IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Regent Street, BRIGHTON, BN1 1UL

A stylish cafe in part of The Lanes area of Brighton, its name, colour-scheme and the LGBT flag making a statement and marking out their little bit of utopia in this bustling and diverting part of town where any small business really needs to have a memorable identity.

The current 47 was created as part of the redevelopment by Komedia in the late 1990s and had been in abeyance since the demolition of the original 47 back in 1965 to build a supermarket for Tesco, see Image Like numbers 44 and 46 the original 47 had a high turnover of businesses that came and went in quick succession though one, HE Bolton, moved across the road to Image where he was to trade until 1984. Once the original shop was combined with neighbouring 46 the turnover slowed down though I'd imagine Silverthorne the greengrocer found the competition from Tesco towards the end pretty stiff. When the number returned the first occupants were Botanica who then moved to Image where it survived for another few years before closing. Avatar was one of three shops of that name that have since been reduced to one in Bond Street, After a brief stint as a games and DVD shop the premises is now occupied by a mobile phone accessories seller. OCCUPANTS 1871-77: MACHINIST: William Clifton 1879-83: DRAPER: A Grinstead 1885-89: WATCHMAKER: AW Wilson 1891-96: TOBACCONIST: John Hammond & Co (1891-94), R Bachelor (1895), Mrs Holmewood (1896) 1897: SURGERY 1899-1901: DAIRYMAN: SW Price 1902-08: IRONMONGER: Edward Loxton (1902-03), SH Frippard (1904-08) 1909: SAUSAGE MAKER: H Savelsberg 1910-17: EGG MERCHANT: HE Bolton 1918-27: CUTLERS: FN Vivian & Co 1928-65: GREENGROCERS: Frederick Carter (1928-31), English & Colonial Fruit Store (1934-40), HA Silverthorne (1947-65) Original building demolished 1998-2001: FLORIST: Botanica 2006-08: JEWELLERS: Avatar 2009-10: GAMES & DVD: Astro 2010-11: MOBILE PHONE ACCESSORIES: Mint

Currently occupied by cafe called The Lanes which seems to be a rebranded version of Cafe Laziz the previous occupiers. Since 2005 the row of shops south of the Komedia (numbers 48-57) has been taken over by cafes taking advantage of the traffic free weekends on the street. They can be found at 48, Image, Image, Image and Image The first trader back in the 1870s was basket maker William Rice who moved to Image before returning a decade later. Julius & Co dealt with cane, bamboo and willow furniture, and William Dallaway was also an undertaker and insurance agent dealing in fire, life and plate glass windows when not a carpenter. Ernest Veale also traded at Image whilst Burnard Stores were probably seen off by the arrival of Tesco at number 44. After a couple of bakers information seems to be lacking for much of the 1980s after which a number of clothes shops came and went though both East Vogue ltd and Passport swapped tenures at 31 Bond Street with the latter moving on to St James's Street after their stint here. OCCUPANTS 1871-81: BASKET MAKER: WH Rice 1883: FURNITURE DEALER: Julius & Co 1884-85: DYER: H Busher 1887: GENERAL DEALER: Harry Hart 1888: CARPENTER; William Dallaway 1891-1902: BASKET MAKER: WH Rice (1891-96), J Rice (1897-1902) 1903-36: MILLINER/DRAPER: W Thomas (1903-06), J Prichard (1907-22), Ernest Veale (1923-36) 1937-60: GROCER: Burnard Stores Ltd 1962-78: BAKER: Tip Top bakeries Ltd (1962-69), Acres the Bakers (1970-78) 1988-98: LADIES WEAR: She Fashions (1988), Chique Fashions (1990-93), East Vogue Ltd (1996-98) 1999-2002: MENSWEAR: Passport 2005-11: CAFE: Cafe Laziz (2005-10), The Lanes (2011)

