THE BRIGHTON ROAD HISTORIES of the ROADS — by — Charles G
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Ililliiiilliilliiiiiii THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE BRIGHTON ROAD HISTORIES OF THE ROADS — BY — Charles G. Harper. THE BRIGHTON ROAD : The Classic Highway to the South. THE GREAT NORTH ROAD : London to York. THE GREAT NORTH ROAD : York to Edinburgh. THE DOVER ROAD : Annals of an Ancient Turnpike. THE BATH ROAD : History, Fashion and Frivolity on an old Highway. THE MANCHESTER AND GLASGOW ROAD : London to Manchester. THE MANCHESTER ROAD : Manchester to Glasgow. THE HOLYHEAD ROAD : London to Birming- ham. THE HOLYHEAD ROAD : Birmingham to Holyhead. THE HASTINGS ROAD : And The " Happy Springs of Tun bridge." THE OXFORD. GLOUCESTER AND MILFORD HAVEN ROAD : London to Gloucester. THE OXFORD, GLOUCESTER AND MILFORD HAVEN ROAD : Gloucester to Milford Haven. THE NORWICH ROAD. An East Anglian Highway. THE NEWMARKET, BURY, THETFORD AND CROMER ROAD. THE EXETER ROAD : The West of England Highway. THE PORTSMOUTH ROAD. THE CAMBRIDGE, KING'S LYNN AND ELY ROAD. Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2007 witli funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/briglitonroadclasOOIiarpiala GEORGE THE FOURTH. From the painting by Sir Thomas Latrrence, R.A. The BRIGHTON ROAD The Classic Highway to the South By CHARLES G. HARPER Illustrated by the Author, and from old-time Prints and Pictures London : CECIL PALMER Oakley House, Bloomsbury Street, W.C. i First Published - 1892 Second Edition 1906 Third and Revised Edition - 1922 Printed in Great Britain by C. Ti!»liiio & Co., Ltd. 53, Victoria Street, Liverpool, and 187, Fleet Street, London. DA [^11 IfRGP/aGE 71 /fANY years ago it occurred to this writer that it A r -» would bean interesting thing to write and illustrate a book on the Road to Brighton. The genesis of that thought has been forgotten, but the book was written and published, and has long been out of print. And there might have been the end of it, but that {from no preconceived plan) there has since been added a long series of books on others of our great highways, rendering imperative re-issu^s of the parent volume. Two considerations have made that undertaking a matter of considerable difficulty, either of them sufficiently weighty. The first was that the original book was written 85408S PREFACE at a time when the author had not arrived at a settled method ; the second is found in the fact of the Brighton Road being not only the best known of highways, but also the one most susceptible to change. When it is remembered that motor-cars have come upon " the roads since then, that innumerable sporting " records in cycling, walking, and other forms of progression have since been made, and that in many other ways the road is different, it was seen that not merely a re-issue of the book, but a book almost entirely re-written and re-illustrated was required. This, then, is what was provided in a second edition, published in 1906. And now another, the third, is issued, bringing the story of this highway up to date. CHARLES G. HARPER. March, 1922. THE ROAD TO BRIGHTON MILES Westminster Bridge (Surrey side) to— St. Mark's Church, Kennington .... IJ Brixton Church 3 Streatham .... 5i Norbury ..... n Thornton Heath 8 Croydon (\Vhitgift's Hospital) n Puriey Corner .... 12 Smitham Bottom 13i Coulsdon Railway Station . 14J Merstham .... 171 Redhill (Market Hall) 20^ Horiey (" Chequers ") 24 Povey Cross 25i Kimberham Bridge 26 (Cross River Mole) Lowfield Heath 27 Crawley .... 29 Pease Pottage . 81i Hand Cross 33i Staplefield Common . 34| Slough Green 36^ Whiteman's Green 37i Cuckfleld .... 37i Ansty Cross 38 Bridge Farm 40i (Cross River Adur) St. John's Common . 40} " " Friar's Oak Inn . 42| THE BRIGHTON ROAD MILES Stonepound 43i Clayton .... 44,1 Pyecombe 45^ Patcham .... 48 Withdean 48J Preston .... 49| Brighton (Aquarium) 5U The Sutton and Reigati. Route St, Mark's, Kennington n Tooting Broadway 6 Mitcham .... H Sutton (" Greyhound ") 11 Tadwort;h 16 Lower Kingswood 17 Reigate Hill 19i Reigate (Town Hall) . 20^ Woodhatch (" Old Angel ") 2U Povey Cross 26 Brighton .... 51f The Bolney and Hickstead Route Hand Cross 33^ Bolney 39 Hickstead 40J Savers Common ...... 42 Newtimbcr ....... 44J Pyecombe ....... 45 Brighton 50i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE George the Fourth . Frontispiece Sketch-map showing Principal Routes to Brighton . 4 Stage Waggon, 1808 13 The " Talbot " Inn Yard, Borough, about 1815 17 Me and My Wife and Daughter ... 19 The " Duke of Beaufort " Coach starting from the " Bull and Mouth " Office, Piccadilly Circus, 1826 31 The " Age," 1829, starting from Castle Square, Brighton . 35 Sir Charles Dance's Steam-carriage leaving London for Brighton, 1833 . 39 The Brighton Day Mails crossing Hookwood Common, 1838 43 " The Age," 1852, crossing Ham Common . 47 " The Old Times," 1888 . 51 " The Comet," 1890 . 55 John Mayall, Junior, 1869 . 