CHAPTER XXVIII.
PAST AND PRESENT PASTIMES.
Fickleness in the habits of civilized nations is in no manner more clearly exemplified than in the pastimes of the people; for although many sports are characterised as national, and are of great antiquity, modernization has greatly destroyed their originality, and refinement has detracted from the natural enjoyment of them. Even in the rural districts of England, Harvest Home possesses but little of the rustic homeliness and jollity of yore, and the happy season of Christmas lacks the "Squires of Old," and the festivities and the freely dispensed bounties of the Baronial Halls. In towns, especially those which come under the denomination fashionable, there is a constant revolution in the "rounds of amusements." Brighton has been particularly prominent in this respect, a vast variety having run its course during the past century.
Without doubt the Toy Fair, now in a wretched state of decadence, was the earliest people's festival. It was formerly held on the Cliff, between Ship Street and Black-Lion Street; but the town increasing and the Fair assuming a corresponding magnitude, Belle Vue field, whereon now stands Regency Square, was its location. From thence it was translated to the Level, where, on the 4th of September, 1807, a Sheep Fair was first held, notification of the same having been in the _Brighton Herald_, and in the _Weekly Journal_, published at Lewes, as follows:--
The rapid strides which agriculture has made within the last ten years, in this country, and the extreme utility which has been the result of its present scientific mode of practice, has commanded the attention and admiration not only of all England, but of all civilised Europe. To those who are interested in the purchase of any particular breed of stock, it must be of extreme importance that their stock be _genuine_ and uncontaminated.
To fix, therefore, a spot where a pure unmixed breed shall always be produced, and where the purchaser (who perhaps comes from a distance) shall be sure of unadulterated stock, appears to be a great desideratum. In no instance is it more so than in that useful and highly productive animal, the South Down Sheep. Those who possess this breed, true and genuine, have had much reason to lament that at fairs, where a great variety of sheep are brought to market, many are sold for South Down Sheep which have no pretensions to be so called; and which afterwards not answering the purpose of the buyers, bring unmerited disgrace on such as are really genuine. We, therefore, the undersigned breeders of true South Down Sheep, have come to a resolution to establish a Fair, to be holden on Brighton Level, the 4th of September, 1807. And we pledge ourselves to bring to it genuine South Down Tups, Stock Ewes, Ewe Lambs, and Wether Lambs; and moreover we will not, knowingly, either ourselves introduce, or suffer to be introduced to this Fair any but what shall be of the _genuine_ and _true_ South Down breed:
Alexander, W.
Blaker, N.
Beard, T.
Ball, J.
Boys, J.
Bine, --
Botting, J.
Beard, N.
Blaker, G.
Chatfield, J.
Croskey, S.
Dyer, R. L.
Elmes, W.
Fuller, H.
Falconer, W.
Gorring, W.
Geer, T.
Hardwick, J.
Hodson, W.
Hodson, T.
Hamshar, J.
Hamshar, R.
Hall, N.
Hart, R.
Hodson, A. W.
Hurley, R.
Ingram, J.
Lidbetter, T.
Murrell, W.
Marchant, J.
Newnham, --
Noakes, W.
Pilfold, J.
Poole, T.
Page, W.
Stanford, W.
Scrase, W.
Scrase, T.
Vallance, J.
Verrall, R.
Wood, J.
About 20,000 prime South Down sheep of all denominations found a ready sale, buyers being plentiful. That year, on the same day, the general Fair was held on the Marlborough Steine, the southernmost of the present North Steine Enclosures, where gingerbread stalls, whirligigs, and roundabouts were in abundance. The next year the Sheep Fair was equally well attended; but notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions of its promoters, it had but an existence of four years. A Cattle Market was established on a piece of the Parish Ground on the Church Hill, adjoining the West Hill Estate, in 1831. Like the Sheep Fair, however, it had but a few years' duration, there being no meadows near for the accommodation of stock. The Corn Market, by sample, is held every Thursday, at the King and Queen Inn, in a spacious and commodious room. From the Level, where Gully and Cribb, on the 11th of August, 1807, in the presence of the Prince of Wales and his Royal Brothers, had a sparring match, the town authorities eventually ejected the Spring and Autumn pleasure Fair, which has since sought refuge upon any available spot contiguous. A few years more and it will be amongst the things of the past.
The Level has at various periods been the arena for the festivals in celebration of important national events, as on the 19th July, 1821, upon the occasion of the coronation of George IV., when two bullocks were roasted whole, and distributed hot, and four, previously dressed, were served out, the expenses being defrayed by a public subscription. The roasting of the two bullocks commenced on the preceding night, when partial fires were kindled to heat the carcasses through the thickest part. But about five o'clock in the morning the real roasting commenced. The grates were then piled high with blazing fuel, and a savoury vapour spread through the atmosphere. About six, one of the spits, a stout scaffold pole, gave way under its ponderous weight, but at the expense only of an additional spar, and a score or so of blistered fingers.
The work of carving commenced shortly after two o'clock, when Mr. Thomas Palmer, the King's cutler, in a waggon converted into a suitable platform for such a display, decorated with devices and waving streamers, and containing several hogsheads of ale, presented to Mr. John Vallance, the Chairman of the Managing Committee, a carving knife and fork, and a corkscrew, all of extensive dimensions, with the request that the coronation beef might be carved with the former, and the bungs extracted from the casks by the latter, and that they might be furthermore preserved by the local authorities, for use on similar occasions. The work of carving occupied about an hour, during which time many thousands of persons partook of the hot and the cold.
At this period there lived in a hut of very rude construction, consisting of but one room, on the southern incline of Round Hill, Corporal Staines, an old marine who served under Nelson at the siege of Copenhagen. He was very crippled, and obtained his living by exhibiting his miniature fortifications, constructed by himself of chalk, the soldiers and cannons which surmounted the battlements being likewise formed of chalk; as was also a very rude model of the gallant ship, the Victory, bearing, under a black canopy, a coffin containing the body of the Hero of Trafalgar. Upon great national anniversaries and festivities it was his custom to fire Royal salutes from four pistol barrels which he had formed as a battery, and every day he was accustomed to fire the sun-set gun. While the feast was being made off the roasted oxen, the old corporal fired a Royal salute, for which he was rewarded with a good substantial dinner and a compliment of money, besides presents which were made him by the holiday folk. Corporal Staines first took up his abode at Brighton in a cavern hewn in the Church Hill chalk-pit, the site--filled up,--of the east end of Upper North Street. Agreeing with his residence in the chalk-pit is the following entry in the Vestry book:--
October 2nd, 1809.--That Corporal Staines be allowed a blanket and a great coat during the winter.
Staines removed from the chalk pit to a hut constructed by himself, immediately east of the Manor Pound, then at the back of the Parish Church, on the spot now occupied by the entrance of the northern Burial Ground, contiguous to which were the Parish Stocks, that were afterwards removed to the Market Place, in the Bartholomews. Upon the re-building of the Market, the Stocks were placed against its southern wall at the back of the Thatched House Inn, where, after remaining a few years as a relic of a barbarous age, they went to decay. In 1824, the Pound was removed to the north-west corner of the Workhouse grounds, on the Dyke Road. In course of time, however, it became obsolete for the impounding of cattle, and in 1853 it was purchased by the parish of the Lord of the Manor, for 100. For some years after his removal from Church Hill, the old marine took up his abode in the east bank of the pond at the junction of the old Shoreham and Ditchling Roads, on Rose Hill; but when the ground adjacent was enclosed by Mr. Colbatch, he translated himself to just without its eastern boundary wall, on the incline of the hill which commands an uninterrupted view of the Level and the Steine in general. He ended his days in Brighton Workhouse.
The earliest town record of the Proclamation of a Sovereign is a minute of Vestry, date, March 19th, 1701, which runs thus:--
Israel Paine, Constable, being accompanyed with the chief Inhabitants of the town (after open proclamation made by the Cryer) did in the mercat place about Eleven of the clock in the forenoon, solemnly proclaim our Gratious Sovereign Lady QUEEN ANNE, Queen off England, Scotland, France, and Ireland; upon which there followed great shoutings and acclamations of all the people. Saying, GOD SAVE QUEEN ANNE.
