CHAPTER XXV.
BRIGHTON FROM ITS SIMPLICITY TO ITS PRESENT RENOWN.
The primitive state of Brighthelmston, both as respects the condition and habits of the inhabitants and the position and style of the habitations, must to a considerable extent be left to conjecture, as there is no doubt the great changes which have taken place in and about the town to give it the importance which it at present possesses as England's "Queen of Watering Places," have all been effected within the last 150 years.
An engraving in "The Antiquities of England and Wales," published in 1775, {218} showing the ruins of the Blockhouse at that period, gives a representation of the houses on the Cliff at the spot whereon now stand the Old Ship Hotel and the premises adjacent. The south end of Black-lion Street is very conspicuous, the corner houses consisting only of dwellings one story in height, of a cottage or hovel-like appearance, very singular in architectural design when compared with the present noble block of buildings of Messrs. Hedges and Butler, the wine merchants, on the east side.
The author of a "Tour through Great Britain," date, 1724, says:--"Bright Helmston, commonly called Bredhemston, is a poor fishing town, old built, and on the very edge of the sea. The fishermen have large barks, in which they go away to Yarmouth, on the coast of Norfolk, to the fishing fair there, and hire themselves for the season to catch herrings for the merchants; and they tell us that these make a very good business of it. The sea is very unkind to this town, and has, by its continued encroachments, so gained upon it that in a little time more they might reasonably expect it would eat up the whole town, above one hundred houses having been devoured by the water in a few years past; and they are now obliged to get a brief granted them to beg money all over England, to raise banks against the water; the expense of which, the brief expressly says, will be eight thousand pounds; which, if one were to look on the town, would seem to be more than all the houses in it are worth."
The Rev. William Clarke, Rector of Buxted, and grandfather of the celebrated traveller, thus writes to his friend:--
Brighthelmston, July 22, 1736.
Dear Bowyer,
We are now sunning ourselves upon the beach at Brighthelmston, and observing what a tempting figure this Island made formerly in the eyes of those gentlemen who were pleased to civilize and subdue it. Such a tract of sea; such regions of corn; and such an extent of fine carpet, that gives your eye the command of it all. But then the mischief is, that we have little conversation besides the _clamor nauticus_, which is here a sort of treble to the plashing of the waves against the cliffs. My morning business is bathing in the sea, and then buying fish; the evening is riding out for air, viewing the remains of old Saxon camps, and counting the ships in the road, and the boats that are trawling. Sometimes we give the imagination leave to expatiate a little;--fancy that you are coming down, and that we intend next week to dine one day in Dieppe, in Normandy; the price is already fixed, and the wine and lodgings there tolerably good. But though we build these castles in the air, I assure you that we live here _almost underground_. I fancy the architects here usually take the altitude of the inhabitants, and lose not an inch between the head and the ceiling, and then dropping a step or two below the surface, the second story is finished something under 12 feet. I suppose this was a necessary precaution against storms, that a man should not be blown out of his bed into New England, Barbary, or God knows where. But as the lodgings are _low_ they are cheap; we have _two parlours_, _two bed chambers_, _pantry_, _&c._, for 5s per week; and if you will really come down you need not fear a bed of the proper dimensions. And then the coast is safe; the cannons are all covered with rust and grass; the ships moored, and no enemy apprehended. Come and see.
Nec tela temeres Gallica, nec Pictum tremeres nec littore toto Prospiceres dubiis ventura Saxona ventis.
My wife does not forget her good wishes and compliments upon this occasion. How you would surprise all your friends in Fleet Street, to tell them you were just come from France, with a vivacity that everybody would believe to be just imported from thence!
In this year, 1736, the poor rates were eight pence in the pound on the rack rent, "which was then," says Dunvan, "an intolerable burthen." About this time visitors of distinction began annually, in Summer, as soon as the deep roads of Sussex became passable with any degree of convenience, to frequent the town; but lodging-houses had not then been put in requisition, the only accommodation being a few indifferent inns; and the principal diversions were hunting, occasional horse-racing, and water excursions.
About the year 1750 the medical use of sea-water in scrofulous and other glandular complaints, under the unwearied and successful attention of Dr. Richard Russell, who removed hither from his seat at Malling, near Lewes, established his fame and also that of the town all over the kingdom. He may in truth be considered the founder of Brighton's greatness; and it is much to be regretted that the inhabitants while appreciating the laudable services and good qualities of modern Royal and Noble patrons, and perpetuating individual virtues by works of art in marble and on canvass, have hitherto omitted to mark their gratitude to the memory of the learned Doctor, there being amongst the treasures of the town no memento whatever of him. His portrait, it is true, graces the Telemachus room of the Old Ship Hotel, but it might as well be stowed away in the ex-clock tower of the Pavilion, so rarely have the public an opportunity of seeing it. This hint perhaps may induce the possessor of the portrait to make a present of it to the Corporation, who have recently received several additions by gift to their choice collection of paintings.
The erection of lodging-houses soon became a profitable speculation in Brighton, and that late obscure fishing village began to increase in population and celebrity. The wonderful success of the industry and discernment of Dr. Russell appeared by several cases of cures which he cited in his work, "A Dissertation on the use of Sea-water;" and the most eminent members of the faculty in England bore willing testimony to the great acuteness and utility of his professional investigations. The benefits which the diseased have ever since received from sea-water are, therefore, in a great measure, to be imputed to the medical labours and sagacity of this good man, in grateful commemoration of whom the proprietors of a new street,--the first that was erected, composed principally of lodging-houses for the accommodation of invalid visitors,--named it after him, Russell Street, many of the original houses of which that still remain, though now occupied by a different class of persons than those for whom they were designed, show the improvement that had then taken place in house property. The Rev. Dr. Mannington, of Jevington, in the following epigram, simply, yet elegantly estimates the philanthropical abilities of Dr. Russell:--
Clara per omne vum Russelli fama manebit, Dum retinet vires unda marina suas.
Thus translated:--
Admiring ages Russell's fame shall know, Till ocean's healing waters cease to flow.
Dr. Russell's son, William--afterwards Mr. Sergeant Kempe, on assuming the name of his maternal grandfather,--however, who appeared to have been one of the wits of the town at that period, by the following lines, knew the limit of his father's skill:--
Brighthelmston was confess'd by all T' abound with females fair; But more so since fam'd Russell has Prefer'd the waters there.
Then fly that dang'rous town, ye swains, For fear ye shall endure A pain from some bright sparkling eye, Which Russell's skill can't cure.
Dr. Russell died in 1759, aged 72 years, and was interred in the family vault at South Malling, on the 25th of December. He was the son of Mr. Nathaniel Russell, a surgeon and apothecary of Lewes, and clandestinely married the only daughter of Mr. William Kempe, of South Malling. After his marriage he studied at the University of Leyden, and received instruction under the learned Boerhaave. His death took place in London. Dr. A. Relhan was his worthy successor, inasmuch as he fully developed the causes of the salubrity of Brighton, the invaluable efficacy of sea-bathing, and the medical virtues of the chalybeate spring, at the Wick, now the property of Sir Francis Goldsmid. In his "Treatise on the Salubrity of the Town and Neighbourhood," the Doctor writes:--
The town, (June, 1761,) at present consists of six principal streets, many lanes, and some spaces surrounded with houses, called by the inhabitants squares. {221} The great plenty of flint stones on the shore and in the neighbouring cornfields, enabled them to build the walls of their houses with that material, when in their most impoverished state. At present they ornament the windows and doors with the admirable brick which they burn for their own use. The town improves daily, as the inhabitants, encouraged by the late great resort of company, seem disposed to expend the whole of what they acquire, in erecting new buildings, or improving the old ones. Here are two public rooms, the one convenient, the other not only so, but elegant, (the Old Ship), not excelled perhaps by any in England, that of York excepted.
The _endemial_ or popular disorders of temperate people being the product of air and diet, the best proof of the healthfulness of the air of any place is deduced from the customary longevity of the inhabitants, and the rate of the Bills of Mortality. By the poor's rate of this parish, there are 400 families in Brighton, each of these may be supposed to contain five souls (the common calculation in England is six in a family), and consequently the number of inhabitants, exclusive of those supported in the work-house, who, at a medium, amounted to 35, may be estimated at 2,000.
