Shoreham Heritage Open Day

Shorehambysea.com is featured in the upcoming Heritage Open Days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday 14th-16th. A few of our videos will be featured as a celebration of the historical assets of the town.

The featured videos can be seen below:

A River Runs Through Our Town (1962) click to play

100 years ago – the White Horse Cup Final

Programme from Bartlett Collection

Hidden amongst the Bartlett Collection in the Photo Galleries is a copy of the FA Cup Final Programme cover from 1923. This FA Cup Final, 100 years ago today, was famous for the crowd invasion where 300,000 fans got into Wembley stadium. The crowds swarmed onto the pitch and the game was delayed significantly. Police attempted to control the crowds and the iconic image of a white police horse surrounded by the crowd became the iconic image of the event.

The iconic image. Public Domain
Continue reading “100 years ago – the White Horse Cup Final”

White & Co.

In 1952, I started an Apprenticeship at White and Co. The trade I was to learn was that of Wood machining, It meant, travel to Brighton Technical College twice weekly for two evening classes, and one all day class, which combined with one of the evening classes. It was a long day leaving Shoreham at 8am and returning at 10:30, all for £1 10/- weekly, no assistance with train fares. The Hourly week was 44 hours. Of course the evening classes from 7 until 9 pm were extra. 

Continue reading “White & Co.”

Shoreham Power Stations

Brighton A Power Station

Brighton B and Brighton A: Photo from Syd Bunker Facebook.

The construction on the first Shoreham power station located in Southwick commenced in in 1902 and the new station named Southwick opened in 1906. There were three M.V. turbo-alternators, each 1.8 MW running at 1500 r.p.m., 8 kV, 50 Hz with a 1 hour overload capacity cf 33% . The new station was connected by five 8 kV cables to the old North Road site where there were two 1500 kW rotary converters (the largest to that time) and four 500 kW motor generators. These replaced some of the earlier generators – the last of which was removed in 1908. Its site chosen because of its position on the harbour, meaning plentiful supply of water for cooling, and access to coal via the shipping route from NE England. The generating capacity of 5,470 kW. Pulverised coal boilers were installed in 1929 with similar steam conditions to the older one. The burners were located at the corners of the furnace. They were dogged with problems until an explosion in the P.F. bunker sealed the fate of the “Bin and Feeder” arrangement used.

The station was given numerous modifications and extensions, and by 1946 it had a increased capacity. Rapidly changing loads and wide range of fuels used made it impossible for the boilers to keep to steam temperature variations, leading to certain failures. The design was abandoned by the British power supply industry in the 1950s as it could not be used for the larger sizes required. By 1961 the station had an installed capacity of 190 MW.    Seawater was used for condensing and cooling.

Southwick Power Station in 1924. Photo Britain from Above
Continue reading “Shoreham Power Stations”

A W Wardell Photographer and Postcard Publisher

Bill Wardell

AW Wardell was an accomplished photographer and publisher of postcards from 1907 to around 1960. He was based in Brighton and latterly Worthing. You can find out much more on this excellent website. https://www.sussexpostcards.info/publishers.php?PubID=296
Bill Wardell was one of the first to publish a range of aerial scenes on postcards, pioneering an effective technique of excellent shot framing and high quality imagery from the glass plate camera he carried in the 2nd seat a biplane.

CAF Squadron based at Shoreham from March 1919

His aerial photographs of Shoreham are from 1919. It is noted he was in an Avro 504 based at the airport. Note in the first aerial photo of Shoreham (No.33) there are numerous bell tents in the SE corner of the airport – for the Canadian Air Force No. 81 Squadron stationed there in 1919, and possibly the source of Bill Wardell’s aircraft taxi to get his photographs. You may also note the two hangars of the Royal Navy seaplane base at the southern end of Ferry Road.

Summer 1919 Shoreham looking SE no.33
Continue reading “A W Wardell Photographer and Postcard Publisher”

Green Jacket

Green Jacket pub c1959 Image: © CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED licence National Brewery Heritage Trust https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/2059528/data_foodanddrink_993233

Boasting a design consistent in style with local pubs of a similar age; The Bridge and Royal George, the Green Jacket was latterly renamed the “Green Jackets”. When it closed in 2012 and converted to a Tesco Express store Tesco reverted to the original, correct name.

Green Jacket Pub Sept. 1988 ©Anders Lundquist
2022

The Royal Coach

Built in 1958 at the Saltings on the Coast Road alongside the new road to Shoreham Beach. The new pub was designed by Tiltman and Howard – the same architects for the Shoreham Airport Terminal (1935) and the Tudor House pub (1936) in Ferry Road. They were commissioned by Brickwoods. The pub was part of the expanding development of Shoreham & Lancing Beaches Estate scheme, initiated by W Sussex CC. soon after the war. It featured a function room, basement and kitchens.

It was clearly designed to cater for coach visitors using the A259. It even boasted a separate kitchen for coach drivers. Within 9 years the A259 had been downgraded by the opening of the A27 Dover to Honiton Trunk Road and the new flyover effectively bypassed the Royal Coach.

The Royal Coach was latterly re-opened as The Longshore.

Continue reading “The Royal Coach”