115, Western Road, Brighton

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 28 Mar 2016

The most westerly shop in Brighton on the northern side. To its left is Boundary Passage which marks the old parish boundary between Brighton and Hove. The subsequent shop built in the old Langhams Hotel is in Hove and is numbered accordingly (no.134). The building probably dates from around 1825 when it was erected to serve as a toll gate to collect duty on coal as it entered the borough. The duty was original instituted in 1773 for cargo landed from the sea and used to fund the building of groynes and other sea defences. In 1825 it was extended to transport on land and remained a significant revenue cash cow for the council until its abolition in 1887. By 1848 the building shared its space with a fire station run by Brighton Police which remained here until 1902 when it moved to bigger premises on Preston Circus. Equipment was kept outside the front of the building and hitched to the nearest available horse drawn cab in the event of an emergency, though the hose was carried on foot. After 1902 the building was briery occupied by JJ Abell who expanded into from Image though he moved out both shops the following year. The next record appears in 1908 when the building was converted into an estate agent, Stringer & Dinnock who operated here for nearly 70 years, sharing space with offices for a number of building societies during that period. They were replaced by Max Huizinga who would later move to Image with the shop becoming a florist for much of the 1990s before returning to the property business. Since 2001 it has been a series of letting agents. Old Images Fire station in 1895 - http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume19/source/jg_19_006.html 1854-1887 - Coal Duty Office 1848-1902 - Brighton Police Fire Station 1903 - HOUSE FURNISHER (James Abell) 1908-1977 - ESTATE AGENT (Stringer & Dinnock) 1920-1982 - BUILDING SOCIETY (Brighton & Shoreham 1920-77, South of England 1978-81, Citizens Regency 1982) 1983-1991 - ESTATE AGENT (Max Huzinga) 1993-1999 - FLORIST (Blue Orchid) 2001-2016 - LETTING AGENT (Michael Joseph 2001-13, Avard 2013-15, Belvoir 2015-16)

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