In seven years, beginning with 1753, and 1752, the baptisms were 388, and the burials 227; so that the baptisms were annually to the deaths, nearly as five to three.
But as the dissenters are nearly a tenth of the whole, I may be allowed to add to the number of baptisms 35 for the seven years, which is five annually, and nearly a-tenth, and makes the whole of the baptisms 423 to 227 burials. By this the baptisms are annually to the deaths as 60 to 32, which is nearly two births to one death. In London there is annually a death in every 32 persons, which is nearly two to one in favour of Brighton.
With regard to the sea water at this place, it appears by experiments that in Summer (weather tolerably dry) there are in every pint of it at least five drachms and fifteen grains of defecated salt; about five of bittern, or a decomposed earth, attracting humidity from the air; and six grains of white calcarious earth. This proportion of clean contents, being nearly a twenty-third of the whole, is as great, or perhaps greater, than is to be found in the sea water of any other port in England, and must be owing to its peculiar distance from the rivers, it being further from such, I apprehend, than any other sea port in England.
Dr. Coe, writing in 1766, says:--"Brighton is a small ill-built town, situated on the sea-coast, at present greatly resorted to in the Summer season by persons labouring under various diseases, for the benefit of sea bathing, and drinking sea water; and by the gay and polite on account of the company which frequent it at this season. Until within a few years it was no better than a mere fishing town, inhabited by fishermen and sailors; but through the recommendation of Dr. Russell, and his writings in favour of sea water, it has become one of the principal places in the kingdom. It contains six principal streets, five of which are parallel with each other, and are terminated by the sea, namely, East Street, Black-lion Street, Ship Street, Middle Street, and West Street; and North Street runs along the other ends of the five, from the Assembly Rooms, kept by Mr. Shergold, almost to the Church."
The Rev. William Gilpin, {222} in his "Observations on the Coasts of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent," made in the summer of 1774, observes:--"Soon after, we reached Brighthelmstone, a disagreeable place. There is scarcely an object either in it or near it of nature or of art, that strikes the eye with any degree of beauty," and then in a somewhat contradictory manner, adds:--"One of the most picturesque sights we met with at Brighthelmstone, was the sailing of a fleet of mackarel-boats to take their evening station for fishing, which they commonly continue through the night. The sun was just setting when all appeared to be alive. Every boat began to weigh anchor and unmoor. It was amusing to see them under so many different forms. Some in a still calm with flagging sails, were obliged to assist their motion with oars; others were just getting into the breeze, which rippled the water around them, and began gently to swell their sails; while the fleet, the water, and the whole horizon, glowed with one rich harmonious tint from the setting sun."
Mrs. P. Hill, in her "Apology," {223}--now a very rare work,--in 1787, five years after the Prince of Wales first honoured the town with his presence, complains of the "doors opening direct into the sittings rooms," and of the "inconvenience of not being able to be 'out' to any visitor."
Bew writes, Sunday, August 30th, 1778:--"This town is built on spots, in patches, and for want of regularity does not appear to advantage: every man, as to building, seems to have done what appeared right in his own eyes. Here is no magistracy: if there is an affray, the parties must go as far as Lewes, which is much the prettier town, to have it settled. Upon recollection, this town may be quieter for having no trading justices resident on the spot. Am since informed, a gentleman in the commission of the peace attends here occasionally from Lewes.--There can be no antiquities; for Brighthelmston was only a small obscure village, occupied by fishermen, till silken Folly and bloated Disease, under the auspices of a Dr. Russell, deemed it necessary to crowd the shore, and fill the inhabitants with contempt for their visitors." In his "Diary," also, Tuesday, September 7th, 1779, he writes:--"Am viewing my worthy friend, Mr. Bull's house, or rather box, upon the Clift, between Ship Street and Black-lion Street.--He beckons me in, and shews it throughout. It is one pretty room to the height of three stories, with a semicircular window comprising most of the front, and on each floor overlooking the sea all ways, which makes the situation most delightful. The ground whereon it stands is copyhold--indeed the ground in and about Brighton is mostly so--measuring nearly eighteen feet square. The fine is both certain and small. About fifty years ago, this piece of land was sold for four pounds; thirty years since, a purchaser gave eleven; and about this time two years, the Alderman bought it for one hundred pounds to build upon." The premises here referred to are 35, King's road, those in the occupation of Mr. Ridley, boot and shoe maker. In the same Diary, date Monday, September 7th, 1778, he remarks: "Mr Alderman Bull, of London, is building a house on the Clift; a semicircular window is in each story. Am told he meets with many obstacles in the execution of his design.--Surely it is to the interest of these people (meaning the inhabitants) to have such men become resident among them; but he is denied a convenient entrance to his building. A cellar window to the adjoining house projects before his street door."
That Brighton at the present day possesses fine architectural features cannot be denied. The magnificent Squares and Crescents which flank its sea-frontage, and even form part of the frontage, possess strong claims on our admiration, especially when we glance at the general state and style of architecture of our time, and reflect upon the rapid rise and development of the town--looking to what it was and considering what it is.
During the close of the last, and the beginning of this century, architecture had reached its lowest ebb in England. Our true indigenous Gothic had almost passed into a tradition: the Classic models, from their extreme ill-adaptation to our climate, had undergone such deterioration, that the application of the term even to the best of later works was an absurdity. The influence of Sir Christopher Wren had been of the most baneful character; not that he was himself deficient in genius, but that his style, which hardly attains to grandeur even in the Metropolitan Cathedral, was of a character which inevitably degenerated in feeble hands. Thus it happened that we were left almost without a national style, or, at least with one utterly devoid of intrinsic merit of any kind. The churches and other public buildings were erected upon no principles; and in accordance only with the taste, or want of taste, in the architect, who no longer represented an Art, but devoted himself to a Profession.
Of course, when all the higher and more important offices of architecture were thus indifferently served, it was not to be expected that street-architecture would fare very happily. Our streets, in fact, gradually lost all their picturesqueness and variety of the olden times, and gained neither dignity nor beauty. Complacent builders shrugged their shoulders in pity at ancestors who had covered houses with roofs like over-sized wigs; or had recourse to hanging stories one projecting over the other until the light of heaven only stole into the streets through a narrow aperture above the road. But though these things were quaint and barbarous, there was a something about them which had in it the sense of beauty,--something which makes one even now prefer the High Street of Eastgrinstead to the latest built, the most elegant and supernaturally genteel of our modern terraces.
This, however, has only just begun to be felt, and when Brighton rose like a dream upon the remains of a fishing village, none of these things were thought of. People had certainly discernment enough to see that the rude village style would not do. A visitor of Dr. Russell's time describes Brighton houses as consisting of one or more stories, and with the door-ways so low that you must stoop to enter, and then probably stumble down a step or two into the sitting room. A person has only to go into the Twittens, the narrow lanes between Middle Street and Black Lion Street, to witness even now such illustrations. The Railway booking office, in Castle Square, is a specimen of the architecture of Brighton after this period; and under George IV. it was beginning its marvellous development.
This sort of thing it soon became necessary to alter, and year after year saw the gradual improvement in the streets of the town. But though this resulted in fine streets, and in lofty and commodious houses, the element of beauty was always wanting, simply because there was nothing like a principle in the minds of builders. They had some vague notions of the Palladian oracles, of a bastard Italian, a debased Renaissance, applicable to dwelling-houses; but the results of the application were and have been, up to the present time, deplorable.
Brighton is not alone in this matter,--indeed, it rises superior to very many of its compeers; but when its position and infinite diversity of sight are reflected upon, there cannot fail to be regrets upon the Brighton it might have been. Supposing, for example, that an earlier recognition of the claims of Gothic and an English style had taken place. Suppose that the public buildings, instead of being of the packing case order in beauty--hollow cubes with a sham frontage of stuccoed pilasters--had presented the variety in structure and beauty in detail which is found in a minor degree in St. Peter's Church. Suppose further that the streets, instead of having, as at present, flat, level surfaces, without a line of beauty in themselves, without a curve or an angle to reflect the sunshine or hold the shadow, which is so exquisite, had retained even the quaintness of early times, what a town Brighton would have been! No continental town could, from its very situation and the formation of the ground upon which it stands, have exceeded it in picturesque loveliness. And short of this, even had the purer Italian models been followed, had builders attempted such erections as those of Palmeira Square, or those of the Pavilion Buildings,--and they are the best specimens of that class of street architecture which we possess,--the result would have been a grandeur and a beauty which would have left the visitor no ground for a moment's doubt that Brighton is indeed the "Queen of Watering Places."
