XXXVII
A new era for Brighton and the Brighton Road opened in November, 1896, with the coming of the motor-car. Already the old period of the coaching inns had waned, and that of gigantic and palatial hotels, much more luxurious than anything ever imagined by the builders of the Pavilion, had dawned; and then, as though to fitly emphasize the transition, the old Chain Pier made a dramatic end.
The Chain Pier just missed belonging to the Georgian era, for it was not begun until October, 1822, but, opened the following year, it had so long been a feature of Brighton—and so peculiar a feature—that it had come, with many, to typify the town, quite as much as the Pavilion itself. It was, moreover, additionally remarkable as being the first pleasure-pier built in England. It had long been failing and, condemned as dangerous, would soon have been demolished; but the storm of December 4th, 1896, spared that trouble. It was standing when day closed in, but when the next morning dawned, its place was vacant.
Since then, those who have long known Brighton have never visited it without a sense of loss; and the Palace Pier, opposite the Aquarium, does not fill the void. It is a vulgarity for one thing, and for another typifies the Hebraic week-end, when the sons and daughters of Judah descend upon the town. Moreover, it is absolutely uncharacteristic, and has its counterparts in many other places.
But Brighton itself is eternal. It suffers change, it grows continually; but while the sea remains and the air is clean and the sun shines, it, and the road to it, will be the most popular resorts in England.
Footnotes
1 He was a baker; hence the nickname.
2 Henry Barry, Earl of Barrymore, in the peerage of Ireland.
3 Hiatus in the Journals, arranged by the editor for benefit of the Young Person!
4 Kirkpatrick Macmillan, in 1839-40, invented a dwarf, rear-driving machine of the “safety” type, and was fined at Glasgow for “furiously riding.” He made and sold several, but they attained nothing more than local and temporary success.
5 “There’s nothing brings you round
Like the trumpet’s martial sound.”—W. S. Gilbert.
“The Pirates of Penzance.”
6 In 1829 there were three additional gates: one at Crawley, another at Hand Cross, before you came to the “Red Lion,” and one more at Slough Green. Meanwhile the Horley gate on this route had disappeared. At a later period another gate was added, at Merstham, just past the “Feathers.” On the other routes there were, of course, yet more gates—e.g., those of Sutton, Reigate, Wray Park, Woodhatch, Dale, and many more.
Salfords gate was the last on the main Brighton Road. It remained until midnight, October 31st. 1881, when the Reigate Turnpike Trust expired, after an existence of 126 years. Not until then did this most famous highway become free and open throughout its whole distance.
7 Preface to “Præterita,” dated May 10th, 1885.
8 The name derives from a farm so called, marked on a map of 1716 “Stotes Ness.”
9 “Sir Edward Banks, Knight, of Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, and Adelphi Terrace, Strand, Middlesex, whose remains are deposited in the family vault in this churchyard. Blessed by Divine Providence with an honest heart, a clear head, and an extraordinary degree of perseverance, he rose superior to all difficulties, and was the founder of his own fortune; and although of self-cultivated talent, he in early life became contractor for public works, and was actively and successfully engaged during forty years in the execution of some of the most useful, extensive, and splendid works of his time; amongst which may be mentioned the Waterloo, Southwark, London, and Staines Bridges over the Thames, the Naval Works at Sheerness Dockyard, and the new channels for the rivers Ouse, Nene, and Witham in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. He was eminently distinguished for the simplicity of his manners and the benevolence of his heart; respected for his inflexible integrity and his pure and unaffected piety; in all the relations of his life he was candid, diligent, and humane; just in purpose, firm in execution; his liberality and indulgence to his numerous coadjutors were alone equalled by his generosity and charity displayed in the disposal of his honourably-acquired wealth. He departed this life at Tilgate, Sussex... on the 5th day of July, 1835, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.”
10 Matthew Buckle, Admiral of the Blue; born 1716, died 1784.
11 He really drove the other way; from Carlton House to Brighton.