Next day the learned bear flies to his station,
To be the judge of his own depredation;
’Tis now the foaming monster roars aloud,
With face as black as a November cloud.
Bring in your charge, but mind I say,
At your perils let him get away.
Now with a double guard there enters in
A child, but just escaped from leading string.
The monster with a dreadful stare, at large,
Against the pris’ner ask’d what was the charge;
The sable hero, with assurance ample,
’Tis dreadful, sir, exclaim’d, beyond example!
As I stood on the Steine with sword in hand,
I saw him brandish a huge fire brand.
Oh, fy, saith pris’ner, what a wicked fib.
’Twas but the paper of a discharg’d squib.
Pris’ner, your age? exclaim’d the learned bear,
While down his little face would steal a tear.
The truth, come tell me, or I’ll commit you straight;
I am, saith pris’ner, somewhat turn’d of eight.
The monster roared, with truly savage grin,
Discharge the brat, and bring another in.The Death.
Alas, alas! poor lifeless Rowles,
It grieves me to relate—
Thy fam’ly lost its dearest friend
By thy untimely fate.May Providence then guide the law,
Thy slaughter be avenged;
And may the halter catch the right,
For equity’s just end.Oh, may thy widow find support,
Thy family to rear:
And may she live to bring them up,
The living God to fear.
The visits of George IV. to Brighton were discontinued in 1824, in consequence of a deep resentment which His Majesty felt at some personal affront that was given by some of the inhabitants, to his then favourite mistress, the Marchioness of Conyngham, who was the Lady Steward of the Royal Household, and arrogated to herself the privilege of arranging the entree to the King, and of possessing control over the commonest domestics of the establishment. Her effrontery, however, was too intolerant for some of the townsfolk to brook; and, their virtuous indignation being aroused, they indulged in remarks upon her, and were so indifferent in courtesy towards her, that His Majesty considered the affront as almost given to himself. In fact, the extraordinary ascendency which the Marchioness had obtained over the royal mind, was then so apparent in all the King’s actions that he was a Sovereign governed by one subject, and that subject more influential and powerful in her authority than the first minister of the State. Upon the retirement of the King from Brighton, the Princess Augusta was a frequent visitor to the town, her residence, by permission of her Royal Brother, being one of the private houses, to the west, just within the then southern entrance to the Pavilion Grounds.
The Royal Pavilion was a favourite autumn and winter residence of William IV. and Queen Adelaide, who made their first visit to Brighton on Monday, August 30th, 1830. Their Majesties effected many important alterations upon the Royal Property, causing the erection of the ivy-clad range of buildings known as the Dormitories, extending along the south margin of the western lawn, from Prince’s Place to Carlisle House. A southern entrance to the Grounds was erected in 1831. It stood across the top of East Street, in a line with the north side of North Street; but upon the Royal Pavilion estate becoming the property of the Town of Brighton, in 1850, the building was taken down; as, besides the structure being in nowise handsome, it was a screen that completely hid the Pavilion, and hemmed in the property now known as the Pavilion Buildings. The elegant northern entrance—a noble and faultless building, exhibiting every characteristic of boldness and stateliness,—was erected in 1832.
During the occupation of the Royal abode by William and Adelaide,—when it received the name of The Palace,—it was a continued scene of regal festivities, juvenile parties being very frequent. The present Duke, then Prince George of Cambridge, was a great favourite with Their Majesties, who specially humoured his fancies and frolics. Royalty, however, is very tenacious of its dignity; whereof the following is a proof: Upon occasions when the youthful aristocracy were invited to the Palace, it was invariably usual for the arrangements of the evening to be under the immediate superintendence of the celebrated maitresse de danse, Madame Michau, who, not unfrequently, was assisted in her duties by her son, now well-known as Mons. James Michau, and the arrangement graciously received the Royal sanction. With the Prince and his youthful associates the son of the dancing mistress was considered fair game for their sporting humour; they therefore resorted to practical joking upon him, well-knowing that difference in position forbad his making a retort. But it happened upon one occasion that either the Prince exceeded his usual indignities, or that young Michau was not in a philosophic placid temper, as he offered a remonstrance, which excited a blow from His Royal Highness, resulting in a bout of fisticuffs, from which the Prince came off second best. The indignity, thus justly administered, was forthwith resented, the Royal communication, through Mr. Gee, Her Majesty’s page, being that Madame Michau’s services would not again be required. A retributive incident shortly after occurred that entirely put an end to the Palace youthful gatherings. Prince George, for a diversion, had purchased a mechanical mouse, and, having wound it up, he placed it upon the floor, when it chanced to travel in the direction of the Queen. Her Majesty had not observed the toy until it closely approached her, when, feeling a sudden alarm, she rose hurriedly, uttering an ejaculation of fear, a procedure so undignifying to her exalted position that she immediately retired, and no other juvenile party at the Palace ever after took place.