70 The Stock Exchange Walk: E. F. Broad at Horley 83 Miss M. Foster, paced by Motor Cycle, passing Coulsdon . .86 Kennington Gate : Derby Day, 1839 . 95 Streatham Common ..... 101 Streatham ....... 107 The Dining Hall, Whitgift Hospital . Ill THE BRIGHTON ROAD PAGE The Chapel, Hospital of the Holy Trinity 113 Croydon Town Hall . 120 Chipstead Church . 135 Merstham .... 139 " " Gatton Hall and Town Hall . 144 The Switchback Road, Earlswood Common 148 Thunderfield Castle 150 The " Chequers," Horley 151 The " Six Bells," Horley 153 " The Cock," Sutton, 1789 . 157 Kingswood Warren 162 The Suspension Bridge, Reigate Hill 163 The Tunnel, Reigate 167 Tablet; Batswing Cottages .' 172 The Floods at Horley . 174 Charlwood .... 176 A Corner in Newdigate Church 177 On the Road to Newdigate 179 Ifield Mill Pond . 180 Crawley : Looking South 183 Crawley, 1789 185 An Old Cottage at Crawley 188 The " George," Crawley 189 Sculptured Emblem of the Holy Trinity Crawley Church 191 Pease Pottage 197 The " Red Lion," Hand Cross 201 Cuckfield, 1789 . 203 The Road out of Cuckfield 207 Cuckfield Place . 210 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Clock-Tower and Haunted Avenue, Cuck- field Place .... 211 Harrison Ainsworth 213 Old Sussex Fireback, Ridden's Farm 223 Jacob's Post .... 224 Clayton Tunnel .... 233 Clayton Church and the South Downs 235 The Ruins of Slaugham Place 239 The Entrance : Ruins of Slaugham Place 241 Bolney ..... 243 From a Brass at Slaugham 244 Hickstead Place .... 245 Newtimber Place .... 247 Pyecombe : Junction of the Roads 249 Patcham ..... 251 Old Dovecot, Patcham . 254 Preston Viaduct : Entrance to Brighton 256 The Pavilion .... 259 The Cliffs, Brighthelmstone, 1789 . 263 Dr. Richard Russell 265 St. Nicholas, the old Parish Church of Bright helmstone .... 269 The Aquarium, before destruction of the Chain Pier 271 The road to Brighton—the main route, pre-eminently the road—is measured from the south side of West- minster Bridge to the Aquarium. It goes by Croydon, Redhill, Horley, Crawley, and Cuckfield, and is (or is supposed to be) 51 1 miles in length. Of this prime route—the classic way^there are several longer or shorter variations, of which the way through Clapham, Mitcham, Sutton, and Reigate, to Povey Cross is the chief. The modern " record " route is the first of these two, so far as Hand Cross, where it branches off and, instead of going through Cuckfield, proceeds to Brighton by way of Hickstead and Bolney, avoiding Clayton Hill and rejoining the initial route at Pyecombe. The oldest road to Brighton is now but little used. It is not to be indicated in few words, but may be taken as the line of road from London Bridge, along the Kennington Road, to Brixton, Croydon, Godstone Green, Tilburstow Hill, Blindley Heath, East Grinstead, Maresfield, Uckfield, and Lewes ; some fifty-nine miles. This is without doubt the most picturesque route. A circuitous way, travelled by some coaches was by 2 THE BRIGHTON ROAD Ewell, Leatherhead, Dorking, Horsham, and Mock- bridge (doubtless, bearing in mind the ancient mires of Sussex, originally " Muckbridge "), and was 57| miles in length. An extension of this route lay from Horsham through Steyning, bringing up the total mileage to sixty-one miles three furlongs. This multiplicity of ways meant that, in the variety of winding lanes which led to the Sussex coast, long before the fisher village of Brighthelmstone became that fashionable resort, Brighton, there were places on the way quite as important to the old waggoners and carriers as anything at the end of the journey. They set out the direction, and roads, when they began to be improved, were often merely the old routes widened, straightened, and metalled. They were kept ^ery largely to the old lines, and it was not until quite late " in the history of Brighton that the present " record route in its entirety existed at all. Among the many isolated roads made or improved, which did not in the beginning contemplate getting to Brighton at all, the pride of place certainly belongs to the ten miles between Reigate and Crawley, originally made as a causeway for horsemen, and guarded by posts, so that wheeled traffic could not pass. This was constructed under the Act 8th William III., 1696, and was the first new road made in Surrey since the time of the Romans. It remained as a causeway until 1755, when it was widened and thrown open to all traffic, on paying toll. It was not only the first road to be made, but the last to maintain toll-gates on the way to Brighton, the Reigate Turnpike Trust expiring on the midnight of October 31st, 1881, from which time the Brighton Road became free throughout. Meanwhile, the road from London to Croydon was repaired in 1718 ; and at the same time the road from London to Sutton was declared to be " dangerous to all persons, horses, and other cattle," and almost impassable during five months of the year, and was therefore repaired, and toll-gates set up along it.