The coronation of Her present Majesty was celebrated on the Level, June 28th, 1838, in a similar manner to that of George IV. The last occasion of public rejoicing there was to commemorate the Peace with Russia in 1855. The great Peace Festival, consequent upon the overthrow of the sovereignty of Napoleon Bonaparte, on his retiring to Elba, took place on the 12th of August, 1814, on the Prince Regent's Cricket Ground, which occupied the extreme north of the Level, immediately in front of the Peircy Alms Houses, Lewes Road. The animated scene which the Cricket Ground presented on the memorable occasion was, in the highest degree, interesting. Seventy-five double rows of tables were formed, each in an oblong square, open at the bottom only, and each adapted for the accommodation of one hundred and twenty-two persons. These were furnished in a plentiful manner, with true old English fare of roast beef and plum puddings, garnished with a suitable number of hogsheads of ale and brown stout, at convenient distances, giving an air of hospitable importance to the whole. At each table a president was appointed, with six assistants, under the denomination of stewards; the former wearing white sashes, with the inscription, "Brighton Festival," and the latter purple and white favours, bearing the number of the table at which they were to officiate, affixed at the left breast. Flags of blue silk, lettered in gold, "Peace," "Wellington," "Blucher," &c., waved at the head of the various tables, where were seated upwards of 7,000 persons.
At two o'clock a bugle sounded from No. 1 table, at which presided the Rev. J. Carr (Vicar), who rose and pronounced the following benediction:--
O Thou who art the great God of Nations, Thou hast filled our hearts with joy by the restoration of Peace and the prospect of Plenty: we meet under the canopy of Heaven as members of Thy family. May this Festival be crowned with Thy blessing, and may our lives express the gratitude which Thy goodness inspires, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This was repeated by Mr. Robert Ackerson (High Constable) at the lower table, and by the Presidents of the other tables severally, and then the busy scene of feasting commenced in the presence of some thousands of spectators, who, in carriages, waggons, carts, and caravans, took up their positions just without the boundary rails.
The sound of the second bugle having announced the dinner at an end, the Vicar rose and thus returned thanks:--
Merciful Father, our grateful hearts acknowledge Thy goodness; may Charity ever assist the poor, and the poor confess their infinite obligations unto Thee, as the Bountiful Giver of all their blessings, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The following toasts and airs then succeeded, the Band of the 3rd Buffs being in attendance and adding to the pleasures of the fete:--
Our Good Old King.--"God Save the King."
The Prince Regent.--"Rule Britannia."
The Queen and Royal Family.--"The Brunswick March."
The Duke of Wellington.--"See the Conquering Hero comes."
The Allied Sovereigns.--"The March to Paris."
Louis XVIII.--"Henri Quatre."
May Peace produce Plenty and Plenty Gratitude.--"Speed the Plough."
Prosperity and Unanimity to the Town of Brighton.--"Tight little Island."
The after part of the day was devoted to dancing, blind-man's-buff, jingling matches, foot-racing, stool-ball, kiss-in-the-ring, jumping in sacks, &c.; and the happy throng concluded the day by joining hands and forming long chains of human beings, and thus in high glee they "threaded the tailor's needle" to Castle Square, where, after singing "God Save the King," they, in the most orderly manner, dispersed, and made for their several homes.
Cricket was a favourite pastime with the Prince of Wales, who was frequently engaged in the manly game with the noblemen and gentlemen of his suite, on the Royal Ground, which had been granted for his use by Mr. Thomas Reed Kemp, the Lord of the Manor. His Royal Highness, however, upon coming to the throne, retired from cricket, and hence the Ground was given up. Mr. Kemp then made the grant of a portion of it to the Town for the recreation of the inhabitants, and the road to the north of the Level was formed.
In 1822, an enterprising townsman, Mr. James Ireland, became the purchaser of ten acres of the land immediately north of the road, and in the following year, Ireland's Gardens and Cricket Ground were opened to the public. The original entrance was at the south-west comer, where was a neat lodge that conducted to the cricket ground, and an excellent bowling green, with raised banks, and a billiard room with colonnade and rustic seats in front. At the lower or east end was the tavern department, the Hanover Arms Inn, where, also, was an excellent fives' court. The Gardens were approached either by crossing the Cricket Ground, or by a separate road that skirted the property.
Mr. Ireland was the successor of Mr. Daniel Constable, who, with his brother William as shopman, commenced May 29th, 1802, the drapery business, now the well-known establishment of Messrs. Hannington and Son, at No. 3, North Street. Mr. Ireland became the purchaser of the business in 1806, and it passed from him to the late Mr. Hannington, the successor also, at No. 4, of Mr. William Diplock, who, in the summer of 1819, when Brighton churchyard was despoiled of its dead, announced himself as sole agent for the sale of patent metallic coffins, of the security of which he assured the public, every person would be satisfied. Previous to the formation of the Hanover Grounds, Mr. Ireland carried on the business of woollen draper and undertaker at No. 10, North Street.
A noble and conspicuous building, comprising reading, refreshment, and dressing rooms on the basement, and an elegant promenade room, eighty feet by thirty feet, over them, formed the junction of the Cricket Ground with the Gardens, just within the entrance of which was the ladies' bowling green, surrounded by a beautiful lawn and tea arbours. There were likewise, adjacent, an aviary and a grotto. A Gothic tower and gateway approached by a bridge that spanned a piece of water at the north end of the main central avenue, was the entrance to a Maze, in the centre of which was a Merlin swing. From the want of that support from the public which was due to Mr. Ireland, for the spirit he evinced in so zealously catering for their entertainment, the thousands which he expended were entirely lost to him, and he retired from that which ought to have been a benefit to the town and himself, a ruined man.
During the time that he held possession, a public declaration was made by the town crier that a man would fly from the top of the assembly room to the extreme north of the Grounds. All Brighton was tickled by the announcement, and hours previous to the time stated for the intended flight, throngs of people were wending their way northward, and taking up their position, where they imagined they could obtain the best view of the sight. The Round Hill was covered with one mass of human beings, whose eyes were concentrated upon a slight scaffold that was erected on the roof of the building. From the top of this structure a stout cable was stretched to the foot of the bridge at the maze, affording sufficient evidence that no hoax was intended. Expectation, therefore, was on tip-toe; and after patience had undergone a long endurance, a slightly-built man, in light fleshings, with Zephyr-like wings, was seen to ascend the scaffold, causing an universal clapping of hands, and the firing of the guns at Staines's mimic fort. About a couple of minutes sufficed for the performer to make the necessary adjustments for his flight, and then, amidst loud huzzas, he, waving a flag in each hand, gracefully glided down, head foremost, beneath the cable, along which revolved an arrangement of wheels, to which he was attached longitudinally. Those who had a gratis view of the exploit smiled, and contented themselves with the satisfaction that the sight had cost them nothing; but those who went into the Gardens and paid, to see whatever could be seen, felt sorely vexed, and some were so excited as to attempt a castigation of the exhibitor. His friends, however, quickly liberated him from his machinery, and he took a flight through the maze that enabled him to elude his pursuers.
The "Flying Man" was Mr. William Constable, who, on the disposal by his brother of his business to Mr. Ireland, accompanied Daniel to America, where they devoted themselves to scientific pursuits. His flying freak, on his return, was as well for a scientific purpose as to benefit Mr. Ireland, and the principle has been since applied in saving human life in cases of fire and shipwreck. In 1841 he introduced the art of photography, then called Daguerreotype, into Brighton, his "blue room" being a very attractive feature on the Marine Parade, near Atlingworth Street. He died on Sunday, December 22nd, 1861.
Other speculators from time to time, with but little better success than Mr. Ireland, tried their luck upon the estate. Year by year showed the gradual decay which neglect engenders; the buildings became dilapidated and unsafe for occupation, the flowerbeds were transformed into a wilderness of weeds; and at length, after having been made even the asylum for wild beasts, and the arena for the dissoluteness of pleasure fairs, the Gardens, that might have continued one of the chief prides of Brighton, and the Cricket Ground--the fame of which is perpetuated by Mason's celebrated print of the renowned players of Sussex and Kent, and their supporters,--the envy, as it was, of other cricketing counties, were sacrificed to the spirit of building, from the want of foresight in the inhabitants, who now universally admit that both should have been preserved to the town, as they were an establishment for the people's amusement and recreation, with which nothing of the kind in the county could compete. The present, the Royal Brunswick Cricket Ground, kept by the veteran Box, is capacious and well-formed; but it lacks the picturesqueness, and the spectators have not the shelter from wind and rain, and the shade from the trees which gave so vast a superiority to the Hanover Ground. Previous to the formation of Ireland's Gardens, some tea-gardens were in existence on the Marine Parade, about the locality now occupied by Eaton Place. They were merely a summer retreat for a cup of tea during an afternoon stroll, and a place of call in winter for a glass of hot elderberry wine.