Queen Victoria paid her first visit to Brighton, October 4th, 1837, and had a most enthusiastic reception. Her Majesty’s second visit took place the following Autumn. In February, 1842, the Queen and Her Royal Consort, Prince Albert, made the stay of a month in Brighton; and on the 7th of September, the following year, Her Majesty and the Prince Consort landed from the Royal Yacht, at the Chain Pier, on their return from a visit to Louis Philippe, at Chateau d’Eu. The circumstance of their landing is commemorated by Mr. R. H. Nibbs, in a most exquisite painting which is placed amongst the local works of art that adorn the Borough Council Chamber, at the Town Hall. The Queen and Prince Albert embarked on the 12th for Ostend. In September, 1844, the last royal visit was made to the Pavilion, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and Prince Alfred being sent down for the benefit of their health. Their stay extended to a fortnight. Hopes were entertained that Her Majesty would again visit Brighton; but time passed on, and at length it was announced that the Queen had purchased an estate in the Isle of Wight, where she would have a marine residence, in the strictest sense of the word, easy of access, and so admirably situated that she could, with the greatest facility, indulge in her favourite pastime—a water excursion.
Gradually the Pavilion became despoiled of its costly furniture and fittings, many of the latter being ruthlessly torn down and destroyed. Eventually it was announced that the building was to be razed to the ground, the materials sold, and the land disposed of for building purposes. In November, 1848, it became known that the Royal Commissioners of the Woods and Forests intended to introduce a Bill the next Sessions of Parliament, for the sale of the property, to obtain funds for further improvements at Buckingham Palace. The Town Commissioners put in their claim for a restoration by the Crown of the road which formerly went through the Pavilion Grounds, from south to north from East Street. It was also pointed out that some portions of the ground that had been sold to the Prince Regent, had restrictions against building, which restrictions could not be removed without the consent of the Lords of the Manor.
The Bill for the disposal, however, passed, and on the 27th of July, 1849, a Vestry meeting of the rated inhabitants, determined upon purchasing the property for £53,000, the sum required for it by the Commissioners of the Woods and Forests. Another Bill had yet to be obtained to give the Town Commissioners power to purchase the estate. Such an opposition to the purchase in the meantime sprung up amongst some of the ratepayers, and at a Vestry meeting called to approve of the Bill, that, after two days’ polling, the amendment, in effect “that the purchase be stopped,” was only lost by a minority of 36, the numbers being: for the purchase, 1343; against it, 1307. The Bill was read in the House of Commons a second time, without opposition, on the 14th of February, 1850; and was read a third time in the House of Lords on the 2nd of May, 1850. The money for the purchase, and £7,000 for the expenses of obtaining the Bill, and to restore the building, amounting in the whole to £60,000, was borrowed of the Bank of England, and on the 13th of June, 1850, the Commissioners of the Woods and Forests were paid the sum required. The building is not yet wholly appropriated, but, immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the late Mr. Christopher Wren Vick was employed to effect the work of restoration, and he succeeded in obtaining the original blocks from which the former paper-hangings of the grand suite of rooms were printed, and also in engaging Mr. Lambelet,—who has since died in poverty—the artist who executed the original decorations. On the 21st of January, 1851, the Pavilion was reopened with a grand ball of the inhabitants; since which time numerous balls, concerts, and meetings of scientific, benevolent, and other societies have taken place there, and it has now an excellent gallery for paintings, and several rooms have been set apart for the Brighton Museum, an institution that is well deserving of support. Paintings, by purchase and gifts, adorn many of the walls of the building, and in the Vestibule and Chinese Gallery are some excellent specimens of sculpture, principally by our local sculptor, Mr. Pepper. The most prominent is a full length statue by Noble, of the late Captain Pechell, son of the late member for Brighton, Sir G. R. B. Pechell, Bart. The gallant young officer fell during the Russian War, in the Crimea.
Besides the Pavilion and Grounds, the estate has many private houses, including the magnificent range called Pavilion Buildings. The debt consequent upon the purchase is being gradually reduced, and the opponents to the purchase not feeling the burthen which they dreaded, have the gratification of knowing, that, as a lung to their magnificent town, they have that which no other town in the kingdom possesses,—an extensive park of its own in its very centre.
Royalty had scarcely taken up its abode in Brighton, when, according to the Racing Calendar, in 1783, racing commenced its career on the eastern down, better known as White Hawk Down, Brighton. The sports were principally amongst the officers of the Militia Regiments which were then quartered in the town, and they received the patronage of the Prince of Wales. Beyond the authority of the “Oldest Inhabitant,” transmitted orally, there is no account of the extent, formation, or the tenure of the course. It is understood to have been about two miles in length, and to have occupied, as at present, the horse shoe shaped ridge of the hill, and was defined, on sufferance, by the clearing away of the furze.