The improvement in the style of the buildings was the natural result of the great accession of visitors for the benefit of the sea-bathing. Bew remarks, Sunday, September 13th, 1778:--"Took the liberty of surveying all the bathing-machines. Fine ladies going,--fine ladies coming away. Observe them at the instant of bathing,--how humiliating! They appear more deplorable than so many corpses in shrouds, and put me in mind of the old dialogue between Death and the Lady. Methinks the guide is saying, in the character of Death,--
Fair lady, lay your costly robes aside, Nor longer think to glory in your pride."
An idea may be formed of the rage for bathing at this period from an entry of the same diarist, Thursday, September 9th, 1779:--"Each man runs to a machine-ladder as it is dragging out of the sea, and scuffles who shall first set foot thereon: some send their footmen and contend by proxy; others go in in boots, or on horseback to meet the machines:--so that a tolerably modest man, on a busy morning, has generally an hour and a half, perhaps two hours, for contemplation on the sands, to the detriment of his shoes, as well as the diminution of his patience." And on Saturday, the 11th of the same month, he writes:--"Have matched the bathers and bathees this trip however, having corrected them all handsomely--without quarrelling--have given them the slip; but take the particulars:--About 6 a.m., I drew along the sands, the machine of which I had become seized by prescriptive right, by legal possession, having deposited part of my wearing apparel therein, tho' I had requested the assistance of the _marine centaur_, the man on horseback, in vain. As the tide was flowing, I soon plunged into the sea, stretched a long way out into the offing, and continued rolling and laughing among my brother porpoises, to think what a loss the company on shore would sustain for want of one machine out of seven, it being a very fine busy morning. The bathers holloa'd and bawled in vain; for I could not, indeed would not hear them. After swimming backwards and forwards along the shore, about four miles in the whole, the tide setting strong to the eastward all the time, I returned about nine; and Smoaker, growling like a bear with a sore head, swore bitterly."
William (Smoaker) Miles was a great celebrity, being the principal bathing man. One day, when the Prince of Wales was bathing, he ventured out further than Old Smoaker considered prudent. In vain Smoaker called "Mr. Prince, Mr. Prince, come back," his holloas only causing His Royal Highness to dash out further. As the only means to exact obedience, in rushed the old man, swam up to the Prince, and, seizing him by the ear, lugged him, _nolens volens_, to the shore. When his young aquatic student remonstrated upon receiving such treatment, Old Smoaker rolled out a round oath or two, adding, "I ar'n't agoen' to let the king hang me for letten' the Prince of Wales drown hisself; not I, to please nobody, I can tell'e." The incident pleased the Prince, who ever afterwards patronised him. To testify, also, His Royal Highness's respect for the straightforward, honest, but blunt fellow, he established the Smoaker Stakes, which were run for at the Brighton Races, Friday, July 25th, 1806, with the following result:
The Smoaker Stakes of 20gs. each, one mile; 8 yr. olds to carry 7st. 4 yr. olds 8st. 3lb. 5 yr. olds 8st. 9lb. 6 yr. olds 9st. 11lb., and aged 9st. 1lb.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's b. h. Albion, 6 yrs. 1 old Mr. Fermer's b. c. Hippomenes, 4 yrs. old 2 Lord Egremont's b. m. Slipper, 5 yrs. old 3 Mr Howorth's ch. c Patagonian, by Pegasus, 3 yrs. old 4
At starting the odds were 3 to 2 in favour of the field. Albion was the favourite; 2 to 1 against Hippomenes and Slipper; and 3 to 1 against Patagonian. A good heat between the two horses first in. Won by about a neck.
Old Smoaker was a bit of a wit in his way. On one occasion, while he was standing near the Ship in Distress Inn, now the Sea House Hotel, two dandies of the day addressed him, stating that they had come down to Brighton for the benefit of their health, and had been recommended to drink asses' milk, could he inform them how it was to be obtained. Miles, more plain than polite, replied that he did not then exactly know, but he should advise them, for the sake of saving themselves trouble, to suck each other.
William Miles was succeeded, as Royal Bather, by his brother John, who, when too old to follow his occupation, was pensioned off by Royalty, as long as he lived. A song of the time, then very popular, ran thus:--
There's plenty of dippers and jokers, And salt-water rigs for your fun; The king of them all is "Old Smoaker," The queen of 'em, "Old Martha Gunn."
The ladies walk out in the morn, To taste of the salt-water breeze; They ask if the water is warm, Says Martha, "Yes, Ma'am, if you please."
Then away to the machines they run, 'Tis surprising how soon they get stript; I oft wish myself Martha Gunn, Just to see the young ladies get dipt.
Martha Gunn had a world-wide fame, and was the cotemporary of Mrs. Cobby, the original bather. Old Smoaker's daughter was known as Martha's handmaiden, she being the chief dipper with the "Lady of the Bath."
The following extracts from the _Morning Herald_ will give an idea of the importance of Martha and her occupation:--
July 15th, 1805.--The venerable Priestess of the Bath, Martha Gunn, was busily employed this morning.
August 4th, 1806.--The bathing machines were in active use this morning, and Neptune's _pickling tub_ exhibited many beauties in brine.
August 16th.--Many of our lovely belles took _ducks_ for their breakfast this morning, purchased of their cateress, Martha Gunn, who boasts that from the fair profits she gains by the sale of her _ducks_, she is often enabled to purchase a goose for dinner.
August 28th.--The Beach this morning was thronged with ladies, all anxious to make interest for a dip. The machines, of course, were in very great request, though none could be run into the ocean in consequence of the heavy swell, but remained stationary at the water's edge, from which Martha Gunn and her robust female assistants took their fair charges, closely enveloped in their partly coloured dresses, and gently held them to the breakers, which not quite so gently passed over them. The greatest novelty, however, that this part of the coast exhibited this morning, was in a gentleman's undressing himself on the Beach, for the purpose of a ducking, in front of the town, attended by his lady, who _sans diffidence_, supplied him with napkins, and even assisted him in wiping the humid effects of his exercise from his brawny limbs, as he returned from the water to dress.
In the following season the practice of bathing from the beach became so general that on Thursday, August 19th, a Vestry Meeting was held at the Old Ship, for the purpose of adopting measures to prevent the indecent practice of indiscriminate bathing in front of the town. Earl Bathurst and Mr. Wilberforce were present, and subscribed five guineas each to defray any expenses of prosecutions that might be deemed requisite to rid the town of the evil. The resolutions passed, that proceedings should be taken against offenders, for awhile had the desired effect; but in 1808 the nuisance was revived, resulting in a prosecution at the Horsham Assizes, on Monday, March 21st, 1809. The case was:--
THE KING _v._ JOHN CRUNDEN.--The defendant was indicted for indecently exposing himself on the beach at Brighton, on the 26th of June, and 2nd of July last.
Mr. Gurney having opened the indictment, Mr. Serjeant Shepperd stated the circumstances of the case. He observed, that it had long been the practice of various persons to undress and bathe so near to the houses, and within view of the inhabitants of the town of Brighton, that at length many respectable persons had associated themselves into a Committee, to prevent such an indecent nuisance. They had accordingly met and pointed out the limits within which persons not using machines might bathe in the sea, and in general most persons acquiesced in their resolution. In order, however, that no person might complain of any hardship, they resolved that all persons who were invalids, and to whom it might be inconvenient to walk to the distance prescribed, should have tickets given them on application to the Committee, which would entitle them at any time to the use of a bathing machine gratis. And still further, to preserve public decency they had built a hut on the beach, wherein any person might undress himself under cover. Notwithstanding these different accommodations, the defendant, who was a tailor, at Brighton, refused to conform to these reasonable regulations, but obstinately persisted in the indecent practice of bathing within a few yards of the houses. He had been frequently remonstrated with, but his uniform answer was, the _sea was free_, and he would bathe when and where he pleased. Nor was he merely content in doing this in his own person, but he had induced many others to follow his example, and he constantly came at the head of his companions, by whom he was denominated the Captain, and in defiance of all decency and remonstrance, daily exposed himself naked on the Beach. The Learned Serjeant here called witnesses to prove the facts he had stated.