In the "good old times" the people's entertainments differed much from the sports of the present race, as the following copy of a handbill will show:--
COCKING. To be fought at the Cock Pit, WHITE LION, NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON, ON THURSDAY, THE 18TH APRIL, 1811,
A Main of Cocks for TWENTY GUINEAS a Battle, and FIFTY GUINEAS the Main; between the Gentlemen of the Isle of Wight and the Gentlemen of Sussex.
Feeders: Pollard, Isle of Wight; Holden, Sussex.
N.B.--A pair of Cocks to be on the Pit at Eleven o'clock.
[RUDDUCK, Printer, Brighton Place, Brighton.
On Easter Monday, April 23rd, 1810, the holiday folks, in all their Sunday finery, assembled in great numbers, as was their custom, at the Bear public house, Lewes road, on the ground contiguous to which they were entertained with the polished diversions of cock fighting and the baiting of a badger. On the following day, Easter Tuesday, according to annual custom, a bull-bait came off at Hove; when, during the proceedings, the bull unexpectedly broke from the stake, and in an instant charged upon and routed the compact phalanx of gazers, happily without inflicting material injury on any one. The incident caused a postponement of the bait till June 11th. The hand-bill announced:
A BULL BAIT AT HOVE, ON MONDAY, JUNE 11TH, 1810.
A DINNER will be provided, and on Table at Two o'clock.
The dinner took place at the Ship Inn, Hove, in the field belonging to which,--that whereon the Coast Guard Station is erected, at the bottom of Hove Street,--the baiting took place.
The vicinity of Brighton is admirably adapted for Hunting, a sport which received considerable impetus from the Prince of Wales having an excellent pack of harriers kennelled at the Prince's Dairy, a suburban retreat on the London Road, which His Royal Highness purchased of Mr. William Stanford, in October, 1805. In October, 1821, some of the dogs exhibited symptoms of hydrophobia; the whole pack was in consequence destroyed by poison, and the carcasses were conveyed away in a waggon and buried in a pit, purposely dug to receive them, in the south part of Streeter's garden, just within the gateway, to the right of the church path, opposite North Street Brewery. The Duke of Richmond at that period hunted his fox hounds in the neighbourhood of Brighton. The present packs are supported by subscription, and consist of the Southdown Fox Hounds, and the Brighton and the Brookside Harriers.
About forty years since "hobby horse" exercise was a very favourite diversion with the gentry. These "hobbies" were the original velocipedes, now worked by a crank action; but they then consisted only of a fore and a hind wheel, with a slight saddle rail between, upon which the rider sat, holding on by a handle that guided the front wheel, and then, by striking out his feet with a walking action, the machine became propelled, its speed being regulated by the ability of the horseman. Much practice and great judgment were required to make a proficient rider. Many extraordinary feats of pedestrianism were performed with these machines; but the most arduous were the competing with the stage coaches to and from London. The earliest account we have of stage coaches at Brighton is in 1798, when the Princess of Wales pair-horse or post-coach was put on the road to London by way of Steyning and Horsham, the same route by which the eight-horse fly-waggons had previously travelled. Pack-horses were the only mode of performing the journey prior to the fly-waggons, and the lanes and bye-ways then being very narrow, recesses in the hedge-rows were made in certain places to permit of the laden animals standing aside that they might be passed, as their packs, which extended considerably on each side of the animals, would otherwise, frequently come in unpleasant contact with the fair sex, who on pillions occupied similar positions to merchandize when on horseback. In 1801, two pair-horse coaches ran between London and Brighton on alternate days, one up, the other down, and they were driven by Messrs. Crossweller and Hine. The progress of these coaches was amusing. The one from London left the Blossoms Inn, Lawrence Lane, at 7 a.m.; the passengers breaking their fast at the Cock, Sutton, at 9. The next stoppage for the purpose of refreshment was at the Tangier--Banstead Downs,--a rural little spot, famous for its elderberry wine, which used to be brought from the cottage "roking hot," and, on a cold wintry morning, few refused to partake of it. George the Fourth invariably stopped here and took a glass from the hand of Miss Jeal, as he sat in his carriage. The important business of luncheon took place at Reigate, where sufficient time was allowed the passengers to view the Barons' Cave, where it is said the Barons assembled the night previous to their meeting King John at Runnymeade. The grand halt, for dinner, was made at Staplefield Common, celebrated for its famous black cherry trees, under the branches of which, when the fruit was ripe, the coaches were allowed to draw up and the passengers to partake of its tempting produce. The hostess of the hostelry here was famed for her rabbit puddings, which, hot, were always waiting the arrival of the coach, and to which the travellers never failed to do such ample justice that ordinarily they found it quite impossible to leave at the hour appointed; so grogs, pipes and ale were ordered in, and, to use the language of the fraternity, "not a wheel wagged" for two hours. Handcross was the next resting place, celebrated for its "neat" liquors, the landlord of the inn standing bottle-in-hand at the door. He and several other Bonifaces, at Friar's Oak, &c., had the reputation of being on pretty good terms with the smugglers who carried on their operations with such audacity along the Sussex Coast. After walking up Clayton Hill a cup of tea was sometimes found to be necessary at Patcham; after which Brighton was safely reached at 7 p.m. It must be understood that it was the custom for the passengers to walk up all the hills, and even sometimes, in heavy weather, give a push behind to assist the jaded horses.
About 1809, a great revolution took place in coach travelling. Some gentlemen,--at the head of whom was the late Mr. William Bradford, or, as he was then styled, "Miller" Bradford,--12 in number, formed a capital by shares of 100 each, and established two four-horse coaches. The cattle were cast-horses of the Inniskilling Dragoons, then stationed at Brighton. In 1815, another vehicle of the same class, the "Bellerophon," a huge concern, built with two compartments, one carrying six, the other four inside, and with several out, was driven by Mr. Hine. This coach received its name from the ship in which Bonaparte, after his defeat at Waterloo, was conveyed to exile at St. Helena. The "Bellerophon" was soon found to be too heavy for the improving speed, and was abandoned for lighter vehicles, until travelling attained its perfection on the Brighton road, the time taken in the transit having diminished from twelve hours to five, and on one occasion the "Quicksilver," with a "King's speech" of William IV., made the journey down in three hours and forty minutes! From the year 1822, at different periods of the year, not less than sixty coaches were on the road,--thirty each way.
On a moderate calculation, Hine must have brought into the town more than one hundred thousand persons, and that without an accident: a circumstance which, in its day, was as beneficial to Brighton as is now the proverbially high character for safety, convenience, and civility of the London and Brighton Railway. Amongst the celebrities of the day whom Hine was accustomed to bring down, were Mathews, in his "prime and bang-up," who used invariably to borrow the huge box-coat of seven capes; Munden; Lieutenant or Jack Bannister; Quick, another famous actor; "Squire" Thornton, of Clapham; Rev. Rowland Hill; and many noblemen of the Court of George IV. Most of these men are, of course, like Hine himself, "dead and past away." Some few passengers, however, who have travelled by the "Union" and "Alert," and who have "booked" in East Street by Miss Hine,--the honest old coachman's daughter and sister of Mr. H. G. Hine, the artist whose works adorn much of the illustrated literature of the present day,--still survive; others must have had the name made familiar to them by hearing their fathers and grandfathers talking of the famous coaches and coachmen of Brighton.
In the height of Brighton coaching times, Castle Square upon the departure and arrival of the coaches,--but more especially at noon, when from the "Blue," the "Red," "Snow's," and the "Age" offices, the "crack" whips, the _elite_ of passengers, and the best "blood" on the road, started at the striking of the Pavilion clock,--was thronged with company to witness a most animating and animated scene. Of coaching nothing now remains at Brighton but the parcels' booking office of the Railway Company, originally the "Red" and subsequently the "Blue" coach office.