Currently occupied by Cafe Utopia one of five cafes that can be found between 48 and 57, the others are Image, Image, Image and Image, all of whom have taken advantage of a street closed to traffic at weekends. Another shop with a huge turnover of traders over the years; Henry Baum's general store included electroplating, cutlery and jewellery; between 1912 and 36 the businesses had expanded from 48 next door; Salute moved to Image and continued to trade until 2002; Jollygood Chocolates briefly moved in with a florist, Botanica, at Image when rates became too high; whilst Ben's Cookies are a national chain that moved to Duke Street in 2006. OCCUPANTS 1839-52: DYER; Jason Carey 1854: STAY & CORSET MAKER: Mrs Mitchenor 1856-77: DYERS & SCOURERS: Weston & Co (1856-74), Charles Gearing (1877) 1879-81: TAILOR: Joseph Cheney (1879-80), J Lee (1881) 1885-93: MUSIC WAREHOUSE: J Weston 1894-96: GENERAL SHOP: Henry Baum 1897: CLOTHIER: Dennis Tickner 1898-1906: TOBACCONIST: WB Wallis (1898), F Lloyd (1899), A Pilch (1900), John Wilton (1901), Albert Gosden (1902-06) 1908-11: CHINA DEALER: H Godart 1912-36: MILLINER/DRAPER: J Prichard (1912-22), Ernest Veale (1923-36) 1938-51: TOBACCONIST: A Harris (1938), George Fletcher (1939-51) 1954-64: CONFECTIONER: L & D Page 1971-86: DRAPER: Bi-Rite (1971-81), The Curtain Studio (1986) 1987-88: LADIES WEAR: Salute 1990-2006: CONFECTIONER: Jollygood Chocolates (1990-2002), Ben's Cookies (2003-06) 2008-11: CAFE: Cafe Utopia

On Gardner Street, Brighton.

The shop has been a cafe for the last 20 years initially Gardners then since 1998 Infinity which is a division of Infinity Foods which is located at the other end of the street at 25-27 North Road and specialises in vegetarian and vegan dishes. It is one of five located between 48 and 57 the others being Image, Image, Image and Image Of the others King, Thorme & Stace moved to Jubilee Street; 70 years were spent as a fishmonger, was the first Nathanial Gunn related to the Gunns that traded out of Image from 1919 onwards? He was followed by the tremendously named Hilbert Habard who closed his shop at the same time as the other fishmonger at Image, another victim of Tesco? Dockerills still trade around the corner in Church Street and had also traded at Image and Image during the 1960s. It seems that Philbridge bought out the tool side of the business and may have evolved into County Tools. OCCUPANTS 1839-46: BAKER: Charles Palmer (1839-40), John Terry (1945-46) 1848: FURRIER: William Piedot 1854: DYER: Mrs Carey 1859-74: CLOTHIER: Peter Chargois 1877-79: CHINA/GLASS DEALER: EB Burden 1881-91: PRINTERS: King, Thorne & Stace 1892-1962: FISHMONGER: Nathanial Gunn (1892-1919), Hilbert Habard (1920-62) 1966-68: HEATING ENGINEERS: Rocwal Electrical Co. 1970-88: TOOL SPECIALIST: Dockerills (1970-75), Philbridge Ltd (1976), County Tools (1978-88) 1990-2011: CAFE: Gardners cafe (1990-96), Infinity foods Cafe (1998-2011)

On Gardner Street, Brighton.