Mr. Marryatt addressed the jury for the defence, in which he stated it had been the custom at all times for persons to bathe where the defendant now bathed, and they ought not to be disturbed because Mr. Ellis, the witness, had thought proper to run up houses within view.
The Chief Baron thought this a serious question, and stated his opinion that it was an offence against decency and morality. If a town grew up, the inhabitants must not be annoyed with indecent spectacles; and therefore it became the duty of the bather to retire to remoter situations.--The Jury found the defendant _Guilty_.
For awhile this example had a very salutary effect; but, more or less, until the present season, the nuisance has continued. Now the New Bye Laws prohibit bathing from the beach in front of the town, except before the hour of six in the morning or after nine in the evening; and all persons bathing from the machines are compelled to wear gowns, drawers, or some such suitable covering. Less than thirty years since the bathing from the Ladies' Bathing Machines, between West Street and Middle Street, was not of the most pleasant character, as it was customary for coal brigs in fine weather, to discharge their cargoes at that spot, and frequently, so was the surface of the water covered with fine coal dust, that many a child who dreaded bathing, was compelled to be dipped an extra time or two by the bathing women, to rinse off the black particles.
Some years have elapsed since the universal practice prevailed of discharging cargoes of coal, stone, timber, &c., in front of the town, greater facilities than formerly existed being offered now, at Shoreham, for unloading at the wharfs, without the risk of the vessels--as was very frequently the case,--being stranded. Great quantities of coal is also transmitted to Brighton by rail from Deptford Creek, so that that useful household commodity is much reduced in price to what it formerly was. In the week prior to Christmas, 1812, such was the scarcity of coal in the town, from adverse winds prevailing and preventing the arrival of shipping from the north, that persons in even comfortable circumstances, whose cellars were exhausted, purchased only to the extent of a bushel at a time, and so indifferent were the coal merchants to part with their coal even at 5 a chaldron--about equal to the present ton,--that at the coal-yard of Messrs. Edmund Savage and Bonham, which was situate opposite Ship Street Lane, in North Street, immediately above the shop of Messrs. Palmer and Green, ironmongers, the purchaser of half-a-bushel of coal was compelled likewise to buy at the same time sixpenny worth of uncleft wood.
The following will show the cost of coal per chaldron at that period to the coal merchants in the town:--
Newcastle on Tyne, the Sixteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirteen.
It is this day mutually agreed between Mr. William Spence, owner of the good ship or vessel, called the "Eliza," Wm. Hunter, master, of the burthen of 96 tons, or thereabouts, now on her passage to Sunderland; and Messrs. Savage and Bonham, of Brighton, merchants, freighters of the said ship, for one voyage, at and from Sunderland to Brighton Beach. That the said ship being tight, staunch, and strong, and every way fitted for the voyage, the said master, with said ship, shall, with the first opportunity, after arriving at Sunderland, take on board a full and competent cargo of Nesham Main Coals. And being so loaden, the said master, with said ship, shall therewith proceed to Brighton Beach, or so near thereunto as he may safely get, and deliver the same to the order of the said freighters, on being paid freight, at the rate of Thirty-eight Shillings per chaldron, Winchester measure; the freighters paying King's duty, Town dues at Brighton, Ramsgate and Dover Harbour dues, and the owner lights, metage, delivery, and pilotage, during said voyage. (Restraints of princes and rulers, the dangers of the seas, of whatever nature, fire, and enemies, always excepted.) Freight to be paid on delivery by what cash wanted for ship's use, and for the remainder a good Bill on London, at two months' date. Two days allowed said freighters (if the ship is not sooner despatched), for unloading the said ship at Brighton. Demurrage, Three Guineas per day, for every day's detention, over and above the days allowed as aforesaid. Witness our hands the day and year above written.
Witness, MATT. FAIRLESS.
WILLIAM SPENCE.
The incidental expenses attendant upon freighting a vessel brought the actual cost to 3 16s. 3d. per chaldron, as thus:--
. s. d. Freight per chaldron 1 18 0 Nesham Main Coals at 17 0 King's Duty per chaldron 10 0 Town Duty do 3 0 Spoutage at Newcastle do 6 Cartage from Beach do 4 0 Metage and Trimming do 1 0 Ramsgate and Dover Lights do 2 6 Beer to men do 3 3 16 3
Added to this, Mr. Savage, upon this occasion, to obtain the cargo with the least possible delay, made a journey to Newcastle, the expenses of which amounted to 20.
In 1805, persons interested in shipping, the coal merchants especially, entertained the idea of a basin or harbour for the safety and accommodation of vessels trading hither. The project did not meet with approval amongst the inhabitants generally, as they were desirous of retaining the town as a place of fashionable resort, rather than make it a trading port; and in April, the following year, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales having caused it to be signified through Mr. Thomas Saunders, High Constable, that he had not bestowed his sanction or patronage in favour of the project, and that he did not intend to possess any such intention, the idea was abandoned. Some of those, however, interested in the scheme, bore their disappointment with but an ill grace, and for some years after the payment of the coal duties was the source of much disaffection. The principal of those who combatted against the payment was Mr. William Izard, whose reasons of objection were embodied in a handbill which he issued, as follows:--
_To the Vistors and Inhabitants of the Town of Brighthelmston_, _and to all such other persons as it may concern_.
Whereas sundry reports and misrepresentations have been propagated, and widely circulated concerning myself, in consequence of my having lately refused to pay the Coal Duty of three shillings per chaldron on all coals landed (_from my own vessels_) at this place, for the use and consumption of the inhabitants, as heretofore levied by the Commissioners acting under the Town Act, for the express purpose of "Building and repairing Groyns, Sea Walls, and other works, for the protection of the town of Brighthelmston against the encroachment of the sea, pursuant to the powers and by virtue of and by the authority of an Act of Parliament made and passed in the 50th year of his present Majesty," for the before-named purposes;
In vindication of my own conduct, and in strict justice to myself and family, and that the public may not form an opinion which may in any wise operate to my prejudice, I do hereby beg leave to state my several objections for so refusing to pay the said Coal Duties, so unwarrantably demanded, viz.:--
FIRST.--Because it clearly appears to me, from the best account that I have been able to obtain from Mr. T. Attree, the Commissioners' Clerk and Treasurer, that since the passing of the aforesaid Act of Parliament and the levying of the said Coal Duties, that the Commissioners have actually been in the receipt of near Eight Thousand Pounds from that source only!
And that it also appears that the said Commissioners have not expended _Three Thousand Pounds_ of such monies so received, for the protection of the town, agreeable to the express provisions and in strict conformity to such enactments as are set forth in the said Act of Parliament; so that it seems that there is now a balance of between four and five thousand pounds in favour of that particular and specific account, and which balance of Surplus Duties now remains unapplied towards those sacred purposes for which it was raised, by and under the authority of the aforesaid Act of Parliament.
And notwithstanding the immense balance in favour of the Groyns just before stated, and irreconcilable and incongruous as it may appear, these very same Commissioners are now actually paying the interest on the sum of 1140 money borrowed on the credit of the said Coal Duties, and that, in direct opposition to the very terms of the aforesaid Act of Parliament, which strictly restrains Commissioners from applying any money arising from that branch of their finance to any other use or purpose whatever, whilst there shall be any money due or be owing upon the credit of that account.
And yet under all these circumstances the Commissioners are still endeavouring to increase their balance of Coal Duties, although it is not wanted for the purpose for which it is levied; and were the Commissioners to convert such balance to any other use, it would in them constitute a great abuse of power, and a high breach of their trust!
As I do not chuse to participate in either of these crimes, I am unwilling to increase the guilt of such a portion of the Commissioners as may chuse to indulge in such gross misconduct, by continuing to do that to my own wrong, which would ultimately increase theirs.