By a singular inadvertence the word "Company" was omitted in the original Act of the Brighton Railway, so that the Directors of it were of the London and Brighton Railway, and not Railway Company. The amalgamation of the Eastern and Western branches, under more recent Acts, has constituted the whole scheme in connexion with the mainline, the London, Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company.
As early as 1825 the construction of a railway between Brighton and London was contemplated; but it was not till 1835 that the subject was entertained with earnestness. Five schemes were then propounded, known by the names of the different engineers who projected them, namely: Stephenson's, Rennie's, Gibbs's, and Cundy's; and the South-Eastern. The first scheme was most favourably received; and in September of that year, at a public meeting of the inhabitants of Brighton, a resolution was passed requesting the Borough Members to support its adoption in Parliament. Upon reconsideration, the inhabitants were impressed with the idea that they had been too precipitate; as the Terminus of Stephenson's line, being immediately to the west of Brighton, would only favour that special district, instead of being beneficial to the town in general; they therefore reversed their decision in favour of Bennie's, or the Direct Line. The public mind being thus fickle, the other competitors anticipating that there was yet a chance for them, pressed forward their suit, resulting in a severe contest, which gave promise of a great expenditure of money, with no line at all; as, protracted by the accumulation of oppositions, the Session of Parliament for 1837, was about to terminate without its sanction to either project. The interposition of Government determined the business; a military engineer, Captain Alderton, was deputed to investigate and report upon the merits of the several lines, and his conclusion was, "That the Direct Line is the best line between London and Brighton." That line, then, was accordingly adopted, and on the 8th July, 1837, the Bill for its construction received the Royal assent, with this clause attached, "That the total capital of 1,800,000 be raised by the subscribers to the several lines in the following proportions:--The Direct line--Bennie's,--550,000; Stephenson's, 550,000; Cundy's, 100,000; South-Eastern, 330,000; and Gibbs's, 70,000." The various contracts for the formation of the line were soon entered into, and on the 4th of February, 1839, Mr. Alfred Morris laid the first permanent rail of the line, at Hassock's Gate, Mr. Samuel Thornton being the contractor, and Mr. T. H. Statham the resident engineer.
On the 11th of May, 1840, the first six miles of the western branch, to Shoreham, was opened; on the 25th of March, 1841, the main-line from London to Hayward's Heath, within fifteen miles of Brighton, was opened; and on Tuesday, September 21st, 1841, the whole of the line of railway from Brighton to London, was opened with some little ceremony and great rejoicing, the first trip--from Brighton to London--being performed in two hours and a quarter; leaving Brighton at 6.45 and arriving at London Bridge Terminus about 9. From time to time other additions, as branches from the main trunk, have been added, affording facilities for travelling to most parts of the kingdom south of the metropolis.
The handsome building of Italian style, which constitutes the Brighton Terminus, is the design of Mr. Mocatta; and the original sheds attached to the Terminus were designed by Mr. Rastrick, whose remains, under a massive granite monument, are deposited in the Extra-Mural Cemetery, Lewes Road. The Railway is considered a passenger and pleasure line, and, during the Summer season, excursion trains make important items in the traffic returns, as the line is in the direct route from London to Paris, _via_ Newhaven and Dieppe, and at the various stations throughout the line villa residences are the retreats of the families of the London merchants who diurnally travel to and from their places of business.
Hobby Horse racing round the Level formed an attraction to the fashionable company that, daily, on horseback and in good old-fashioned and aristocratic hammerclothed coach-box and powder-bewigged coachmen and footmened family carriages, thronged Morris's Royal Repository: for that great toy-mart and favourite lounge really had regal patronage, especially from William and Adelaide, who were frequently extensive purchasers. His Majesty, upon one occasion, when Duke of Clarence, was struck, while there, with the entrance of three ladies in the garb of Quakers; and as the two eldest were looking over some articles of peculiar attraction, His Royal Highness addressed himself to the youngest, who was about fourteen, and said, "So, I see that thou art not above the vanities of this gay world." The fair young Friend said nothing; but the matron, under whose care she was, gave a look more expressive than words. The Duke felt it; and immediately purchasing a handsome work-basket, respectfully asked the eldest lady's permission to present it to her daughter. The answer was mild, but laconic. "She will receive it, and thank thee, friend." The basket was accordingly taken, with the same courtesy as given; and thus the matter ended.
During the prosperity of the Repository, which had a fame for the bows and arrows which it supplied, archery was much in vogue, the Archery Club having their rendezvous in the Queen's Park, which is situate on the south-west acclivity of the Race Hill, and is approached by an entrance that abruptly terminates Park Street, contiguous to the German Spa. This Park, which is between sixty and seventy acres in extent, was formed in 1825, by Mr. Thomas Attree, whose Italian villa, designed by the late Sir Charles Barry, crowns its northern summit
Various as have been the attractions offered for the entertainment of visitors, the meed of their success and duration has preponderated in favour of those projected in the vicinity of the sea, which is the main feature of attraction to Brighton, that commands an uninterrupted marine drive and promenade along its whole three miles' frontage. The promenade was of small dimensions at its commencement, and originated with the owners of property between Cannon Place and Preston Street, Mr. Pocock, coal merchant, at its east extreme, and Mr. Robison, of Regency House, at the west end,--the promoters of the undertaking,--superintending its construction. Its position was in about the middle of the present carriage-way, which from time to time has been widened to accommodate the increased traffic. The original seats upon the Esplanade--for so from its commencement has the walk been called,--bore the names of the houses in front of which they were erected; but the Commissioners of the Town, in the plenitude of their wisdom, perceiving the improvement which would be effected by extending the walk, took the control of it into their own hands; and earth from the excavations made for the erection of the Places, Squares, and Streets adjacent, being abundant, in a very short space of time the promenade was continued to the extreme point of the parish, much to the discomfiture of the owners of boats and bathing machines, who were accustomed, for safety, to haul up their property upon the Wharf that stood, protected by a strongly-built brick wall to the south, immediately off the bottom of Regency Square, whereon, when it was known as Belle-Vue Field, stood a large capstan, that was used by means of a small tunnel under the road--through which a hawser passed,--to haul up vessels upon the Deals, ship-ways that were fixed there for repairing moderately sized craft.
Not unfrequent sights at this spot were severed capacious boats of slight build, which had been captured from smugglers, who had had the temerity to try a cargo there; as forty years since, and even more recently, contraband ventures were of very common occurrence. The last successful "run" in broad daylight took place about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, July 19th, 1821, at the bottom of Ship Street, while the Custom House Officers were attracted to the Level to witness the Coronation sports. The working party had assembled in the Old Ship Yard, and at a signal given, by way of the Gap 300 kegs of Hollands were slung and off before the few persons present, who remained in the town, could comprehend the scene. Most of the cargo was, as usual, conveyed inland, where the readiest means were offered for its concealment and disposal. Captured smugglers were, at that period, put on board the Hound revenue cutter, Captain Butler commander, which was stationed off Brighton, and a smuggler chase by her was frequently a very exciting scene from the shore. Men who embarked in the hazardous enterprise were frequently missing; but whether their lives were sacrificed or they had been captured and shipped off in the Royal Navy, upon foreign service, a considerable lapse of time and a combination of circumstances only determined. One of the most desperate of a noted gang in the neighbourhood of Brighton was David Scales, who, on the night of November 7th, 1796, while going, with many more, over the hill to Patcham, heavily laden, was overtaken by excise officers and soldiers. The smugglers fled in all directions; a riding officer, as such persons were called, gave chase to Scales, who was likewise on horseback, and called upon him to surrender his booty, which he refused to do. The officer knew that Scales was too good a man for him, they having tried it before; so he shot Daniel through the head.
A monument to his memory was erected in Patcham churchyard, with the following inscription, now obliterated by time:--
Sacred to the Memory of DANIEL SCALES,
Who was unfortunately shot, on Tuesday evening, Nov. 7, 1796.
Alas! swift flew the fatal lead, Which pierced through the young man's head He instant fell, resigned his breath, And closed his languid eyes in death.