The Race Ground proper consists of 105 acres and 30 perches, over which the right of pasturage has become vested in the Marquis of Bristol, by purchase from Mr. Thomas Read Kemp, who bought it for £780, subject to public rights, as the erection thereon, by the inhabitants, of booths and stalls for the accommodation and recreation of the public during the races. The Course is two miles in length, and what is known as the New Course is one mile long. The counterpart of an alleged lease was in the possession of Mr. Thomas Attree, Queen’s Park, bearing date June 24th, 1796, purporting to be a demise of the Race Stand to various inhabitants,—all of whom are now deceased,—for 99 years, at the annual rent of one guinea. The counterpart came into the possession of Mr. Attree in 1822, many years prior to which no rent had been paid or demanded, and no lease could ever be discovered. On the 2nd July, 1846, a committee of the Town Commissioners were informed by Mr. Attree that he claimed the Stand for himself and others who had subscribed £400 for its erection, in eighteen shares, whereof he held nine, and that the sum still remained a charge upon the building; but he offered to sell the Stand for £400 to the Race Committee. The Committee considering that no valid lease was in existence,—inasmuch as in deeds, dated 1822, and to which Mr Attree was a party; whereby the Race Stand was specially granted, no allusion whatever was made to a lease or other incumbrance,—declined the offer. They furthermore considered that the debt alleged to be due and charged thereon ought long since to have been liquidated from the proceeds of the letting, and that the inhabitants beneficially interested therein were exonerated from such debt, charge, or encumbrance.
In 1849 a new Race Committee was formed, and their first step was to purchase the Stand, giving for it, to the surviving shareholders, Mr. T. Attree, Mr. H. Blackman, and Mr. Tamplin, the sum of £360, the London, Brighton, and South-Coast Railway Company liberally presenting to the Committee £100 towards the amount, independent of their annual subscription to the Race Fund of £200. The following six gentlemen also came forward as Trustees: Mr. Alderman Burrows, Mr. Alderman Martin, Mr. Robert Williams, Mr. H. F. Stocken, Mr. Lewis Slight, and Mr. Lewis Slight, jun., and the shabby wooden building, erected in 1798, gave place to the present commodious and handsome structure, the design of Mr. Allan Stickney, the Town Surveyor, at a cost of £5,000, the whole of which has been discharged by the Race Committee, who have likewise increased the public money from £350 given in 1848, to nearly £2,000 annually.
The old Race Stand, built in 1803, succeeded the first building, which was erected in 1788, and destroyed by fire on the 23rd of August, 1796. The fire arose in consequence of the carelessness of the family who had been permitted to occupy the building. Notwithstanding the unfortunate occurrence took place about mid-day, it was distinctly seen at a distance of upwards of thirty miles. Many people from various parts of the county, some on horseback, and some on foot, entered the town during the succeeding night and day, to make enquiries respecting it, as apprehensions prevailed that the enemy had made a descent on that part of the coast, and was evincing his love for the natives by setting fire to their dwellings.
A singular incident occurred during the fire: An officer of the Prince’s regiment, attracted to the spot by the volumes of flame and smoke, was reviewing the terrific encroachments of the devouring element, when a cat, dreadfully singed and terrified, sprung through the blaze, and alighted on his shoulders. The officer, somewhat surprised, at first endeavoured to shake her off; but poor puss, firmly fixing her claws in his jacket, was not so easily got rid of. Perceiving, then, her reluctance to leave him, he at length humanely determined, that as she had, in the moment of danger and fear, flown to him for protection, she should accompany him to the Barracks, where she was well taken care of by her new master and his comrades.
A curious circumstance took place on the morning of the Races, August 4th, 1805. The farmer who rented the race ground having explained to the Jockey Club that he had not received the usual compliment of the fourth of a pipe of wine for the previous season, threatened to plough up the course if he was not paid what he conceived to be his due. Accordingly, he set his plough to work, but a press-gang appearing in sight, his ploughman fled, and resigned the course to the gentlemen of the turf, the farmer the while declaring that he would not be jockeyed out of his wine, as he would have a sort of a race for it in Westminster Hall. The cause, however, never came off.
The support given to the Brighton Races by the Prince of Wales and those immediately about him, made the meeting amongst the nobility quite a national feature, as the elite of the turf were always in attendance, and a gaiety prevailed that no other place could boast of. The course was thronged with equestrians and the fashionable equipages of the day, barouches and four, driven by lords and baronets. Conspicuous amongst them was His Royal Highness on his German Waggon—as his barouche was called,—driving his six bays, with Townsend, of Bow Street, as his companion, as well to protect the Prince from insult as from robbery. But it was a position which gave His Royal Highness an opportunity to practise upon his guardian a somewhat unpleasant joke. Turning suddenly towards Townsend, just at the termination of a race, he exclaimed, “By Jove, Townsend, I’ve been robbed; I had with me some damson tarts, but they are now gone.” “Gone?” said Townsend, rising, “impossible!” “Yes,” rejoined the Prince, “and you are the purloiner,” at the same time taking from the seat whereon the officer had been sitting, the crushed crust of the asserted missing tarts, and adding, “This is a sad blot upon your reputation as a vigilant officer.” “Rather, say your Royal Highness, a sad stain upon my escutcheon,” added Townsend, raising the gilt buttoned tails of his blue coat and exhibiting the fruit-stained seat of his nankeen inexpressibles.
The Brighton Races are now held on the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday following the Goodwood meeting. Thursday is devoted to the racing of the Brighton Race Club, established in 1850. Formerly they were either on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, as shown by the calendar of the Brighton Races, July 28th, 30th, and 31st, 1804, now in the possession of Mr. Alderman Martin; or, as in 1810, on Friday, Saturday, and Monday, August 3rd, 4th, and 6th, when two races a day took place, distinguished in their time of running by “Before Dinner,” and “After Dinner.” The arrangement of the days was to admit of a fair, termed “White Hawk Fair,” being held on the east down on the intervening Sunday. It has now been abolished about forty years. The Morning Herald, Sunday, August 2nd, 1807, makes the following mention of this fair:—
White Hawk Fair, as it is termed, has attracted much company to the Race Down to-day, though but few individuals of fashionable note were to be seen in the throng.
