Queen's Park, Brighton

Queen's Park is an administrative ward and a public park in Brighton, England.

The area lies to the east of the centre of Brighton, north of Kemptown and south-east of Hanover. It is largely made up of Victorian terraced houses, with a smaller number of detached and semi-detached houses. There are also a number of low-rise blocks of modern flats.

In 1825 Thomas Attree a property owner and developer in Brighton acquired land north of Eastern Road—already known as Brighton Park—to build a residential park surrounded by detached villas, inspired by Regent's Park in London. He commissioned architect Charles Galloway to design it. Thomas re-named it after Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV. Queen Adelaide patronised the German Spa opened in 1825 by Dr F A A Struve of Dresden at the south end of the park, which remained in operation until 1886 when it continued as a mineral water plant until 1960. On the site now stands the Royal Spa Nursery school. Although, Thomas' plan never materialised and the surrounding housing is of later date.

At the north-west corner is Pennant Lodge, once the home of Charles Freshfield. Also to the north-west of the park itself, on Queen's Park Road, stands the Pepper Pot (originally called the "Pepper Box"). Originally built as a water tower, later designated an observatory, it was later a public convenience.[1] The park itself, without the houses but including the Spa and the Pepper pot, was bought by the Race Stand Trustees in 1890 for £13,500 and donated to the town.[1]

Today Queen's Park is an attractive public park, well planted with trees and shrubs. It has a large pond, frequented by ducks, geese and herring gulls. Along with a children's play area, a café, an extensive dog-free area, a scented garden for people with disabilities, a bowling green, tennis courts, and an area that is left untended in order to encourage wildlife.

St Luke's Church, an Anglican church built in the Early English style, serves the area. Designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and constructed between 1881 and 1885,[1] the large flint-walled building has an unusual layout of bays in the north and south aisles of its nave;[2] Nikolaus Pevsner described this as "curious" and a "disturbing motif".[3] The church was listed at Grade II in 1999.[2]

Gallery

More views of the park:

References

  1. ^ a b c Carder, Timothy. "Queen's Park". The Encyclopaedia of Brighton. Lewes: East Sussex County Libraries. §138. 
  2. ^ a b "Images of England — detailed record, Church of St Luke, Queen's Park Terrace (north east side), Brighton". Images of England. English Heritage. 2007. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=481114&mode=quick. Retrieved 2008-11-04. 
  3. ^ Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 433. ISBN 0-14-071028-0. 

External links