All you who to this stone draw near, Oh! pray let fall the pitying tear: From this sad instance may we all Prepare to meet Jehovah's call. {313}
On the 24th of April, 1806, an encounter took place off Brighton, between the revenue cutter, Leopard, and a smuggler, when Aldridge, the commander of the contraband vessel, was killed in the action, and one of his crew, named Morris, was so desperately wounded in the chest that he died a few days afterwards.
As a more immediate than a sidelong marine walk, the Chain Pier was projected, agreeable to the annexed prospectus:--
The utility of a Pier at Brighton, carried a sufficient distance beyond high-water mark, so as to enable Steam Packets and boats to lay alongside, and embark or land their passengers, is universally admitted; and the proposition has excited greater interest since the resolution has been formed of establishing a Steam Packet Company to France, because it is reasonably anticipated that the two concerns, although not intended to be incorporated, must be essentially beneficial to each other.
In a national point of view it is certainly most desirable, that the intercourse between the two countries should be facilitated and extended; and there can be no measure adopted which could more effectually promote this end and increase the prosperity of this great and flourishing town, than the proposed Pier.
When so many advantages are evidently comprehended, both to the individuals who may be concerned in the undertaking, and the public generally, it becomes a subject of deeper solicitude, that there should be no fallacy in the principle, no imperfection in the constitution, which would endanger its future security, and frustrate the important object.
First, with regard to the durability of the materials, it should be observed, that it is intended to construct the Pier, wholly of iron, with the exception of the platform. The oxedale of cast Iron is so incorruptible that its effects can scarcely be brought within the scope of calculation; and wrought iron, with common attention to cleaning and painting, may be considered as almost imperishable. But even if the time should arrive (which must be exceedingly remote) to render it necessary to renew it, every bar can be taken out and the whole replaced in detail, without any interruption to the passage of the Pier, so that the capital invested in the concern is not chargeable with more than common interest. The planking of the gangway will require to be renewed perhaps once in ten or fifteen years, and this expense is accounted for under the head of charges.
With regard to its strength, when there are so many conspicuous examples of the powers of piles to resist the sea in the most exposed situations, any theoretical illustration would be superfluous. But before notice is taken of the works which have preceded and given rise to the proposed plan, a few instances may be stated, such as the Sheers, the Whittaker, the Gun Fleet, and other beacons on the North Coast; and coming nearer to the point itself, the iron beacon on the Black Rock, near Leith, which is about two miles S.E. from the Trinity Pier, has stood alone for years; North Yarmouth jetty, and the Pier at Ostend, on the opposite coast, remain firm, opposed to the sea from the S.E. and N.W. and require no repair but what arises from the decay of the timber; and at Cronstadt, in the Gulph of Finland, there are batteries erected on piles like so many islands, which have remained there from the time of Peter the Great.
It may now be noticed, without entering into so wide a field, that the Trinity Pier, which (although on the same principle) is in all respects a more slender and inferior structure to the proposed Pier for Brighton, was erected during the stormy season of the equinox; and even in its unfinished state, while it was of course less capable of resisting the shock of the sea, it suffered no injury; and since its completion, the following reports will show that its strength and security are beyond all question, and what is of as much importance, its utility has surpassed the most sanguine expectations.
Copy of a Report from the Directors of the Trinity Pier Company, dated Leith, Sept. 20, 1821:--
"These are to certify, that the Trinity Pier was loaded with 118 Pigs of iron ballast, or upwards of 20 Tons, the same that were sent out by Mr. Crichton for proving the said Pier, and that the above ballast was loaded between the piers regularly placed. And we also certify that there was no interruption to the passengers to and from the Steam Boats that were laying alongside at the time it was so loaded. And we further certify, that under all the circumstances of the case, that the said Pier has undergone a more severe trial or proof than was specified in the agreement with Captain Brown; and that the said Pier is in all respects perfect, and in good order.
"Given under our hands at Leith, this 20th day of Sept. 1821.
(Signed) "ALEXANDER SCOTT, ALEXANDER STEVENSON, Directors of the Trinity Pier."
Copy of the second Report from the Directors of the Trinity Pier Company, dated Leith, the 16th November, 1821:--
"Leith, Nov. 16, 1821.
"CAPTAIN SAMUEL BROWN, R.N.
"Sir--In compliance with your wish to hear how the new Pier of Suspension, at Trinity, has stood the late violent easterly gales, to which it is very much exposed, we feel very great pleasure in informing you that it has not received the most trifling damage; and that since the pier-head has been lengthened to 70 feet, the Steam Boats are able to lay on the lee-side of it with perfect security in the strongest gales we have had, the violence of the sea being exhausted in passing through the different ranges of the piles.
"So little is the vibration of the chains and platform, that we have never known the least alarm to be expressed by passengers going along it; and great numbers frequent it even in this inclement season, merely for the purpose of taking a walk along it.
"We are, Sir, Your obedient Servants.
(Signed) "ALEXANDER SCOTT, ALEXANDER STEVENSON, Directors of Trinity Pier Company. GEORGE CRICHTON, Treasurer."
As there will be plans upon an extended scale, laid before a general meeting, or a committee of management, it is unnecessary to advert to them at present: it may, however, be satisfactory to state, the extent, from high-water-mark to the end of the Pier, 1,000 feet, and the width ten feet: each of the inverted arches will be 251 feet span, and the outer Pier-head will form an area of about 4,500 feet, and an elevation of 10 feet above the highest spring-tides. The expense of erecting a Pier and constructing a floating Break-water, which will be essential, as a protection from ships or vessels running foul of it, and at the same time afford additional facility and convenience for ships putting to sea from the beach, will be 27,000. {315} It is proposed that a Company should be constituted and incorporated, under the denomination of the Brighton Pier Company, and that the sum of 27,000, forming the joint stock of the Company, be raised by subscriptions of 100 each.--The affairs of the Company to be conducted and managed by a Committee, consisting of a Treasurer and 10 Members, who are to be chosen by a majority of votes of the Proprietors, at a General Meeting; and that five of the said Committee are also to be chosen by a majority of votes to act as Directors or Managers of the Company; and that the Committee of Management and the Directors collectively, shall have the power of appointing a Pier Master, and other persons, whose services or avocations may be required for the general benefit and advantage of the Company. All other rules relative to the reciprocity of interest and the financial branches of the Company, are to be fully set forth and explained in a separate instrument, to be drawn up in a proper legal form by a Solicitor.
The situation in all respects most suitable both for the convenience of the public and the interest of the Brighton Pier Company, is opposite the East Parade of the Old Steyne, and as T. R. Kemp, Esq., and C. S. Dickens, Esq., have, in the most liberal and handsome manner, which must lay, not only the proprietors of the Pier, but the whole community, under lasting obligations, granted a sufficient space of ground for forming the Pier, and relinquished all their manorial rights, it will not be necessary to apply for an Act of Parliament for authority to levy and collect a toll, or pontage in the Pier, because the beach is free for landing and embarking in boats as heretofore, and it becomes perfectly voluntary or optional to enter upon and pay for the accommodation of the Pier.
It is intended that the platform shall be horizontal with the East Parade, and extend in the same direction out to sea--as there can be no doubt that the Pier would become a place of fashionable resort, great emoluments would be derived from this source alone,--independent of this, would be the specific revenue secured by a lease to be paid by the Proprietors of the Steam-Packets, and as it is one of the objects of the Pier to permit the shipment of carriages and horses, under certain regulations consistent with the convenience of visitors, a considerable sum will be raised by this means.
It is not intended that Merchant's ships should load or discharge their cargoes at the Pier, and no fish to be landed unless under particular circumstances to be judged by the Pier-Master;--but as great advantages must be derived to the Town, and Proprietors of the Pier, from the traffic in fruit, eggs, &c. &c. with France, small-craft and boats are to be permitted to come alongside, by paying certain dues for the vessels, and a certain rate upon their goods, the amount of which will be fixed by the Committee of Management; pleasure-boats, and boats hired for pleasure, are to pay certain dues for laying alongside the Pier, and a further rate for the company landing from or embarking on board them, and the shore boats belonging to the Town of Brighton and others, which are in the constant practice of using the beach, whether owned in the town or not, are to be permitted to land passengers, who are to pay the usual rate for landing on the Pier; but the boats before-mentioned are to be exempted from paying any dues for _coming_ alongside, and the crew are to be allowed to land without any charge being made: but such boats are not to continue at the Pier longer than is necessary to land or take on board passengers or pleasure parties, and are to be subject to the orders of the Pier-Master, in regard to the length of time to be allowed for this purpose, and this permission alluded to is not to be considered as an abandonment of the right of the Pier Company to charge boats of the above description the usual Pier dues, but as a favor and preference given to the fishermen and boatmen belonging to the Town of Brighton and its dependencies.