Connected with this Down is the
LEGEND OF THE WHITE HAWK LADY.
Less than half a century since, the remnant of a moss-covered unhewn stone marked the spot in Ovingdean churchyard, where, as gossips then said, were deposited the remains of Margaret Ladrone, probably a name conferred on her from the pilfering propensities of the gipsies, a tribe to which she belonged, though she was familiarly spoken of as “Mag Lade,” a sybil or fortune-teller of her day, whose visits to Ovingdean were annual in the month of August, on the occasion of White Hawk Fair, a holiday gathering on White Hawk Down, at which the rustics were wont to learn their fate of the wise woman, as she was termed by the unmarried who would know the future through the vista of happiness; but the old crone or witch, by those whose stern thought attributed all the mishaps that befel either themselves or their substance to the influence of an evil one, with whom she was proclaimed to be in league. At other periods of the year she practised her vocation in various places throughout the county, so that she had a regular circuit, through the course of which the burning fervour of youth hailed her advent with earnest anticipations, equalled only by the dread entertained by mature age, that blight and murrain were her attendants. It happened on one occasion, the date whereof is immaterial, that Editha Elmore, the only daughter of the rich squire of Woodingdean, while intent on the palmistry of Mag,—whose hand she had crossed with a broad silver piece,—by chance cast her eyes upon the form of a dark young man of goodly mien, the very type of him whom the gipsey prophetess essayed to be her future husband. In the next country-dance he was her partner, and also the envy of one who, from their childhood, had been her companion, and was looked upon by the parents of each as her intended bridegroom. The festivities of the day closed; the dark stranger bade her adieu; the villagers returned to their homes; and ere the shades of night had gathered over the Downs, not a vestige was left of the scene which had been one of general festivity. Ralph Mascall, the son of the farmer at the Grange, Ovingdean, as had been his custom from a child, accompanied the fair Editha to Woodingdean, where he received the accustomed welcome of her parents; and, before midnight, he was on his way homewards somewhat disturbed in mind that he had a rival. His visits, however, to Squire Elmore’s were not the less frequent; nor did the affection shown towards him by Editha in the least appear to wane. And so another year passed on, and the annual festival again arrived. There again was Mag, whom Editha sought once more, to learn her destiny. The Fates had not altered their decree; and there, as twelve months since he stood, was the dark comely stranger. The very type of previous years were the proceedings of the day; the same homely village simplicity, the jocund song, the rustic dance, the same potations of home-brewed and cider; the same greetings, the same partings. Somewhat later than was considered within the bounds of prudence, the handmaid of Editha, accompanied by Giles, her lover, approached the wicket that opened on the lawn before Squire Elmore’s mansion, where she was met by the dark stranger of the Fair, who, tendering her a golden coin,—by way of hush money,—bade her convey to her young mistress a note of delicate proportions. Promise of secrecy was exacted; the parting kiss was exchanged between the blushing Abigail and Giles; and the latter accepting the companionship of the stranger, the two bent their steps to Rottingdean, where the honest rustic returned to his home. Where the stranger rested for the night has never transpired. Early the following morning Mag was at the mansion, the domestics of which, anxious to learn how they were ruled by the stars, parted freely with their silver pieces. The Abigail of the previous night’s adventure was particularly anxious to learn her destiny; and the truth which was essayed of her Giles, his age, his complexion, his temper, and his prospects, gave full assurance of the marvellousness of Mag’s divining skill, to which the fair Editha, with whom she also had an interview, gave implicit credence. Four-and-twenty hours, however, wrought a great change at the mansion, and likewise in the hamlet of Ovingdean. A more than usual oppression and sultriness pervaded the atmosphere throughout the day, and towards nightfall the war of elements commenced, the sharp flashes of lightning increasing in vividness, the artillery of the heavens roaring in awful solemnity, and the massive clouds discharging their drenching cataracts. Such a night had never been previously known in the neighbourhood; and every person anxiously waited the coming dawn to learn the havoc of the dreadful storm. The inmates of the mansion were early stirring, and, much sooner than usual, Mr. and Mrs. Elmore were at breakfast. But they had not been long seated when they were informed that Miss Editha could nowhere be found, and that by the appearance of her bed-chamber she had not retired to rest during the night. The note which had been delivered by the stranger, and was then lying on the dressing table, appointing a midnight interview upon the Downs, was all that could be found to account for her absence. The most diligent search of the premises and the plantation contiguous was immediately made, and a dispatch without delay was sent off to Ovingdean, in the hopes that tidings might be heard of her there; but all was fruitless. Previous, however, to the news reaching that village, upon passing by the church, the sexton discovered, in the south-west corner of the burial ground, the charred remains of a female, which, upon examination of the dress about them, were declared to be those of old Margaret Ladrone. At the place were they were found, there in the course of the day, were they interred, without any funeral rites, and the stone, before referred to, was placed over them to mark the spot. The dark stranger was never afterwards seen.
