The West Hill pub, dramatically perched at the bottom of Buckingham Place, used to be called the Belle Vue Inn. It was built as a public house in 1852 by local builder Edward Hilder Ade and was owned by Vallance Catt and Company brewers.
The name would still be fitting today. Look up and the city lights glisten all the way to the top of Elm Grove. Directly in front of you is the magnificent station roof. Continue reading Wild Times at the West Hill
Concluding our review of Dickens in his bi-centenary year, local author and historian, Rose Collis writes about his connections with Brighton – from the New Encyclopaedia of Brighton.
Dickens was a regular visitor to Brighton, first visiting in 1836 while he was writing Oliver Twist. Four years later, he returned for a week and wrote chapters of Barnaby Rudge during his stay. In May 1847, Dickens and his wife Catherine stayed at the Bedford Hotel, while she recuperated from an illness, and he continued writing Dombey and Son. The book is partly set in Brighton, and Chichester House at 1 Chichester Terrace, is said to have been the house described in the novel as ‘Dr Blimber’s Academy for Young Gentlemen’, attended by Paul Dombey Jr.
Continue reading Brighton Connections
The Whistler 