Starlings Leave Roost (Brighton 20th January )

Still catching up on images from trip to Brighton. This was my last morning when my planned walk from Brighton along towards Shoreham was a bit delayed by the wonderful spectacle, first of the starlings leaving the old West Pier and flying off over Hove and then by the colours of the sunrise.

 

Cambridge Architecture: Station Road and Warren Close

A group from CCC spent the morning looking the the new developments in the Station area and the Cattle market (now housing the Junction, Travelodge and Light Cinema complex). The latter has changed little in the last 5 years but area around the station is transformed. Very poor light to get the effect I was aiming at so will return on another day.

 

Regency Brighton and Palace Pier

Regency describes the years from 1811 to 1820 during which George III was judged to be incapacitated and his son, the Prince of Wales, acted as Regent. Architecturally, however, it flourished for more than three decades until it gradually withered during the reign of William IV. One of its main protagonists was John Nash, who transformed the Prince’s more modest pavilion with an amalgam of Mogul Indian, Scottish Baronial and Chinoiserie features. Palace Pier was opened in 1899 so of a later period but it fits well with the Regency buildings of the Old Steine area immediately inland with the dominant domes of the Royal Pavilion.

Art Deco Saltdean: 2. Lido and Cafe

Saltdean's Lido was constructed in 1938 (architect, R.W.H. Jones) and is the only Grade II listed Lido in the UK. However, due to its sea-facing location, the structure has suffered decades of chloride-attack which has allowed sea salts to penetrate the building. I last visited in 2016 when the site, after years of neglect, had been purchased by the Saltdean Lido CIC (SLCIC) with a mission to safeguard and restore Saltdean Lido for the benefit of the city and future generations to come.

Ann Miles Blog: Saltdean, Sussex. Lido and Seafront (pin-sharp.blogspot.com)

The pool opened for three summer seasons (2017 onwards) and attracted nearly 40,000 visitors in the first year. The 40m pool tank is the largest in Brighton and makes it an ideal facility for serious swimmers, and families.   

However, the Grade II* listed Art Deco building is in a dilapidated condition and was largely closed to the public. This is a common issue shared by many coastal modernist structures of this period - most notably, the De La Warr Pavilion. The rennovation is now under way but  the building remains on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register. 

The 1930's cliff-top cafe is a delight with blankets and even hot water bottles supplied and the walk along to Rottingdean just as I remember it from childhood holidays.

Art Deco Saltdean, Brighton. 1 Ocean Hotel

 The Ocean Hotel Saltdean (Grand Ocean Hotel)  has dominated the skyline of Saltdean from the thirties.  It was designed by the architect Richard Jones who also designed the nearby Saltdean Lido.   Emulating the grand designs from the Art Deco period the hotel opened in 1938.  This vast hotel had 344 bedrooms and a dining hall that could seat 300 people. It was used in the war by the Auxillary Fire Service and Butlins did not reopen till 1953.  Sold in July 1999 to the Grand Hotel Group the hotel remained open until January 2005. Planning permission was granted in June 2005 to convert the site into apartments.