The story continues, that, every stormy night after, the figure of a lady in white paced the White Hawk Down, and that always on the morning after the figure was seen, a foot-print, cloven like that of an ox, was found at the same particular spot. The Morning Herald, of July 17th, 1807, has the following:—“Brighton.—A few days ago were dug up upon the slope of the Downs to the north-east of this place, the bones of a woman, which, from their position, clearly evinced that they had been deposited there many years before, without ceremony. A singular rumour is now afloat of a young person having been ravished and murdered there, by a person of unsuspected character.” It may be proper to add that since the finding of these bones the White Hawk Lady has not walked abroad. The Elmore and the Mascall families, after the mysterious disappearance of Editha, removed to Brighton; but it is a very singular fact that the name of Lade is now very common at Ovingdean, it being even that of the Sexton of the parish, who is a descendant of Sir John Lade, spoken of in the last Chapter. As, however, the church register dates back only as far as the year 1700, the genealogy of the family, even if it did come through Old Mag, cannot be more remotely traced.
The death of the Earl of Egremont, who was a great patron of the Brighton sports long after Royalty had abandoned contending on the course, was a severe blow to Brighton Races; added to which, the Duke of Richmond, a warm supporter of the turf, withdrew his influence in favour of Goodwood. Year by year the Races waned, with the prospect of an early dissolution, which, on the withdrawal of the Queen’s Plate, in 1849, seemed inevitable. Persons, it is true, continued, as of yore, to journey in from the country to witness them, but there was a continual falling off in the attendance of the aristocracy, and a rage for gambling of a most pernicious character, in thimble-rig, roulette, Brunswick lottery, prick-in-the-garter, &c., having set in, the townspeople with-held the subscriptions which they had been accustomed to grant pretty freely to the races, as they found that instead of having an equivalent for their money in sport, they were only paying a premium for the encouragement and dissemination of vice. Eventually, legislation put a stop to the nefarious proceedings of the gamblers; and, in the very nick of time, the great modern civilizer, the railway, was inducted from London, to give an impetus to the prosperity of the town, which had perceptibly declined when the Queen gave a preference over Brighton to the Isle of Wight, for a marine retreat. The Railway was the turning medium for the resuscitation of the Brighton Races, and the new Race Committee promptly and successfully availed themselves of it, as it opened the prospect of a new class of supporters, in the inhabitants of the metropolis, who were by it within two hours’ distance of the course.
At various periods since 1783, when troops were first stationed at Brighton,—in consequence of the Pavilion becoming a Royal residence,—reviews and sham fights of the military have taken place on the Downs contiguous to the Race Course, the spot being admirably adapted for army tactics. The troops upon such occasions have been generally of the line and the militia regiments quartered at the several Infantry Barracks in the town, and at the Cavalry Barracks on the Lewes Road, other regiments at Ringmer, Lewes, and East Blatchington marching in to take part in the evolutions. The Cavalry Barracks were completed in 1795. In 1801 a range of stables was erected, for the reception of 400 horses, immediately in front of the main buildings, and abutting on the east boundary wall contiguous to the Lewes Road; but in 1818 these stables were removed, and the spacious grounds were thrown open to public view. The fives-court, between the wings, in the centre of the back court-yard, was erected in 1810, by the officers of the Prince of Wales’s Regiment, the 10th Royal Hussars.
The modern grand military features of the Race Hill have been the sham fights of the Volunteers, and known as the Battle of Ovingdean, Easter Monday, April 1st, 1861, under Lord Ranelagh; and the Battle of White Hawk Down, Easter Monday, April 21st, 1862, under Lord Clyde; both great successes, and affording proofs of the valuable services and admirable efficiency of this noble auxiliary of England’s military power. The force present on the first occasion numbered between 7,000 and 8,000 men, thus brigaded:—
Artillery Brigade.—Colonel Estridge, commanding. 1st Battalion Brighton Artillery, 4th Cinque Ports, 2nd Hants, and 2nd Sussex.
First Brigade Rifle Volunteers.—Lieutenant Colonel Faunce, commanding; Captain Deedes, Brigade Major. 1st Battalion—Colonel M’Leod, 1st Middlesex Engineers; 32nd Middlesex (Guards). 2nd Battalion—Major Atherley, 2nd South Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Capt. Ives, 11th Middlesex, (St. George’s), 36th Middlesex (Paddington).
Second Brigade.—Lord Radstock, commanding; Captain Chitty, Brigade Major. 1st Battalion—9th West Middlesex, 2nd Middlesex (A.B.) 2nd Battalion—Colonel Money, 6th Tower Hamlets; 4th Tower Hamlets; 7th Middlesex (Islington). 3rd Battalion—Colonel Colville, 39th Middlesex (Finsbury); Kent Rifles, (Captain Jackson), 4th, 13th, 17th, 21st, and 34th.
Third Brigade.—Colonel Moorsom, commanding; Major Panton, Brigade Major. 1st Battalion—3rd Sussex (Administrative Battalion). 2nd Battalion—1st Cinque Ports. 3rd Battalion—2nd Sussex (Administrative Battalion).
