Dog Tray when she was 6 as Susie. Have you done any genealogy on your family? I am working on ours. Contact me if you can. Sincerely, Janet Maybee (née Cook).

    By Janet Maybee (31/03/2019)
  • My mum was born in the Dog Tray in the 1930’s her grandparents were the landlords. There were stables close by where her grandfather kept dray horses.

    By Tina Fleming (28/01/2020)
  • Hi would anyone be able to help me?
    My grandparents ran the dog tray, I don’t have any dates, but my dad, their son and he also had a brother but I can’t remember his name but just trying to piece my ancestry together, I’m assuming it would be around the sixties , and my dads name was Anthony, the second names could be , Smith/ Garard or cross , long shot I know but would love to hear from some one that knows.
    .
    Lee.

    By Lee Bailey (15/07/2020)
  • I have looked through Kelly’s street directories for 1960/64/70 and although The Dog Tray is listed there are no occupants names.

    By Dr Geoffrey Mead (16/07/2020)
  • Ah thank you for your reply.

    By Lee Bailey (18/07/2020)
  • I knew a girl called Ilene Bat, her parents ran the Dog Tray back in the 70s.

    By neville Chambers (02/02/2022)
  • My Grandfather John Edward Henry Smith was born in the pub the Dog Tray formally known as the Rising Sun – around 1900 to 1910 – his mother ran the pub and his father was a carriage man.

    By Peter Patchen (07/01/2023)

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