It is upon these grounds and upon them only, that I have been induced to refuse the payment of Groyn Dues; and I must also beg it to be unequivocally understood, that when the before-named balance of between Four and Five Thousand Pounds shall have been legally and fairly expended and properly accounted for, and if circumstances should hereafter make it necessary, I shall most willingly and cheerfully submit to the payment of the Coal Duty as heretofore.
Brighton, August 24th, 1814.
WM. IZARD.
Since the publication of the above address, Mr. Wm. Gates, principal Coast Officer of the Customs at this place, and the Commissioners' Collector of Groyn Dues, assisted by Mr. T. Attree, their Clerk and Treasurer, accompanied by the Brighton Magistrates, and also by Mr. Robert Ackerson, the present High Constable, and a great possy of "Headboroughs" and other persons have thought proper to make a seizure in my Coal Yard of Eight Chaldron of Coals, to satisfy themselves for the payment of such Dues as they pretend to claim as due from myself: to effect which, the violent measure of breaking open my Coal Yard gate, by forcing the lock, was resorted to, on Thursday last; but as the merits of this transaction are put into a fair train of legal investigation, I have to request that the candid public will be pleased to suspend judgment till the issue shall be so determined.
WM. IZARD, Ship Owner and Coal Merchant.
Brighton, August 29, 1814.
The power of the authorities prevailed, and the Dues continued to be exacted.
The female attendants of the machines are, as respects dress especially, of the primitive order of their race, except that they do not in the afternoon appear in their best prim attire, as of yore they were wont to do, to "tout" in Castle Square, on the arrival of the coaches. Their last grand show day in their aquatic costume was on the occasion of their visit to the Exhibition, in Hyde Park, 1851, when, to defray their expenses, subscriptions were raised amongst the inhabitants. At the Exhibition they were the observed of all observers; and had but the original idea been carried out of their travelling from the London Bridge Terminus to the building, in their machines, the arrangements of the day would have been complete, and the unsightliness and primitive construction of the vehicles would have excited the sympathy of some inventor and induced him to bring out something that would have had a creditable appearance.
Almost coeval with sea-bathing in establishing the reputation of Brighton, were the baths, first established by Dr. Awsiter, on the spot now occupied by Brill's Ladies' Swimming Bath, and for so many years known as Wood's Original Hot and Cold Sea-water Baths. The first stone of these baths, which were after a plan of Mr. Golden, architect, was laid in the year 1759. Mr. George Lynn erected the present building.
Dr. Awsiter, in a pamphlet, called "Thoughts on Brighthelmston," published in 1768, says, "The utility of these baths is obvious: they may be used either for hot or cold bathing. There are some individuals to whom cold bathing would be serviceable, could they be able to bear the fatigue of being dipt in the sea, and (what is more material), to be exposed to the cold air. If the weather happens to be stormy, and the sea so rough, as not to admit of bathing in it, recourse may be had to the baths: by this means bathing would become more universal, be unattended with terror, and no cure protracted. Moreover, invalids would have the advantage of this bathing remedy all the year round; whereas, on account of the variableness of our climate, it is denied them at present, except in the Summer months, and then only in calm weather."
The Artillery Baths, the next established, obtained their original fame from the proprietor, Mr. Smith, having discovered a method of curing the gout, by means of an air pump, from whence many persons of rank and consequence received great benefit. They are known now as Hobden's Artillery Baths.
Williams's Hot and Cold Baths, which occupied the site of the present Lion Mansion, at one period received extensive patronage, and the _Morning Herald_ of August 17, 1807, says, "Williams's Baths are in very fashionable request. Numberless _elegantes_ were in hot water there this morning." On Mr. Williams's decease they were carried on by Mr. Bannister, who was succeeded by his son-in-law, Mr. William Knight. The halcyon days, however, of these baths had fled, and the premises, after remaining in a very dilapidated state for some time, were cleared off for the erection of the present noble mansion.
The personage who acquired the greatest fame for his baths, and obtained the highest and most extensive patronage, was Sake Deen Mahomed, who, although not born in Brighton, yet, this highly favoured town was the theatre where his name became patent for the alleviation of suffering mankind, and hence he is entitled to special notice.
He was a native of India, and was born at Patna, the capital of Bahar, about 290 miles N.W. of Calcutta, in the year 1749. Having been educated for the surgical profession, he entered the East India Company's service in that capacity, which he afterwards relinquished, and for fifteen years acted exclusively in a military character. In the year 1780 he was appointed by Major, afterwards General Popham, to a company, but in 1784, he left the service and came to England, where be continued to reside the remainder of his valuable life. In his early days having devoted much time and attention to Oriental bathing, both medicinally and as a luxury, on his arrival in England, he was induced to think seriously of introducing the Indian Vapour Bath, and the art of Shampooing, and sedulously employed himself in preliminary experiments, to prove the correctness of the hypothesis he had formed, that what was a luxurious restorative in India, might prove in England a wonderful remedy for many diseases.
Justified by proof, he repaired to Brighton, where he promulgated his discovery, but at first with little success, as the public were ill-prepared to receive a system which should supercede Warm Sea-water Bathing. Fortunately, however, he effected several gratuitous cures,--cures which quickly gained circulation amongst those who had prejudged and condemned his bath; and adduced the most positive and convincing proof of the great superiority of Shampooing over every other description of treatment, in particular cases. All prejudices were quickly removed, and his wide-spread fame soon gained him the appointment of Shampooing Surgeon to their Majesties George IV. and William IV. Presents, conveying the expressions of the deepest feelings of gratitude and thankfulness, crowded upon him. The Muses poured forth their eulogiums; the several organs of the press--national and local--their panegyrics.
He exemplified the curative and invigorating influence of his Art in his person and his longevity. He died the 24th of February, 1851, at the advanced age of 102 years, and was buried in the church-yard of St. Nicholas, Brighton, where an unassuming tomb records his age and death. He was father of Mr. Frederick Mahomed, of the Gymnasium, Palace Place.
Mahomed's Bath establishment opposite the Star and Garter Hotel, King's Road, is now the property of Mr. Charles Brill, who is likewise the proprietor of the Ladies' Swimming Bath, before mentioned, and the extensive baths and the Gentlemen's Swimming Bath, originally Lamprell's, at the bottom of East Street. Buggins's Baths in Western Street, are a great acquisition to the western part of the town; where also, in the Western Road, Hove, is the Turkish Bath of Dr. Toulmin, who is well supported in his popular treatment. Other baths have from time to time been started, mostly, however, with a very ephemeral existence.
Great as was the success of Mahomed's process, he was in no inconsiderable degree indebted for the many cures he effected to the perseverance of Mr. Henry Harrap, to whose memory the author of this book has a grateful respect, for enabling him to retain and ably use a leg, the amputation of which had been recommended by the faculty. Little is known of his early career, more than that he was born at Helston, in Cornwall, October 21st, 1794. He left home at an early age, and during the short peace previous to the battle of Waterloo, he was a private in the 51st Foot, the Duke of York's Own. In 1817, he was with his regiment stationed at the Infantry Barracks, Brighton, being then an officer's servant. His brother Richard was also in the same regiment, as Sergeant-Bugler, and, during his location here, he married, at Preston, a young woman, the widow of Corporal Fudge, late of the Gloucester Militia. But shortly after his marriage he deserted. His wife however, provided two substitutes, and paid 40 for his discharge; she also bought Henry off, and the two brothers, till the year 1828, followed the trade of boot and shoe making, in Ivory Place. The maiden name of his wife was Short, a native of the village of Hangleton, and she was married to Fudge before she was 14 years of age, in consequence of her mother, who was a widow, being about to be married to another corporal in the same regiment, the man refusing to wed her with an incumbrance. Richard died in 1828, and in the following year Henry was married to his brother's widow, at St. George's in the Borough, London. By neither brother had she any family; but by her first husband she had four daughters. She died in July, 1843. In 1838, Mr. Harrap discontinued the business of shoemaking, and converted the shop-front of his premises on the Grand Parade, at the corner of Sussex Street, to one of a more private character, devoting the whole of his attention to professional rubbing.
