Victorian street demolished in 70s reopens – with no cars

A Victorian street which was all but lost to demolition in the 1970s has been reinstated as part of a new Brighton housing development.

The Edward Street Quarter, on the former Amex offices site, has reopened Mighell Street, which cuts up from Edward Street to Carlton Hill.

But while the original street was open to all traffic, the new one will just be for pedestrians.

Tenants are now being lined up to take on the commercial units – a mix of food, drink and leisure – which line the new walkway.

Developer Socius has marked the entrance with a public art gateway which will welcome visitors, residents and workers.

The majority of Victorian Mighell Street was demolished decades ago, leaving behind just a small section of the original road and two listed buildings.

Steve Eccles, Director at Socius, said: “Reinstating historic Mighell Street is just one of the major milestones in our development and we are excited that office staff and residents will be able to walk down this road once again.

“It was important for us to forge links with Kemptown’s heritage and we wanted to bring back this lost street to revive a piece of Victorian Brighton.

“Mighell Street will be lined with food, beverage and leisure businesses, as well as offices and homes, where our first residents have already moved in, putting this thoroughfare truly on the map once more.”

Mighell Street was named after Philip Mighell, who was a local landowner at the end of the 18th century.

The new gateway has been designed by master sculptor Casto Solano of British-Spanish studio Solart.

The public art gateway is one of three areas designated for public art at Edward Street Quarter.

Edward Street Quarter comprises 125,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, as well as 20,000 sq ft of leisure, retail and hospitality units. The development is being jointly developed by Socius, First Base and Patron Capital Partners.

Homes at the £140 million development are open for viewings.

History of Mighell Street

A Strict Baptist Chapel was built here in 1878, known as Mighell Street Hall. It was compulsorily purchased and demolished in 1961. Carlton Hill was historically a very poor area and was a victim of slum clearances throughout the 20th century, which meant the destruction of many of the area’s historic buildings.

But a few original buildings still survive in the remaining stub of Mighell Street. Numbers 34-35 are Grade II listed and were supposedly a former farmhouse built in the early 19th century according to Historic England, but are now divided into two homes.

For residents looking to move into Edward Street Quarter, they might enjoy looking back at the people who used to live on Mighell Street back in 1845. A number of artisan trades people lived on the street, including Robert Hunter, a boot and shoemaker who lived at no. 2, Mrs Ann Kent at no. 18 was a beer retailer and at 34 was Thomas Blockley, a grainer and sign writer. There were several dressmakers, a timber merchant and coach maker, as well as two schools. These people would have provided services to the wealthy residents living nearer to the Royal Pavilion.

The Carlton Hill area was known for its fishing community, colloquially called the ‘fisher-folk’, who lived in the area and used its workshops and warehouses to cure and smoke their herring catches. A contemporary writer, quoted by Brighton historian Clifford Musgrave, observed that “an aromatic and appetising pall would envelop the entire neighbourhood,

kippering both fish and residents alike”.

Fast forward to 1850 and Mighell Street had a dairy at number 10 run by Mr G Deacon. Before refrigeration dairies were often found in city centres so give residents access to fresh milk. The street also housed a coach builder, cabinet maker, watch maker and the timber merchant, while the rest of the road accommodated small tenements.

Around the 1880s Carlton Hill was known as Brighton’s ‘foreign quarter’, where many

Italian and French street vendors, who sold various types of food around Brighton, lived.

By the 1930s there were only three businesses on the west side of the street. Zoe Brigden ran a ladies’ hairdresser and William Brigden worked as an undertaker, sharing space at number 2. Chimney sweep Alfred Hill lived at no. 12 and on the opposite side of the road George Lynn & Sons builders could be found at no. 35. The rest of the street was mainly residential.

In the final days of Mighell Street before its demolition, George Lynn & Sons builders survived into the 1960s by which time there was a pub called the Black Lion at no. 47 which was next door to Nielsens Ice Cream and Frozen Foods.