The New Denmark Sauna is proud to present it's friendly and accessible guide to What's Local in Brighton & Hove.

Pre-Roman evidence

During 19th century building work near Palmeira Square, workmen removed a significant burial mound. A defining point on the landscape since the 1200 BC, this 20 feet (6.1 m)-high tomb yielded – amongst other treasures – the Hove amber cup. Made of translucent red Baltic Amber and approximately the same size as a regular china tea cup, the artefact can be seen in Hove Museum.

 Second millennium AD

Hangleton Manor is a 16th Century flint manor building, very well preserved. It is believed to have been built circa 1540 for Richard Bellingham, twice Sheriff of Sussex, whose initials are carved into a fireplace, and whose coat of arms adorns a period plaster ceiling. The Manor is currently serving as a pub-restaurant and is surrounded by the 20th Century Hangleton housing estate.

Regency and Victorian developments

The Brunswick estate on and near the seafront in the east of Hove is made up of large Regency houses. This area was developed far from the original settlement, deliberately on the edge of Brighton, as a fashionable resort in the early 19th Century, during the period of influence of George IV who famously commissioned Brighton's Royal Pavilion. The Brunswick estate originally boasted its own police, riding schools, and a theatre, which it retains. Further west, the seafront forms the end of a series of avenues, named in numerical order beginning with First Avenue, which are mostly composed of fine Victorian villas built as yet another well-integrated housing scheme, featuring mews for artisans and service buildings. Grand Avenue, The Drive, and the surrounding avenues were developed through the 1870s and 1880s, with many of the buildings in this area constructed by William Willett.

Hove's wide boulevards are in contrast the bustle of Brighton, although many of the grand Regency and Victorian mansions have been converted into flats. Marlborough Court was once the residence of the Duchess of Marlborough, aunt of Winston Churchill. The Irish nationalist leader and Home Rule MP Charles Stuart Parnell once lived with his partner Kitty O'Shea at Medina Villas in Hove.

 Modern era

Much 1950s housing redevelopment in Hove took place on the outskirts of west Hove, Hangleton and the Knoll estate. This was mostly in the form of terraced and semi-detached council housing.

Hove's seafront and beach, particularly the area starting on the west side of Brighton's West Pier (actually the first 300 metres are in Brighton) have recently become fashionable after some years of decline during the 20th Century. The same is certainly true of the houses of the developments mentioned above, most of which now command relatively high prices, having been in some cases very run down during the 1950s and 1960s.

The best local events and gossip magazine is undoubtedly GScene,  For a personal fitness instructor contact Derek on 07751 950 818, Need Sugaring? Stuart on 07976 625 117 or www.s4m.org
(Denmark Members get 10% discount with their membership card)

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