With the exception of buildings lost to road widening at either end of the street this is the only rebuild that has occurred here since the 1820s. Numbers 44, 45, 45a, 46 and 47 were demolished in 1965 by the occupants of number 44, Tesco to build a modern supermarket. See http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume25/source/jg_25_143.html for an image taken in 1965 prior to demolition and one taken in the early 1970s http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpm-brighton-hove/5987512565/. With the growth of motor car use particularly in relation to weekly shopping habits Tesco decided that the building no longer served their needs and moved out around 1979 though I imagine they were kicking themselves when trends began to move back towards smaller local stores in the late 1990s. Tesco did managed to get themselves into the North Laine in 2005 as part of the new Jubilee Street development a couple of streets to the east. After a brief period as a discount store the building remained empty until 1984 when it reopened as the Jubilee Shopping Hall containing a number of stalls on a number of different floors as well as a separate shop given the number 44. One of those who traded in the hall, Borderline, now operates from Image The shopping hall remained in place until the late 1990s when Komedia, a comedy venue who had outgrown its original premises on Manchester Street put forward plans to develop it as a small comedy venue and restaurant combined. This duly opened in 1998 along with a new shop at the eastern end of the building given the number 47 and other than a change of restaurant has largely remained the same ever since. OCCUPANTS 44-47 only 1965-79: SUPERMARKET: Tesco 1980-81: DISCOUNT STORE: Keen Prices 1982-88: SPORTS SHOP: Alpine Sports (44 only) 1984-97: INDOOR MARKET: Jubilee Shopping Hall 1998-2011: ARTS VENUE: Komedia 1998-2011: RESTAURANT: Curve Bar (1998-2005), Gourmet Burger Bar (2008-11) NUMBER 44 From 1845 until its demolition 120 years later the shop saw a large turnover of businesses coming in and out with only the 36 years of Thomas Castleden the only long tenure of note. AE Kent had traded at Image before the war. OCCUPANTS 1845-48: CURRIER: Josiah Lane 1862-71: TAILOR/DRAPER: A Morrison (1862-65), H Denham (1867-71) 1884-1920: CARVER/GILDER: Thomas Castleden 1921-22: PICTURE FRAMER: Alfred Gates 1923-26: PROVISIONAL MERCHANT: AW Moxey (1923-25), Mrs Artus (1926) 1927: OUTFITTERS: Mrs Brockes 1928-29: GRAMOPHONE DEALERS: J West 1930: CYCLE DEALER: Joseph Westrich 1931-34: OUTFITTER: L Smith 1936-38: GOWNS: Blue Arcade 1939-40: BOOK REPOSITORY: Chain Libraries Ltd 1947-60: BISCUIT MAKER: AE Kent & Co 1962-65: GROCER: Tesco NUMBER 45 A private house until the 1890s 45 was the polar opposite to 44 with just two shops here in 72 years. The national chain of Freeman, Hardy & Willis also had a shop nearby at 83 North Road which continued trading into the 1960s, whilst Aird & Co had originally been founded next door at 45a and had expanded into this shop just before the war. The firm moved to 14 Bond Street in 1965 amalgamating with another tool shop called Swift & Co and are still trading there today. OCCUPANTS 1893-1939: SHOE SHOP: Freeman, Hardy & Willis 1940-65: TOOL SPECIALIST: Aird & Co NUMBER 45a Like 45 the building remained in residential use until the early 1890s after which it briefly became tailor when a tool dealer called William Aird. Aird and his successors were to trade here for the next 67 years, expanding into neighbouring 45 in the process and moving to 14 Bond Street once plans for demolition were put in motion. OCCUPANTS 1893-96: TAILOR: Samuel Atkins 1898-1965: TOOL SPECIALIST: William Aird (1898-1911), Aird & Co (1912-65) NUMBER 46 Like 44 the shop has had a huge turnover of businesses passing through and only started settling once 46 had been combined with neighbouring 47. OCCUPANTS 1879-80: TOY DEALER: M Trower 1881: FISHING TACKLE: A Stoner 1883: DRAPER: A Grinstead 1884-90: OUTFITTER: A Pawson 1891-95: HOSIER/HATTER: G Cottrell 1896-98: TRUNK MAKER; Holway Bailey 1899-1907: HOSIER: Barnard 1911: CONFECTIONER: C Johnson 1912: WARDROBE DEALER: Thomas More 1913-15: TAILOR: Ailion (1913), Charles (1914-15) 1916-17: TOOL SPECIALIST: Aird & Co 1918: MILLINER: Gina Harris 1919-27: CUTLERS: FN Vivian & Co 1928-65: GREENGROCER: Frederick Carter (1928-31), English & Colonial Fruit Store (1934-40), HA Silverthorne (1947-65) NUMBER 47 see Image

On the Dukes at Komedia Cinema in Gardner Street in the North Lanes neighbourhood.