At the zenith of the career of Sake Deen Mahomed, Mr. Harrap obtained the custom of that professor, and for a long time continued to make and repair shoes for the family. This circumstance caused him frequently to visit Mr. Mahomed's establishment, where he principally obtained that information which enabled him to commence the practice of rubbing, omitting the shampooing process, his inventive genius enabling him to substitute as many contrivances as the numerous cases of affliction entrusted to his skill and care required. Many of his inventions, which had been of benefit to sufferers, formed a species of Museum in a room at Mahomed's establishment. From Mrs. Williams, too, a neighbour, in Ivory Place, who was celebrated for her healing unguents, Mr. Harrap gained much of his surgical knowledge.
Mr. Harrap was totally uneducated, and, at the commencement of his professional career, entirely unacquainted with medical science and nomenclature; yet, progressively, by natural instinct as it were, and studied practice, he acquired a knowledge of anatomy which astonished those who were conversant with that science; and gentlemen of high position in the medical profession--including the late Sir Matthew Tierney, Sir Astley Cooper, Sir Benjamin Brodie, &c.,--acknowledged his worth by awarding him that credit which they considered due to an energetic and gifted man. His perseverance enabled him to amass a large fortune; and after having been a great sufferer for more than two years, from a cancer of the bowels, he was removed by death from the scene of a most useful life, on Saturday, the 12th of October of last year, leaving a wife, the widow of the late Sidney Walsingham Bennett, Esq., solicitor, to lament her irreparable bereavement, and a large circle of grateful patients and sincere friends the remembrance of an honourable, and honoured man.
For some time previous to his decease he had been unable to attend actively to his professional duties; yet, he was present daily, at his house of business on the Grand parade, watching, and instructing his step-son, now his successor, Mr. Sidney Bennett, who qualified as a surgeon on the 29th of May, 1861, and there is little doubt his perseverance in the course pursued by the deceased will add a lustre to his father-in-law's name, and confirm a credit due to the memory of a man who was never ambitious of praise, but perseveringly sought a remedy to alleviate the sufferings of the afflicted. Deceased was buried at the Parochial Cemetery, Lewes Road.
Nature has been peculiarly bountiful in her goodness towards Brighton; as, independent of the salubrity of the position of the town and the superlative excellence of its sea-water, the Chalybeate spring at the Wick is possessed of great curative properties, the opinion of Drs. Russell and Relhan, being confirmed by Dr. Henderson, who thus writes:--
This water, when first taken from the spring in a glass, in appearance greatly resembles a solution of emetic tartar in common water. The taste is not unpleasant, something like that upon a knife after it has been used in cutting lemons. It does not seem to contain the smallest portion of sulphur; it neither changes vegetable blues, red, nor does it effervesce with alkaline salts, calcareous earths, magnesia, nor fossil alkali; neither does it change vegetable blues, green, nor does it effervesce with acids; yet it curdles soap, and renders a solution of it in various spirits milky.
It seems to contain a considerable portion of calcareous earth, mixed with vitriolic acid in the form of its selenites, and also a considerable portion of iron, as will appear from the following experiment: Sixty-four ounces of this water by measure being evaporated to dryness, there was a residuum of a brownish colour, full of spicul, weighing eight grains, four ounces of which, with an equal quantity of charcoal, was made into a paste with oil, and calcined. On trying the calcined matter with the magnet, two pieces nearly in the metallic form adhered to it; and when put upon paper, at the distance of half an inch, moved in every direction with the magnet. These two pieces weighed one-eighth of a grain.
The gross residuum neither effervesces with alkali nor acids, and is sufficiently soluble in water.
This water becomes instantly transparent, like distilled water, on the addition of any of the mineral acids, especially the vitriolic.
A solution of galls in common water, added to an equal portion of this water, becomes black like ink, in a few minutes.
The Chalybeate has been found serviceable in several cases of general debility, crapulas, indigestion, atony of the stomach, and fluor albus; and in all those diseases where chalybeate and tonic remedies are required, it promises, under due regulation, to be useful.
Dr. Henderson was a physician of eminence in the town; and a minute of Vestry, at the Unicorn Inn, February 10th, 1794, shews the esteem in which he was held by the inhabitants. It runs thus:--"Dr. Henderson presented with a pint silver cup, for his care and attention to the parish."
A character of the time, who also practised the healing art, is not so favourably mentioned in the Vestry Book, February 4th, 1805, the entry of him being:--"Resolved that Michael Cobby be allowed eight shillings per week, on his quitting the Poor-house; and his drugs and effects delivered up to him." It must not, from this, however, be supposed medicine and surgery were so at a discount that parish relief was requisite to maintain
The wise physician skilled our wounds to heal.
Dr. Cobby, as he was familiarly known, had talent, but he was more a disciple of Bacchus, than of Galen, and the natural reply to him, as he tendered his services in his tattered clothes, which his poverty bespake, and as a foul specimen of the unwashed, would be "Physician, heal--cleanse--thyself." Not that Brighton at that period had waned in the least from the character it had obtained for healthfulness, as a memorandum, made August, 1806, states:--"Such is the healthy condition of the town, that the doctors and apothecaries complain dolefully of their declining businesses, and undertakers are literally starved out, the latter declaring, 'All trades must live,' but the residents are determined not to serve them." In 1580, there was but one medical man in Brighton, Dr. Mathews, who lived in Middle street. His terms for attending in confinements were: At Portslade and Rottingdean, 5s; at Blatchington, 3s 6d; and anywhere in the town of Brighthelmston, 2s 6d.
In the early part of 1886, a sad scourge, the small pox, pervaded the town, and on the 25th of January, that year, when the population amounted to 3620, the following return of its virulence was made:--
_Those who had the _Nos. who had not_. small pox_. West Street 351 322 Middle Street and 231 272 Lanes North St. and ditto 234 295 Ship and Blk-Lyon do 318 336 Knab, Cliff, Brighton 260 291 pl. and Little East St. East St. and Nth Row, 308 291 Steyne and Pool Lane Poor in the House 31 50 Number supposed. 0 30 After taking numbers 1733 1887
A general inoculation in consequence, was ordered at a Vestry Meeting; and the 1887 who escaped the disease were inoculated by Messrs. Lowdell, Gilbert, Pankhurst, and Tilston, the charges being: The poor, servants, and day-labourers, at 2s. 6d. each; and other persons at 7s. 6d. each. The return of the deaths is not made in the Vestry minute book.
One of the crowning features of Brighton, as a health-providing town, is the German Spa, Queen's Park, an establishment for manufacturing the Artificial Mineral Waters, which, by the faculty, are pronounced to be so perfect an imitation of the original springs in Germany, that the most celebrated chemists can detect no difference between them. They are the production of Dr. Struve, of Dresden, who some years ago turned his attention to the analysis and imitation of the original, and patients who have drank both can discover no difference in their flavour or effect. The artificial waters supplied are:--
WARM WATERS CARLSBAD The Sprudel 165 Fahrenheit Neubrunnen 138 Mulhbrunnen 138 Theressebrunnen 122 EMMS The Krnchen 117 Kesselbrunnen 84 COLD WATERS MARIENBAD Kreutzbrunnen AUSCHOWITZ Ferdinandsbrunnen EGER Frazenbrunnen PYRMONT SPA SEIDSCHUTZ PULLNA
Mr. G. S. Carey, in a "Poetical Tagg, or Brighthelmstone Guide," {241} July 28th, 1777, gives the following on the rise and progress of the town even at that date:--
This town, or village of renown, Like London Bridge, half broken down, Few years ago was worse than Wapping, Not fit for human soul to stop in; But now, like to a worn-out shoe, By patching well, the place will do. You'd wonder much, I'm sure, to see, How it's becramm'd with quality; Here Lords and Ladies oft carouse Together in a tiny house; Like Joan and Darby in their cot, With stool and table, spit and pot; And what his valet would despise, His lordship praises to the skies; But such the _ton_ is, such the case, You'll see the first of rank or place, With star and riband, all profuse, Duck at his door-way like a goose: The humble beam was plac'd so low, Perhaps to teach some clown to bow. The air is pure as pure can be, And such an aspect of the sea! As you, perhaps, ne'er saw before, From off the side of any shore: On one hand Ceres spreads her plain, And on the other, o'er the main, Many a bark majestic laves Upon the salt and buoyant waves; The hills all mantl'd o'er with green, A friendly shelter to the Steyne, Whene'er the rugged Boreas blows, Bemingled with unwelcome snows: Such is the place and situation, Such is the reigning seat of fashion.