There is no circumstance connected with this establishment of a Pier at Brighton, which will be viewed with more satisfaction, either by the Proprietors or the Public, than the ready means it will afford of dispatching boats to the assistance of vessels in distress--however well disposed the fishermen or pilots may be to venture to sea in a heavy gale to their relief, their utmost skill and hardihood are unavailable to launch their boats through the serf at low water; and even at the height of the tide it is frequently impracticable; it is therefore intended either to construct a slip or inclined plane in the centre of the outward Pier, to contain a boat of the largest class, and provide anchors and cables for her, and appoint her in all respects ready to launch off in the heaviest gale at a moment's notice,--or to erect Davits on each side of the Pier to support boats, which will always be ready to lower down.--There are no description of vessels better calculated for this service than what are termed the Brighton hog-boats,--when they are fairly clear of the beach and breakers, (which the boat would be the moment it was launched,) they work off the coast in the most surprising manner.
As it will at all events be necessary to have a boat's crew of at least four active able bodied men, belonging to the Pier, those men, in order to be available for the duty alluded to, must be Pilots for Shoreham or Newhaven, and when the large boat is to be sent to sea there can be no difficulty in engaging three or four men to complete the compliment. That in the course of time many ships and vessels may receive assistance, and be saved from shipwreck by this means, is the most reasonable of all hypotheses--and as the vessel and other smaller boats would be part of the property of the Company, and maintained by it, they would be entitled to salvage or to a remuneration in proportion to the extent of services rendered, as usual in such cases.
But the sources from whence the revenue of the Pier is to be derived, which will yield a large interest to the Proprietors agreeable to the sum which they may have respectively invested, will be so satisfactorily shewn in the following statement, that it is not necessary to reckon on any profits arising from such contingencies, however plausible and flattering the prospect may be.
REVENUE: s. d. Pier dues from 4 Stream-boats, each 400 0 0 100 yearly ,, 25,000 passengers to and from 2500 0 0 France, per Steam-vessels, in the course of the year, at 2s. ,, Luggage, packages, &c. &c. 500 0 0 ,, French vessels to pay 1s per ton, 200 0 0 and the crew to be exempted from dues, viz.--200 vessels averaging 20 tons each, 1s ,, Goods, packages, &c., from French 300 0 0 vessels ,, 100 carriages to and from France, 100 0 0 20s ,, 200 horses ditto ditto, 10s 100 0 0 ,, Pleasure Yachts, crews exempted, 50 0 0 supposed ,, Company embarking and landing, 2s 100 0 0 ,, Parties of pleasure in the 50 0 0 Brighton shore boats ,, Ship boats landing and embarking 50 0 0 passengers 5s for the use of the Pier, which will exempt the crew ,, Produce of the Pier as a 3650 0 0 promenade, at 10 per day 8000 0 0 CHARGES: s d. Pier 200 0 0 Master, yearly Boat's 150 0 0 crew, 4 men, yearly Two 104 0 0 Toll- keepers Wear and 40 0 0 tear of ropes, &c. Painting 40 0 0 Pier twice a year Wear and 30 0 0 tear of gangway of Pier Lighting 20 0 0 of Pier Night 38 0 0 watchman Secretary, 300 0 0 office, &c. 922 0 0 922 0 0 Net produce yearly, or 25 per Cent. 7078 0 0 on amount of capital
The merits of the plan are here brought to a very narrow compass, and it is confidently believed that there will appear no disposition to overrate the advantages, or to excite any undue bias in the public mind that might ultimately lead to disappointment.
Subscriptions will be received at Messrs. HALL, WEST, and BORRER; Messrs. WIGNEY, STANFORD and Co., Brighton; and Messrs. WILLIS, PERCIVAL and Co., London.
It is much doubted whether the expectations of either the projectors or the shareholders have ever been realized, except as regards outlay and charges. The structure was commenced in October, 1822, and completed in twelve months. On the 25th of November, it was opened by the skilful projector, Sir Samuel Brown, R.N. The Pier, which projects 1,150 feet, is approached by an Esplanade 1,250 feet in length. The foundation consists of four clumps of iron shod and nail-mailed piles strongly bound by cross and wale pieces of great substance. The clumps are 250 feet apart, and are crowned with cast-iron towers, over which pass the main suspension chains that emerge from the cliff, into which they are canned fifty-four feet, and are there fastened to a mass of iron, three tons in weight, firmly embedded in masonry. The south ends of the chains pass down a casing of wood to the rock, into which and the massive piles of the extreme platform they are bolted and keyed.
Just one year after the completion of the Pier, namely, on the 23rd November, 1824, the structure underwent a severe trial, but it nobly stood a storm which devastated the southern coast of England, some portion of the wooden platform and the ornamental iron-work alone receiving slight damage. Two dolphins, however, to the west of the Pier in an angular position, consisting of small clusters of piles, over the crown of which to the Pier-head large chains were stretched to fend-off any vessels that might be driven in by a south-west gale, were completely washed away. The havock to property along the sea-front of the town was tremendous.
On the 15th of October, 1833, the structure received some injury from lightning, and on the 22nd of November following a dreadful gale of wind, after causing the platform to writhe like the action of a serpent, heaved-up the chains, twisting the pendant rods into fantastical shapes, discharging the wooden roadway into the raging surf, and wrenching one of the towers from its perpendicular. The inhabitants, looking upon the injury done as a calamity to the town, immediately set a subscription on foot, and in a very short time, 1,200 was raised to effect the restoration of the edifice, which was further secured by a chain cable beneath the platforms, attached to each clump of piles, to check all future oscillation and heaving.
For many years the arrival and departure of steam packets, employed in the passenger intercourse between Brighton and Dieppe, formed a great attraction for visitors to the Pier. The first steamer employed in the station was the Swift, of eighty-horse power. A packet service by sailing vessels, previously existed, during the times of peace, dating as far back as 1792, when the Prince of Wales, a schooner, Captain Burton; the Princess Royal, a schooner, Captain Chapman; and the Speedwell, a cutter, Captain Lind, were the vessels employed. These were succeeded by the Nancy, Captain Blaber, which was run down in mid-channel; Ann and Elizabeth, Captain Daniels; Nautilus, Captain Wingfield, who is still alive and vends pork in Brighton Market; Elizabeth, Captain Lind; Lord Wellington, Captain Cheesman, who was afterwards, for years, in the General Steam Navigation Company's service, on the same route; Prince Regent, Captain Bulbeck; Neptune, Captain Wallis; and the Thomas, Captain Clear. This vessel was instrumental in saving the life of Mr. Charles Green, the celebrated aeronaut, on the occasion of his ascent from the Gas Works, at Black Rock, October 1st, 1821, with his Coronation balloon. The Thomas had left some of her passengers and the Captain at Eastbourne, and was just off Beachy Head, in charge of the Mate, Francis Cheesman, who bore down upon the balloon, then unmanageable upon the water, and driving the vessel's bowsprit into the silk of the aerial machine soon liberated the gas, and rescued Mr. Green from his frail wicker-work car.
