Busy junction near High Street
THE tall electric lampsandard, near, suggests post war and the distant extremely tall telegraph pole, pre-war.
These had been prolific up the Brighton Road, but this one does look rather exceptional. Perhaps its purpose may filter through.
One thing is certain, this was a very busy junction. Here the High Street met with Meeching Avenue on its left, now of course part of the Ring Road, South Way. Next on the left, Church Hill, then Brighton Road, to take you to Peacehaven and beyond and lastly the turn for Lewes. Five in all.
In this picture our conveyance seems to have just arrived here from that county town.On the left we see the junction with Essex Place, then a very severe drop.
Hundreds of tons of spoil must have been deposited there to lessen this.
Perhaps too, the underpass may not be so much of an excavation but of a filling in around a protected cylinder.
One thing is certain: this is a safe way to get from Elphick Road area and into town. It's a pity the same can't be said about arriving at the junction (from Lewes) and then trying to gain the outer lane to eventually gain Southway and beyond.
There isn't enough distance to permit a proper filter lane. W ould it have been a safer solution to sacrifice a tree or two from their little gathering to enable an earlier and squarer view of the wildly approaching traffic?
'See and be seen' may be a very wise practice wherever the advice applies. The mainstream will retain its priority by virtue of its right and better view when squarer on. Who knows, it may cause the need for more shops in our sad High Street as shoppers from the north reach the relevant car park with the minimum of stress.
Most of the property, left, was removed and that end of Elphick Road became a cul-de-sac.
The considerable drop to Essex Place, (sometimes known as Cock Sparrow or Swine Pit) must have received considerable infill on its course towards the river – a large amount of housing, including Lower Place to St Lukes Lane, the heart of old Newhaven, – was swept away. In all fairness, by now it had become poor quality housing and council development between Gibbon Road and Northdown Road, hopefully provided for the evacuation.
From the drop to Essex Place and up to the High street had been Webbers Farm – the house being at the corner to the left of the telegraph pole (the barns and stables being demolished in the early 1920s). It was from here that one purchased milk requirements, before the coming of dairy's.
It seems much of the grazing was in the fields towards Piddinghoe. There was a rear entrance to the farm at the bottom of Folly Hill (ie, that leading up to the junction with the High Street). On the opposite side of the High Street, had been Welcourt Farm.
At the bottom of Folly Hill, on the right, going up, is still Harpers Road.
On the right had been the home of Dr Parkhurst and, in the first of the following row, had been the home of Clarence Ray, noted for having been an apprentice on the famous Cutty Sark on her last voyage to Australia for wool, after which I think the renowned vessel was sold to Portugal before her eventual return for preservation.
He had painted the lid of his self made sea chest with suitable subjects, this and a delightful brass door knocker (from his house) of a sail ship approaching can be seen at the museum. Other events of his life and family could fill many pages, but we must move on to Picture No 2.
Picture No 2: No, it's not a family picnic or a peeping tom's outing. It is of the Newhaven Rifle Club, probably in the 1950s. Here they are in the north side moat of Newhaven Fort. I assume the telescopes are concerned with sighting the target. The height of the wall of the moat is quite formidable, as should be it's need. I sense there was a flight of steps went down into this moat from the shore end of the draw bridge leading into the Fort proper.
What is interesting is the shallower moat of today after all those tons of sludge were tipped there during the excavations of the Marina Shallows in the 1960s and on.
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Weather for Lewes
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -5 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