Brighthelmstone, July 28th, 1777.
Four years previous to the date of this "Tag," namely, in 1773, an Act of Parliament was passed, giving power to sixty-four Commissioners, elected by the inhabitants, to light and cleanse the streets, lanes, and other places within the town of Brighton, and for the general regulation and improvement of the town. In 1809, meetings of the inhabitants took place at the Old Ship, for and in opposition to obtaining a new Act of Parliament; and on the 21st of February, 1810, a very large majority of the Vestry, at a meeting held at the Old Ship, resolved that the Bill as framed by the Town Committee, which had been appointed by the inhabitants, should be forthwith presented to Parliament, to be passed into a law. The Act passed that year, augmenting the number of Commissioners to one hundred, and raising the duty on coal from sixpence to three shillings per chaldron. On the 22nd of June, 1825, (6 Geo. IV.) this Act was repealed and another passed, extending the number of Commissioners to one hundred and twelve, and giving them increased powers, in consequence of the extensive enlargement and requirements of the town.
Under the provisions of this Act some of the greatest improvements in the town were effected. The most prominent of these was the Sea Wall, which forms the southern front of Brighton from Cannon Place to the west end of Kemp Town. As early as 1799 the requirement of a wall at the foot of the East Cliff, now the Marine Parade, to prevent the encroachments of the sea, occupied the attention of the possessors of property in that vicinity, as amongst the Conditions of Sale of the land for the purpose of erecting the Royal Crescent,--sold by auction by Mr. Christie, at the Old Ship Inn, Monday, September 16th, 1799,--was the following:--
If it shall be judged necessary to build a Sea-Wall under the Cliff, for Use or Ornament, the Purchasers and Plot Holders of each Ground Plot to contribute their Proportion for Building the same.
The building of the Crescent commenced forthwith; but, in consequence of one of the most prominent of the speculators absconding, the whole of the houses were not completed until the end of December, 1807, at which period the area in front of the Crescent measured four acres. No wall was then considered necessary at the foot of the Cliff, but a dwarf wall was built on the south side of the carriage road, in lieu of posts and rails, which guarded in a most irregular manner the other portion of the road-way from the Steine to Black-Rock. On widening the road as now existing in consequence of the construction of the present massive sea-wall, not only was the dwarf wall removed but the crown of the rise of the road, which there ranged with the present paving of the Crescent, was taken off, and the incline made on the turfed area, which was considerably contracted by setting back the iron railings in a line with the front of the other property immediately east and west.
A statue of the Prince of Wales, by Rossi, seven feet high, on an ornamented pedestal, eleven feet high, was, in 1802, placed in front of the Royal Crescent. His Royal Highness was represented as dressed in his regimental uniform, with his arm extended towards the sea. The statue, which was made of plaster, cost upwards of 300. In November, 1807, some person broke off the fingers of the extended left hand. Eventually the other arm with a portion of his mantle was knocked away, and in that condition the mutilated figure was allowed to remain several years, till becoming more and more unsightly from parties continually adding to its disfigurement, it was removed.
Two incidents of a most melancholy character, in connexion with the Royal Crescent, claim a record. The first was the death of a workman, named Leggatt. He was engaged in forming the words "Royal Crescent" on the tablet which surmounts the centre house, and had finished the S, when, on stepping back to observe its agreement with the other letters, he over-balanced himself, and, falling upon the iron railings below, he was unfortunately killed. The other event was the death of a soldier, named Charles Millegan, of the Second Battalion of the Coldstream Guards, which occurred on Christmas night, 1835, he having accidentally fallen down the Cliff from the Crescent wall. A stone to his memory, erected by the privates of his battalion, in the north burial ground of St. Nicholas Church, has the following inscription as a tribute of respect by his comrades:--
Oft may the tear his green sod steep, And sacred be the Soldier's sleep Till time shall cease to run. And ne'er beside his lonely grave May Briton's pass and fail to crave A blessing on the fallen brave, For such was MILLEGAN.
The first section of the town Sea-Wall, that between Ship street and Mahomed's--now Brill's Baths,--was constructed in 1825. Then followed the execution of the difficult enterprise, the union of the east and west sea-drives and promenade, by the formation of the Junction Road round Brill's Swimming Bath, and thence across the outlet of the Pool Valley, and southing the Albion Hotel. To effect this great undertaking, the sea had to be repelled, hence recourse was had to the erection of a series of large groynes, and the facing of the wall, which is of concrete--a due admixture of grey lime and shingle,--with piles and planking; and this proceeding resulted in the sea being forced against the cliffs beyond the Chain Pier, storm after storm making such inroads that in some places the Marine Parade was not of sufficient width for a vehicle to pass. The proprietors of houses along the Marine Parade, in consequence, became alarmed for their property. The Commissioners therefore, took immediate steps to prevent the incursions of the ocean, and numerous groynes, which were erected between the Chain Pier and the Black-Rock groyne, having in some measure answered the purpose of keeping back the raging water, a plan was attempted to be carried out of forming a battering or leaning wall of flint as a facing to the cliff, which was widened and filled in as the wall progressed. The scheme, however, proved a fallacy; as the amazing mass of unsettled earth with which it was backed up, having become saturated with heavy rains, forced out the foot of the wall, the whole of which slid out into the sea, or on the beach.
A concrete wall of amazing substance, was then substituted with the greatest success, at a cost of 100,000, under contracts, by Mr. William Lambert, an extensive builder of the town. In many parts, the wall--which is in some places sixty feet high,--is twenty-three feet thick at its base, and batters--inclines--on an average, four inches to the foot on the face. More recently, other portions of the sea-front of the town have been extended in width, by the same process, to admit of the increased road traffic, so that Brighton may now boast of an uninterrupted sea-drive and promenade of more than three miles' extent.
The other public structures erected by the Commissioners are the Market and the Town Hall. The former is a lofty and commodious building, standing principally on the site of the Old Workhouse and Town Hall. It is T shaped, with the transverse head towards the east, opposite the Town Hall, a building which occupies the space whereon, till the erection of the new structure, the Market formerly stood. The corner stone of the Town Hall was laid in April, 1830, by Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., the contractor for the building being Mr. Doubleday, whose tender was 12,491 1s. 7d. The cost, however, of the building, from the various hewings, hackings, and cuttings, which it has undergone, has exceeded, at a moderate calculation, 60,000. It is after the plan of Mr. Thomas Cooper, but it is minus a most important wing. This defect arose from the Commissioners omitting to purchase land for the south portion, the owner of the property refusing to sell after the building had pretty far advanced. The consequence is that the approaches to the upper rooms of the southern portion are wanting, and hence much inconvenience is experienced.
The Town Hall is used for town meetings, public assemblies, the Council meetings, and the general purposes of the Borough. In it are offices for the Town Clerk--C. Sharood, Esq.,--and his staff, for the Collectors of the Municipal and Parish Rates, and for the Borough Surveyor--Mr. Philip Lockwood,--and his staff. The Magistrates' Court, which occupies the southern basement, is likewise used for the Borough Quarter Sessions, the Recorder being John Locke, Esq., Q.C., and M.P. for Southwark. The police-force originally established on the 15th of April, 1830, under Chief-Officer Pilbeam,--the Police Station then being in Steine Lane,--has at present Mr. George White for the Chief-Constable, he having succeeded Mr. Chase on the 21st of December, 1853, his predecessor,--who succeeded Mr. Pilbeam,--Mr. Henry Solomon, having been murdered by John Lawrence, on the 13th of March, 1844. The Superintendents are Mr. Owen Crowhurst and Mr. Isaiah Barnden; and the Inspector of Flys, &c., is Mr. James Terry. The force consists of 80 men,--inspectors, sergeants, and privates,--who occupy the south-west portion of the basement, immediately contiguous to the Magistrates' Court, the dungeons for the uncommitted and, perhaps, innocent, being in the most remote portion of the underground vaults at the north-east of the building.