At various periods the Chain Pier has been the medium and focus of special entertainments in the separate and combined attractions of fire and water. The structure on the evening of its inauguration was illuminated on both sides throughout its whole extent, in coloured lamps forming "God Save the Queen, and the House of Brunswick." More recently exhibitions of fireworks have taken place upon it. The most memorable event by way of pastime was the Brighton and Hove Regatta, which took place on Thursday and Saturday, July 21st and 23rd, 1853, when public money to the extent of 364, was competed for, prizes of 120, 105, and 52 10s, by yachts, and other prizes varying from 20 downwards, to the number of fourteen by sailing and rowing boats. The weather for several days previous to the Regatta--which had been arranged to extend through three days,--was most unfavourable, a strong wind from the south-west preventing the arrival of yachts which had just contended in the Yarmouth Regatta. Several however, of heavy tonnage were in the matches, the first of which was gained by the Alarm, 248 tons, J. Welds, Esq., in a contest with the Sveridge, 280 tons, T. Bartlett, Esq., which was declared by yachting men unparalleled in the superior nautical tactics which were displayed. The Hotel-Keepers' Prize of 50 guineas, with 50 guineas added, was won by the Arrow, 102 tons, T. Chamberlayne, Esq., four competed. The Ship-Owners' Prize of 50 guineas was gained by the Phantom, 25 tons, S. Lane, Esq., beating the Thought, 25 tons, G. Coope, Esq. The First Class Pleasure Boat match, 20, was won by the Skylark, Mr. A. T. Mills; and in the Second Class Pleasure Boat contest for 10 guineas, the Royal Frederick, Mr. B. Kent, successfully contended against three others. In the four-oared Galley contest for 15, the Arrow, Mr. J. Nottidge succeeded against six others. Friday, the intervening day of the matches, was an entire blank; a dense fog with a drizzling rain prevailing from sun-rise to sun-set. On the evening of Saturday, there was a grand display of fireworks on the Chain Pier.
The Regatta was of simple origin. A few of the principal tradesmen who were accustomed to meet of an evening in conviviality at the New Ship Hotel, chanced in the early part of March, 1853, to have in their company Captain Moore, connected with several yachting clubs. He spoke of the admirable position of Brighton for yachting matches, and the attraction they would be to the inhabitants and visitors. A communication was forthwith made to the Commodores of the various Royal Yacht Clubs, and the idea being favourably entertained by them, a committee was formed, with Mr. H. P. Tamplin, the High Constable, as their Chairman, and the author of this book as their Honorary Secretary. Subscriptions came in bountifully, the whole of the town being most favourable to the project. The Railway Directors presented 50 guineas; the Hotel Keepers gave a prize of 37 guineas; the inhabitants of Cliftonville 50 guineas; the Ship-Owners 50 guineas; and Chain Pier Company 18 guineas. The Theatre was placed at the service of the Committee, and the proceeds of an amateur performance under the management of Mr. D. H. Greenin, aided the funds, as did also a fete at the Swiss Gardens, Shoreham, and a concert at the Royal Pavilion. So anxious and energetic, in fact, was the public in general for the Regatta to be a great success, that at its termination, the sum of 148 remained in the hands of the Treasurer, arising principally from the weather preventing the whole of the programme being gone through.
As an Englishman's conclusion to a popular enterprise, a dinner took place at the Old Ship Hotel; and then, at the New Ship, where the Committee held their meetings, the Committee--of which Mr. Charles Sprake, the landlord, was a member,--gave an invitation dinner to the Honorary Secretary, who was presented, at the hands of the High Constable, with a most gratifying testimonial, thus inscribed,--surmounted with the Brighton Arms,--upon a silver-mounted portemonnie:--"Brighton and Hove Regatta, 1853. Presented to Mr. J. A. Erredge, with a Complimentary Sum, by the Committee, for his Valuable Services, as their Honorary Secretary." As a feature of and to commemorate the Regatta, Mr. John Smith, King's Road, who fitted-out several of the Committee in nautical attire, had an appropriate gilt button struck, of neat design.
Amongst the matches not contended for in the Regatta, was that for the Cliftonville Prize, which remained in abeyance till the Autumn of 1856, when fresh subscriptions and the interest of the money in hand, accumulating the Fund to 304, a second Regatta was arranged, which came off on the 26th of August, when Prizes to the amount of 207 were awarded. A grand display of fireworks and the discharge of incidental expenses cleared off the balance.
A great attraction to the Chain Pier, after the packets ceased running to and from Dieppe, was a band of music that entertained the company who promenaded the Pier-head. The Military Concerts at the Pavilion, however, are at present the musical feature for visitors, who every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon throng the suite of Assembly Rooms; and, when the season and weather are favourable, the eastern lawn, where also, for nine years past the Brighton and Sussex Horticultural and Floricultural Society have held their Summer and Autumn Shows, which annually increase in attraction and importance. The Museum and Picture Galleries that occupy upper portions of the Pavilion, likewise afford visitors many an hour's agreeable ramble amongst the works of art and other rarities which are daily accumulating. An annual exhibition in connexion with the Brighton and Sussex School of Art, with an Art Union attached, takes place in the Galleries; and there is also an apartment appropriated to the School of Art. In the height of the season, grand concerts by _artistes_ of celebrity take place in the Music Room, which, being easier of approach than the Town Hall, has superseded the large room there, where on the occasion of Jenny Lind--the Swedish Nightingale,--singing on the 23rd of August, 1847, the receipts were 1,200.
A species of diversion, termed a soire, has of recent years been very popular, the intellectual being by it agreeably blended with the recreative; science and the fine arts gracefully admitting a sistership with Terpsichore, the active votaries of which goddess in their sundry modern gyrations of polka and schottische, contrasting strangely with "Lady Montgomery's Reel," led off in the same Pavilion, August 13th, 1805, by the Honourable Miss Seymour and a son of the Duke of Clarence, "with suitable ease, spirit, and vivacity," and in a country-dance to the tune "Murphy Delaney," the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Clarence "taking an active part in the wholesome exercise." There was as great a diversity then in dance music as at the present time, passing events suggesting new ideas to composers and musicians. Upon one occasion, Mr. Kramer, the leader of the Prince's private band, being in the Telemachus Room of the Old Ship Hotel, arranging the music for a ball which was to take place in the evening at the Royal Pavilion, had his attention attracted by the voice of a noted character from Lewes, Jemmy Gosney, who with a peculiar nasal twang was announcing in Ship Street that he had for sale "Book almanack, new almanack, Moore's Almanack." To the surprise of the vendor of _Vox Stellarum_, he heard his words repeated at a window opposite, where, on his clarionet, Kramer so imitated the old man's voice, that, in the evening, he availed himself of the incident to introduce it as a novelty, in the course of a dance, much to the delight of His Royal Highness and the company in general.
During the sojourn of William and Adelaide in Brighton, in 1834, Sir Andrew Barnard, at the request of his Majesty, enquired of Mr. Gutteridge, the organist of the Royal Chapel, if there was anything to be obtained in the way of singing amongst the townsfolk. Mr. Gutteridge recommended the members of the Brighton Madrigal Society, with whom, for eight guineas the evening, an engagement was effected, but at so short a notice that the singers were perplexed to procure the appropriate dress for the occasion, namely, black coats and white vests. At the suggestion of a friend, however, a second-hand clothes' shop in the Lanes was visited, and there they found all that was required; but one of the party, who was desirous of the loan of a coat for the night,--for which loan a half-crown was asked,--not having the cash about him for the deposit that was required to ensure its safe return, was necessitated to go out and obtain a well-known hair-dresser in Ship Street as his bond. The performance of the Madrigals took place in the Royal Music Room, in the presence of their Majesties and party, amongst whom was Lady Kennedy Erskine, the King's daughter, an excellent judge of music, who highly complimented them on the efficient manner in which they had acquitted themselves. After the singing, they withdrew and partook of supper, at which they were attended by two footmen in the Royal livery, to one of whom the leader of the party--who had a black ribbon pinned in his waistcoat pocket to simulate that he wore a watch, and who was unaccustomed to a servant in waiting,--said, "Hulloa, old fellow, don't bother yourself about us, sit down and have some with us." The servant smiled, but declined, and only forgot his position as attendant by taking, when urgently pressed, a glass of wine all round with the guests.
In 1834, when Madame Sala, the mother of Mr. F. A. Sala, the novelist, was in the zenith of her profession as a songstress, and also as a teacher of singing, a placard on a board was placed at Eber's Library, now Dutton and Thorowgood's shoe warehouse, Castle Square, announcing a concert at the Town Hall, for her benefit; when some person,--it was supposed envious of her fame,--two evenings previous to that announced for her concert, disfigured the placard by cutting out some of the letters of her name, making it to read thus:--MAD SAL, which, coming to her knowledge, caused Madame to abandon the concert from fear of further insult. Her patrons recompensed her, but could not erase from her recollection the unmerited malignity.