Fourth Brigade.—Colonel Vallancey, commanding; Major Deedes, Brigade Major. 1st Battalion—Colonel Couran, 1st Hants (Administrative Battalion), Winchester; 3rd Hants (Administrative Battalion); 6th Hants. 2nd Battalion—Major Roupell, 19th Surrey (Lambeth); 10th Surrey (Bermondsey). 3rd Battalion—Sir H. Fletcher, 2nd Surrey (Administrative Battalion); 20th Surrey (Norwood).
Reserve.—3rd City of London; Brighton Cadets; 11th Tower Hamlets.
The troops were formed in battalions on the Level, from whence they marched by way of Marine Parade, and by the County Hospital to the summit of the hill on the right of the Race Course, along which, past the Grand Stand, they marched in review, before Major General Sir James Scarlett and his staff.
Upon the crown of this hill, during the wars with Napoleon, stood a signal-house and telegraph semaphore communicating along the coast with similar stations at Seaford and Shoreham, and forming a link in the important chain of signals which was in use between Portsmouth and Dover. There is very little doubt, that about that locality at a much earlier date than sporting records hand down to us, racing of some description took place, the Town Book having the following entry:—
Memorandum, that on ye 7th of November, 1713, Henry May, Esq., paid us a half-penny acknowledgmt for carrying the Corpes of his father Sr Richard May, deceased, through the Laine, commonly called the Hilly Laine, from the place were formerly stood a Race post, to the town of Brighthelmston, it being noe high or Common Road, we Say red the Same for sufferance, Per us
Richard Masters,
Simon Wisden.
John Gold.
The payment was doubtless exacted under the erroneous notion that the unobstructed conveyance of a corpse gave the public a right to the way or road along which the body was borne; and it is the generally received opinion that the right of road by the footpath or bridle-way from Blatchington, by way of Watts’s Laundry to the road on Church Hill, was obtained by a corpse having been conveyed from Blatchington for burial in the church-yard of St. Nicholas, Brighton.
The several corps engaged in the Review having passed up the Course took up heir first position on the ridge of heights overlooking Brighton, and afterwards formed an extended line on the crest of one of the hills running inland and parallel with the race-hill. This long line of about a mile in length was supported by four guns on the extreme left. At the time of commencing operations the furze on the side of the hill was, either by design or accident, set on fire. Huge volumes of smoke rose from the burning gorse, and as the line opened and kept up a heavy firing for some time, the imaginative spectators on the distant eminence might suppose that some quiet hamlet had been set on fire, either by the enemy or by the brave defenders of their hearths and homes. After some very heavy file-firing from right of companies, and two or three well-delivered volleys, the line fell back, protected in its retreat by the guns in position. The enemy was supposed to have followed them, but, like the Spanish fleet, they could not be seen, because they were not in sight. Lord Ranelagh’s force was too small to admit of division into two forces; but even had it been larger, it is doubtful whether a Volunteer enemy would submit to be beaten according to orders, with so much cheerfulness, and with so much steadiness, as is the case with the regulars on the field-days of Aldershot and elsewhere. The retreating force next deployed towards the sea, the action became more general, and several battalions were moved up in support of the line. There were more rattles of musketry, and more volleys, and then, wearied out with the persistence of the enemy, two brigades, forming the right, charged down on the enemy’s left and drove them over hill and dale. The unseen and flying enemy, however, got some imaginary reinforcements, and returned to the attack and retrieved their laurels. The gallant brigadiers led back their unwilling, but not disheartened men on the left wing; then the centre fell back, and the right, unable to stand alone, followed the example. Lord Ranelagh’s eye instantly saw the cloud of dust which told of the approach of horsemen. Quick as lightning there went forth the command—“Form square to receive cavalry,” and the order was promptly obeyed; and had there been any cavalry, they would no doubt have been very warmly and heartily received, in obedience to orders. The division took up a fresh position—again advanced—the Battle of Ovingdean was fought and won, and the well-known strains of the “National Anthem” told of the loyalty, as many courageous deeds had told of the valour, of the Volunteers.
At the second Easter Volunteer Field Day there were 19,000 of the following corps present:—
Cavalry.—18th Hussars, Lieut.-Col. Knox. 1st Hants Light Horse, Capt. Bower.
Artillery.—Field Batteries.—Lieut.-Col. Ormsby, R.A., commanding Staff: Capt. Tupper, R.A., Capt. Pitt, R.A., Capt. Ward, R.A., Capt. Blackwell, R.A. 1st and 2nd Batteries—Major Dalbiac, 1st Sussex. 3rd Battery—Capt. Darby, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sussex. 4th Battery—Major Harcourt, 4th Cinque Ports.
Garrison Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. Estridge, commanding; Capt. Woodhead, 3rd Middlesex Militia, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Wolf, R.A., Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Sturdee, 1st Hants. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Truro, 3rd Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Major Creed. 3rd Essex, 1 A Cinque Ports, 1st Middlesex, 2nd Middlesex, 1st Tower Hamlets.
