Brunswick Town
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A brief history of Brunswick Town
Brunswick is an area in Hove, best known for the stunning Regency architecture of the Brunswick Estate.
Comprising of Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace, the area is Hove’s architectural jewel.
Charles Busby starts the Brunswick Estate
Originally, the Brunswick area had been part of what was known as Wick Farm. It was in the 18th and early 19th centuries, following Brighton's rapid rise as a fashionable town, that the architect Charles Busby entered into an agreement to build houses on land lying at the extreme east of Hove - land which belonged to Thomas Read Kemp, creator of the successful Kemp Town Estate. It was this area that became known as Brunswick.
Building of the Brunswick Estate began in 1825. The name 'Brunswick' was probably taken from House of Brunswick, a term sometimes used for the House of Hanover, the name of the British royal family at the time.
The area is without doubt one of the finest examples of Regency architecture in the country.
Facilities including a market were provided. The market, opened in 1828, was funded by Busby himself but was not a success and was converted to a riding school in the 1840s. It is now a theatre.
The Regency Society is formed
It wasn't until much later in 1945 that the Regency Society was formed to protect the buildings from a threat of demolition. The 108 properties in the area were awarded Grade 1 Listed status in 1950 and the Brunswick Town Conservation Area was established in 1969, with a further extension to 39 hectares in 1978.
The Brunswick Estate Garden
Early records are sketchy but the first Ordnance Survey of 1875 illustrates an established Regency style garden with a mixture of shrubbery, beds and the serpentine feature now planted with daffodils and crocus.
The horticultural principles closely relate to the Kemp Town Enclosures and the Royal Pavilion Gardens.
Restoration of the historic character of the Garden started in the early 1990’s, with replacement of the railings and recreation of the side beds. The 1993 side beds and the two elliptical ‘eye’ beds, completed in 2009, recreate features recorded in 1875.
Modern Brunswick
In the late 1990s the top of Brunswick Square, where it meets busy Western Road, was closed to motor vehicles, changing the nature of the square from a through route to a strictly residential area.
At the extreme eastern edge of Brunswick Terrace, on the border of Hove and Brighton, sits the imposing Modernist building Embassy Court. Designed by Wells Coates and built in the 30s, the apartment block was refurbished in the mid-2000s to reflect its former glory.
Today, Brunswick is home to a gloriously eclectic mix of people and reflects the more tranquil side of the city, resplendant with stunning architecture and overlooking Hove lawns and the seafront.