Only a few years since, Brighton was greatly infested with street music from organs, hurdy-gurdies, and pianettes; a crusade, however, of the peace authorities drove them from the town, to which they have not since been allowed to return. Itinerant bands of wind instrument players yet remain, greatly to the annoyance of the inhabitants, of whom the performers most importunately ask remuneration for the woful discord they discourse. An accredited Town Band of no mean talent is in existence, supported by voluntary contributions and subscriptions; but it struggled for some years before it could attain a position, intruders upon their presumed rights frequently drafting off, by offers of superior engagements, their best performers. German bands were at one time very prevalent, but they remained only the novelty of a few seasons; pilferings by their leaders, petty quarrels and jealousies amongst themselves, and the non-appreciation by the public of what by some persons might be termed their talent, causing most of them to leave the town, if not the kingdom. The most respectable of them formed the nucleus of the Town Band, whose most general place of performance is on the lower western Esplanade, contiguous to the principal pleasure-boat station, where parties for a sail or row, or fishing excursion meet with everything they desire for a nautical pastime.
Persons who are desirous of witnessing deep-sea fishing can also be gratified by making arrangements with owners of the regular fishing boats; and as the various kinds of fish, the habits, manners, customs, and costumes of the fishers, and the mode of fishing off this coast have not undergone any change by time, the graphic description of the Brighton Fishery by the Welsh Zoologist, Thomas Pennant, who died in 1798, is here most apposite:--
"The fish-market, both wholesale and retail, is kept on the beach, a little beyond the baths; the boats used in the fisheries are from ten to fifteen tons, made remarkably strong to secure them against the storms in their winter adventure. The mackarel boats are navigated by three or four men and a boy; there are about forty-five for the mackarel fishery, and twenty-five for the trawling; they set sail generally in the evening, go eight or ten leagues to sea, and return the next day. The fishing is always carried on in the night. The crew are provided with tea, coffee, water, and a small quantity of spirits, for at sea they are remarkably temperate; their indulgence is only on shore. They only take with them bread, beef, and greens, which, and sometimes fish, they often eat with their tea and coffee. They are a hardy race, and very healthy; yet, during the Summer season, they have very small interval from labour. They get a good meal, and a very short repose by lying themselves on a bed during the few hours in the day on which they come on shore. They bring their fish in baskets to the beach, fling them in vast heaps, and instantly a ring of people is formed round, an auction {325a} is begun, and the heap immediately disposed of; the price is uncertain, according to the success of the night. Mackarel in the year 1793, were sold from 1 to 7 a hundred; they have been sold as high as 15 a hundred. {325b} Mackarel and soles are the great staples of the place, nine or ten thousand have been taken at one shooting of the net. Mackarel swim deep in calms, and rise to the surface in gales, when the largest fish and the greatest quantity are taken. {325c}
"The nets consist of a number of parts, each of which is from thirty-six to fifty yards long and deep, and are kept buoyant by corks. These united form a chain of nets a mile and a half long. Before they are used in the Spring, they are taken from the storehouses and spread upon the Steine; a privilege, time immemorial, granted to the fishermen. The boats are drawn on shore at the latter end of the Winter, and placed in ranges on the lower part of the Steyne, and other places near to the sea. The interval from labour is very small, for numbers of the boats are in the early Spring hired out to dredge for oysters, to supply the beds in the Medway and other places.
"The greater part of the fish is sent to London, packed in baskets, usually weighing about three quarters of a hundred in each; they are put into small light carts, which go post, carry from fifteen to thirty baskets each, and reach our capital in eight or ten hours.
"The mackarel are supposed to come from the Bay of Biscay. In the early Spring they are taken off Dieppe; they next appear off Mount's Bay, where they are caught in seines, and sent by land to London in small baskets; the shooting of nets has not been found to answer off the Cornish shore. They arrive in the channel off Brighthelmston in the middle of April, and continue to the middle of July, after which they will not mesh, but are caught with hooks, and are at that season nearly unfit for eating. In June they are observed to approach nearer the shore; they continue in the channel till the cold season commences, when they go progressively north or east. The fry is seen of very small size in October and November.
"The herring fishery begins in October; those fish appear in great quantities along shore, and reach Hastings in November. The fishery is very considerable, and adventurers from every country engage in it. A boat has ten last of ten thousand each. The fish which are not sent to London fresh, are salted or cured as red herrings. The nets resemble those used in the mackarel fishery, only the meshes are smaller: they are about twenty feet deep, and are left to sink of themselves. The congenerous pilchards are sometimes taken here in the mackarel nets, but in very small quantities.
"Soles, the other staple fish, are taken in trawls in great numbers. The fishery begins in April, and continues all the Summer: in April, 1794, the weight of two tons was caught in one night. I saw in the same month a heap of soles on the market beach none of which were less than nineteen inches long. The other congenerous fishes were turbots, generally very indifferent; brills or pearl; smear dabs; plaice, and flounders.
"Various kinds of rays are taken here; such as the skate, the fuller, the thornback, the sand-ray, which has sharp slender spines on the edges, opposite to the eyes; minute spines along the edges of the fins, and upon the fins like the fuller; the back and tail shagreened, marked with round black spots; the teeth sharp and slender. A ray, not uncommon on the Flintshire coasts, is twenty-one inches long, of which the tail is eleven; the nose is pointed, and semi-transparent; two spines above each eye, and three placed in a row on the back; three rows on the tail, of which the middle runs far up the back edges of the body from the nose to the anal fin, rough, with rows of minute spines; back quite smooth, of a fine pale brown, regularly marked with circular black spots; teeth quite flat and smooth.
"Of the shark genus, the angel-fish is not uncommon. The smooth sharks, or topes, are very numerous; they grow to the length of four feet. I saw opened several of this species, and can vouch for the truth of the young entering the mouth of the parent in time of danger, and taking refuge in the stomach. I have seen from twelve to twenty taken out of a single tope, each eleven or twelve inches long. This species is split, salted, and eaten.
"I here met with the corbeagle of Mr. Jago. The length was three feet nine inches, the thickest circumference two feet one inch. It is a rare species, allied to the Beaumaris shark. The greater and lesser spotted dog-fish are very numerous.
"The common angler is frequently caught here, and sometimes of an enormous size; from the vast width of the mouth it is called here the kettle-man. The launce, and two species or weevers, are very common; the greater grows to the length of sixteen inches, is two inches deep, the weight of two pounds, and is a firm well-tasted fish. The fishermen have a great dread of the spines, and cut them off as soon as taken.
"The cod fish tribe are rather scarce, except the whitings, which are sometimes caught in mackarel nets, but chiefly with hooks. They are taken in April; but the best season is in October. I saw here the common cod, the whiting-pout, the coal-fish, and the five-bearded cod.
"The doree is frequently taken here: I saw one of fifteen pounds weight, and the length of three quarters of a yard. I saw here the lunated gilthead, and ancient wrasse, the basse, and red or striped surmullet: the last small. The red and the grey gurnards were common.
"Salmons are unknown here, which I am told is the case on all chalky coasts. The gar or needle-fish are often seen here, and of great lengths. I shall digress improperly in saying that the razor bills and guillemots, inhabitants of Beachy Head, are frequently caught in the mackarel nets, unwarily diving in the pursuit of the fish. Prawns are in their season taken in vast abundance near the shores, which wanting rocks to give shelter to the lobsters and crabs, those delicacies are brought from the more distant parts of the coast."
A very general pastime with the low caste of the seafarers, when the weather is too boisterous for their fishing and boating operations, is sea-roaming, watching the margin of the turbulent waves upon the beach, to pick up the trifles which the surge may chance to throw up. Some years since,--before steam vessels were in use,--when weather-bound ships were unable to get out of the bay, of which Brighton forms the northern boundary, wrecks of richly laden crafts frequently afforded rare prizes for the roamers, who now, more than from the spoils, _via jetsam et flotsam_, pick up from strangers whom they may chance to meet on their stroll, many a silver coin, fictitious tales of their losses, bad voyages, and their starving large families, rarely failing to exact a coin of the realm, hence they are known amongst the better class of the nautical fraternity by the name of cadgers. On the faith, too, that "early birds pick up the worms," not to be despised a living is obtained by frequenting at day-break the vicinity of houses where parties have been held the previous night, in search of jewellery, trinkets, or money that by any casualty may have been dropped. For many years this mode of life has been a monopoly by a man named Simmonds, who, also, throughout the livelong day pursues with a keen eye and a raking stick the business of gutter hunter.