Prior to the establishment of the Police-force the care of the town was entrusted to a few Watchmen of the antique school, by night, and a Beadle in cocked-hat and general suit of his order, by day, assisted by the Town Crier of similar mien and garb. The Watchmen had succeeded the Patrol, a species of self-guardianship which the inhabitants imposed upon themselves in rotation, under the supervision of the High Constable and his Headboroughs. During the Winter months it was also customary for a bell-man to perambulate nightly most of the old streets of the town, and hourly proclaim the time and weather. The stocks in the Market place, and the parish pound at the back of the Old Church were then in vogue.
A portion of the principal room on the basement, to form the County Court, is temporarily taken off by means of a partition, in two sections which swing back on hinges to the side walls. The Court is held every alternate Friday, William Furner, Esq., being the Judge. The only residents of the building are Friend Paine--the Hall-Keeper,--and his wife. Paine, at one time, was in himself the fire brigade of Brighton. Eight men, whose peculiarity of costume for the office consisted in wearing white hats, had previously been engaged to work the engines in the event of any fires; but none occurring, the white-hatted force was dispensed with, and eventually such an arrangement was made by the Town Council with the Brighton, Hove, and Preston Constant Service Water Company, that the fire-hose being fitted to plugs and standards in connexion with the water-mains, the service of the fire-engines was dispensed with, the position of the reservoir of the Company, on the Race Hill, giving a pressure sufficiently strong to force the water over the highest edifices in the town. In 1825, a Sussex County and General Fire and Life Assurance Company was projected, with Mr. Barnard Gregory as Managing Director. The office of this Company was on the premises in North Street now well known as Folthorp's Royal Library, where, in front of the house, a fire-engine, fire-escape, and other appropriate apparatus, were prominently displayed. Firemen, bedight in the antique fittings of their order in London, with silver-plated badge on their arms, bearing the Brighton Arms,--two dolphins,--surmounted with SVX, and encircled with "BRIGHTHELMSTON IN SIGILVM," and "SUSSEX COUNTY AND GENERAL FIRE AND LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY," perpetually showed themselves about the premises which had been previously used as the Mess House of the officers of regiments from time to time stationed at the Infantry Barracks, Church Street. The career of the Company was very brief, and the exploits of the firemen were confined to one fire only, namely, that at Major Russell's mansion, Portland Place, September 12th, 1825, known in Brighton,--where the great rage for building had then just set in,--as the year of the panic. Kemp Town at that period, and for some few years afterwards, was a town of carcasses, many of the houses being not only floorless and windowless, but roofless.
In this district, but in the parish of Rottingdean,--to avoid the Brighton coal dues,--the Brighton Old Gas Light and Coke Company erected their works in 1818-19, much to the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants, who petitioned Parliament on the 6th of May, 1818, against the introduction of gas into the town. Some considerable time elapsed before it was much used for in-door lighting, persons, in general, having a fear of explosions. For illuminating it was first used on the 12th of August, 1819, when, to oblige the Company, Mr. Stone, shoemaker to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, gave them permission to fit up, at their own expense, over his shop in East Street, at the corner of Steine Lane, a design--the Prince of Wales' Feathers,--in gas, the effect of which excited the wonder and admiration of the whole town, and completely reconciled the inhabitants to the use of gas.
As early as 1806 the Incorporation of the town was mooted, and on the 2nd of July, that year, a meeting of the inhabitants, at which the Vicar, the Rev. R. Carr, presided, took place at the Old Ship, respecting a communication which had been made from the Prince of Wales to Sir Henry Rycroft, on the subject. The meeting was numerously and respectably attended, and the subject was ably and dispassionately discussed. After a debate of several hours, the Incorporation by Charter was unanimously negatived, and an address of thanks was voted to His Royal Highness for his condescension, and the kind interest which he took in the welfare of the inhabitants of the town. During the meeting it was announced that the Prince had no particular desire that the Incorporation by Charter should be adopted, unless the inhabitants should conceive that such a measure would promote their interests; and that any other mode which they might better approve of, for the impartial administration of justice in the place, should be honoured with his Royal sanction.
The subject of Incorporation then remained dormant till about the year 1852, when, the inhabitants thinking that Brighton was of sufficient importance to be placed on an equality with other towns of like population and influence, agitated for a Charter. The opposition of the old governing body was very great, and the "tug of war" continued, each party contending and hoping most zealously. At length the contenders for the Incorporation prevailed, and the Charter under the Municipal Act, and bearing date, April 1st, 1854, was granted. In 1860, in order to remedy many known defects, the Local Government Act of 1858, was adopted, after a severe contest. The Corporation consists of the Mayor, the Recorder, 12 Aldermen, and 36 Councillors, six for each Ward, the Wards being the Park Ward, Pavilion Ward, Pier Ward, St. Peter's Ward, St. Nicholas' Ward, and West Ward. The Magistracy consists of the Mayor, the last ex-Mayor, the Recorder, the Stipendiary Magistrate,--at present A. Bigge, Esq.,--and other Magistrates whose appointments are sanctioned by the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The present Magistrates are, His Worship the Mayor, J. Allfree, Esq., J. C. Burrows, Esq., W. Catt, Esq., J. Fawcett, Esq., W. Furner, Esq., W. M. Hollis, Esq., M. D. Scott, Esq., B. Stent, Esq., W. F. Smithe, Esq., T. Warner, Esq., and W. Alger, Esq., who also acts in that capacity by virtue of being the last ex-Mayor. Ewen Evershed, Esq., is the Clerk of the Peace. The Mayors hitherto, have been:--
1854.--Lieut.-Col. Fawcett.
1855.--W. Hallett, Esq.
1856.--I. G. Bass, Esq.
1857.--J. C. Barrows, Esq.
1858.--J. C. Burrows, Esq.
1859.--W. Alger, Esq.
1860.--W. Alger, Esq.
1861.--H. Smithers, Esq.
The great increase of the population during the course of the last hundred years, is the surest criterion, whereby to judge of the rapid progress of the town:--
In 1761 the population of Brighton was 2,000 1786 3,600 1794 5,669 1801 {249} 7,339 1811 12,012 1821 24,429 1831 40,634 1841 46,661 1851 65,573 1861 77,693
Brighton had, comparatively speaking, stood aloof from politics till the passing of the Reform Bill, in 1832, the inhabitants, not being free-holders, having had no voice in framing the House of Commons. Under the fostering wing of George IV. Brighton could not be otherwise than Tory; but the Royal Patron of the town being dead and his successor William IV. possessing different political views to his deceased brother, and others besides the aborigines having taken up their abode in Brighton, diversities of political opinions arose, and hence, on the first election of Members for the Borough there was opposition.
The following have been the polling results of the elections to the present date:--
December 11th and 12th, 1832. Isaac Newton Wigney, Esq. 873 George Faithfull, Esq. 722 Captain G. R. Pechell, R.N. 613 William Crawford, Esq. 391 Sir Adolphus James Dalrymple, Bart. 32 January 8th and 9th, 1835:-- Captain Pechell 961 I. N. Wigney, Esq. 523 Sir A. Dalrymple 483 G. Faithfull, Esq. 467 July, 25th, 1837:-- Captain Pechell 1083 Sir A. Dalrymple 819 I. N. Wigney, Esq. 801 G. Faithfull, Esq. 183 July 1st, 1841:-- Captain Pechell 1443 I. N. Wigney, Esq. 1235 Sir A. Dalrymple 872 Mr C. Brooker 19 May 6th, 1842, on the Bankruptcy of Mr. Wigney:-- Lord Alfred Hervey 1277 Summers Harford, Esq. 640 Mr. C. Brooker 16 July 30th, 1847:-- Captain Pechell 1571 Lord A. Hervey 1230 W. Coningham, Esq. 886 July 8th, 1852:-- Sir G. Pechell 1924 Lord A. Hervey 1431 J. S. Trelawney 1173 J. Ffooks 119 Upon Lord A. Hervey's appointment as a Lord of the Treasury, under the Derby Administration, his re-election took place on the 4th of January, 1853, without opposition. March 20th, 1857:-- Sir G. Pechell 2278 W. Coningham, Esq. 1900 Lord A. Hervey 1080 April 30th, 1859:-- Sir G. Pechell 2322 W. Coningham, Esq. 2106 Sir A. MacNab 1327 July 16th, 1860, inconsequence of the death of Sir George Pechell J. White, Esq. 1588 H. Moor, Esq. 1242 F. D. Goldsmid, Esq. 571