Infantry.—First Division.—Major-General Crauford, commanding, Staff: Capt. Smith, Grenadier Guards; Lieut. Hon. J. C. Eliot, Grenadier Guards.
First Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. the Duke of Wellington, K.G., commanding; Capt. Goff, 50th Foot, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Macleod, 1st Middlesex (Engineer), 1st Tower Hamlets (Engineer), and two companies 16th Middlesex. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. the Hon. C. Hugh Lindsay, 11th, 18th, and 36th Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. G. Warde, 1st City of London. 4th Battalion—Major Whitehead, 1st Middlesex.
Second Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. the Marquis of Donegall, G.C.H., commanding; Major Mackenzie, Antrim Militia, Aide-de-Camp; Brevet-Major Shaw, R.A., Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Jeakes, 4th and 37th Middlesex. 2nd Battalion—Major Vernon, 28th Middlesex, and 4th Bucks. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Enfield, 29th Middlesex. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Bury, 21st, 30th, 38th, 42nd, 43rd, and 44th Middlesex.
Third Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. Viscount Ranelagh, commanding; Capt. Templar, Dorset R.V.C., Aide-de-Camp; Brevet-Major Deedes, 60th Foot, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Major Atherly, South Middlesex. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Somerset, 40th Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Sir John Shelley, 46th Middlesex, 2nd City of London, and 4th City of London. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Bigge, 20th Middlesex.
Fourth Brigade.—Brigadier-General Haines, C.B., commanding; Lieut. Arbuthnot, 10th Hussars, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Wovell, 41st Foot, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Major Beresford, 2nd, 7th, and 12th Surrey. 2nd Battalion—Capt. Trueman, Acting Major. 10th, 19th, 21st, and 23rd Surrey. 3rd Battalion—Major Farnell, 1st Administrative Battalion of Kent. 4th Battalion—Major Sir H. Fletcher, 5th, 13th, and 14th Surrey, and 2nd Administrative Battalion of Surrey.
Fifth Brigade.—Major-General Taylor, commanding; Capt. Pemberton, Scots Fusilier Guards, Aide-de-Camp; Major the Hon. W. J. Colville, Rifle Brigade, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Capper, 5th and 9th Essex. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Buxton, 1st Administrative Battalion of Tower Hamlets. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Money, 4th and 6th Tower Hamlets. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Walker, 2nd, 8th, 9th, and 12th Tower Hamlets.
Second Division.—Major-General Hon. A. Dalzell, commanding; Staff: Colonel Taylor, C.B., Colonel Walker, C.B., and Capt. Carleton, 21st Foot.
First Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. Lord Radstock, commanding; Lieut. Peake, Aide-de-Camp; Major Gooch, unattached. Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col, Wilkinson, 2nd Administrative Battalion, Middlesex. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Bathurst, 19th Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Colvill, 39th Middlesex and 26th Kent. 4th Battalion—Capt. Fenton, 9th Middlesex.
Second Brigade.—Brigadier-General Brown, commanding; Lieut. Savery, 78th Foot, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Morgan, 55th Foot, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Grimston, 1st, 2nd, and 16th Hants. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Conran, 3rd Administrative Battalion, Hants. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Dunsmore, 1st Administrative Battalion, Isle of Wight. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Vallancy, 2nd Administrative Battalion, Hants.
Third Brigade.—Lieut.-Col. Moorsom, commanding; Lieut. Moorsom, Royal Artillery, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Penton, 3rd Middlesex Militia, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Acting-Major Meek, 3rd Sussex Administrative Battalion. 2nd Battalion—Sir Percy Burrell, Bart., M.P., 1st Sussex Administrative Battalion. 3rd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Gage, 1st Cinque Ports Administrative Battalion and 17th Kent. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Barttelot, 2nd Sussex Administrative Battalion.
Fourth Brigade.—Brigadier-General Garvock, commanding; Hon. Capt. Chetwynd, Aide-de-Camp; Capt. Jones, 20th Foot, Major of Brigade. 1st Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Elcho, 15th Middlesex. 2nd Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Brewster, 23rd Middlesex. 3rd Battalion—Major Richards, 3rd City of London and 32nd Middlesex. 4th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Grosvenor, 22nd Middlesex, 1st Battalion. 5th Battalion—Lieut.-Col. Lord Gerald Fitzgerald. 22nd Middlesex, 2nd Battalion.
Upon the arrival of the various corps, they were marched to their several places of rendezvous, on the Level, St. Peter’s Church and North Steine Enclosures, the Pavilion Grounds, and the Steine, where they partook of refreshments. At 11 o’clock the “assembly” was sounded, and very soon after the whole of the corps were on their march to the Race Hill, by way of the Marine Parade and Elm Grove, the Divisions meeting again in White Hawk Valley, whence they paraded down the Course and passed in Review opposite the Grand Stand, before Lord Clyde, the Earl of Chichester—Lord Lieutenant of the County,—and Lord Cardigan, passing out at the south end of the Course, and then descending to their original position in the Valley. The field evolutions took place principally on White Hawk Down, and were eminently successful, and the whole of the arrangements of the day, civil and military, were a practical demonstration of the facility with which troops might be moved towards a threatened point on the particular railway which would be most likely to be required for such a duty in an actual case of emergency. On the morning of the Review, 6,922 Volunteers were despatched from London Bridge in two hours and 41 minutes, and 5,170 from the Victoria Station in two hours and 20 minutes, without difficulty. They were conveyed in 16 trains, each composed of an engine and tender and 22 vehicles, and each carrying on an average 20 officers and 735 men; and they reached Brighton in an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes from the time of starting. The Brighton Company borrowed on this occasion 72 carriages from three neighbouring companies, and 79 carriages also brought Volunteers over their railway, from other lines; but they had to provide for their ordinary passenger-traffic on that day, as well as for the Easter Monday traffic to the Crystal Palace, which was very considerable, and to convey upwards of 2,000 Volunteers along the south coast from the several stations on their own line. Indeed, the total number of passengers who travelled upon the London, Brighton, and South-Coast Railway on that day was 132,202, including Volunteers and the holders of season and return tickets.
As a proof that the Queen takes a deep interest in the Volunteer movement, Her Majesty, several times during the day, telegraphed to be informed of every special incident in connexion with the military evolutions. Happily no accident happened to mar the general proceedings; but, to meet any casualty that might have arisen, Brigade Surgeon Burrows of the First Sussex Volunteer Artillery, issued a notice that every convenience for temporary hospital purposes was provided in a tent to the west of the Race Stand, in a tent at the south of the battle-field, and at the Industrial Schools.
The Industrial Schools are built upon what is known as the Warren Farm, which occupies an area of ten acres of arable land immediately north-east of the Race Course, and was purchased for £2,000. The project of erecting these Schools for the purpose of training poor children to habits of industry and relieving them of the ban of pauperism, was first entertained by the Board of Guardians, in 1853, but no steps were taken to carry it out till it received the sanction of the Vestry in 1856; and even then, from time to time, numerous impediments arose, in the selection of plans and in borrowing the requisite money of Government, so that the first stone of the building was not laid till the 26th of March, 1859, the plans selected being those of Mr. George Maynard, the Parish Surveyor. Mr. John Fabian, of Brighton, was the builder, at a contract price of £8,223, the sum of £5,269 having previously been expended in forming roads, and necessary incidental work. On the 1st of December, 1859, Mr. Fabian, as stipulated, completed his task, and delivered over the building to the Board of Guardians. Subsequently, Mr. Fabian erected the farm buildings at the cost of £1,514 16s, and Messrs. Patching and Son erected the boundary wall for £560.
An establishment to consist of more than 300 persons would of necessity require a good supply of one of the chief elements of existence, water; it therefore became a question with the Guardians, how that supply was to be obtained, whether by sinking a well, and thus have their own source of the element, or by having pipes laid on from the Brighton Water Works. The Guardians decided upon, the former course, as, having it in contemplation to erect a new Workhouse on a seven acre piece of land, which they had purchased for that purpose, between the Reservoir and the Race Hill, their own well would supply both establishments,—hence was projected the Warren Farm Well, the fame of which has spread to all parts of the civilized world.
This celebrated well was commenced on the 25th of March, 1858; but at the depth of 418 feet 3 inches, where a heading was driven laterally, a contract which had been entered into with Mr. North was abandoned, and the Board, after a consultation, determined to proceed with the work themselves, and commenced by driving another heading opposite the former, at a depth of 421 feet 9 inches, and from this a second perpendicular shaft, four feet in diameter, was dug, the superintendence of the labour being entrusted to Mr. Isaac Huggett, who persevered unremittingly with the work, and eventually, after surmounting innumerable difficulties, found on Sunday, the 16th March, 1862, at a depth of 1,285 feet, so abundant a supply of excellent water, that in a few days there were more than 200,000 gallons of that pure beverage in the well.
To celebrate the success of the undertaking, Mr. Henry Catt, a Guardian, entertained the whole of the members of the Board, with the Vicar, and their Officers, and likewise Mr. Huggett and his men, at a dinner at the Town Hall, 120 guests sitting down to the repast under the presidency of the delighted liberal donor, Mr. Churchwarden Marchant and Mr. Alderman Brigden occupying the vice-chairs. As a memento, also, of the happy event, Mr. Catt had silver medals struck by Mr. Norris, jeweller, West Street, one of which was given to each man who had worked in the Well. The medals bore the inscription: “By the blessing of God, on hard work, patience, and perseverance,” and “Warren Farm Well, Brighton. Water found, March 16th, 1862.” The medal presented to Mr. Huggett was of gold.
Immediately consequent upon finding water for the establishment, was the completion of the furnishing of the building and obtaining the requisite staff of officers; and on Thursday, August 14th, 1862, the Institution being ready for occupation, the juvenile portion of the inmates of the Workhouse, 77 boys and 65 girls, were removed thither under the care of the Industrial Schools’ Committee, many other of the Guardians and their friends taking part in the procession, which was headed by the Industrial School band. Mr. and Mrs. Sattin, the Governor and Matron of the Workhouse, also accompanied them to deliver over their youthful charge to Mr. and Mrs. Hales, the Superintendents of the Schools. The occupation of the Industrial Schools is at present the last public feature of the Race Hill and adjacent Downs.
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, 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.