This is the history of a local Shoreham painting with its backstory. The painting is of Toon Ghose flying his De Havilland Chipmunk “Lillibet” over Shoreham Airport in the late 1970’s. This painting has for some time been present on the shorehambysea.com “Paintings” section, numbered B63. It was written with the aim of providing a provenance for the painting:
I remember seeing Toon at Shoreham Airport during the late 1970’s, just before my teenage years, where I was introduced to him by my cousin, Ashley (Ash) Roote. Ash learnt to fly at Shoreham and was a member of Toon’s flying club, where Toon also flew as an instructor. The Flying Club was called Toon Ghose Aviation, or TGA, and I well remember the TGA window stickers that were a ‘must have’ for ‘anybody who was anybody’ at the airport at the time!
Bungalow Town Halt was opened in 1910 to serve the growing community of Shoreham Beach and the holiday camps at the Saltings. Latterly it was to serve the aerodrome immediately to the North, and station signage reflected this. The station was located 30 feet to the East of the rail bridge spanning New Salts Farm Road. It comprised two simple wooden platforms North and South of the tracks and wooden shelter. These were accessed by a steep footpath up the embankment from New Salts Farm Road. The station closed in 1933.
The station reopened as Shoreham Airport station in July 1935, principally to serve the new terminal building of Shoreham Airport. However after only 5 years the station was closed in July 1940.
C1930 looking EastThe re-opened station c1939Shoreham Airport station c1940 looking East
Tragedy in 1934
On August 19th 1934 Southern Railway Policeman PC Alfred Haynes, based at Brighton, had been assigned as part a contingent to police the Bungalow Town station during an air display event (possibly Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus 1934 Tour over the 18th and 19th). He was on duty on the platform at Bungalow Town Halt . The station was over-crowded during the air display and as he attempted to clear people on the platform he was struck and killed by a through train travelling at 45mph. His body was propelled some distance up the track.
Footnote: The records state this to be 1934 and that ties in with a known flying event. However the Bungalow Town station had closed the previous year – not to reopen until 1935. So why were people on the platforms requiring police to manage the crowds? Perhaps they were locals who had decided to view the air displays from the elevated platforms without paying to enter the aerodrome itself? It is known that previous air displays had resulted in large fences being erected along the river towpath to obstruct views of the locals. (you can still see the holes in the towpath that may have held the fence structure in place). If the first day (18th) of displays had seen unmanageable crowds on the now redundant station platform then it would be likely that Southern Railways deployed policemen to prevent a reoccurrence on the second day. This would explain why the platform was crowded despite there not being a stopping train.
The church records show that the wooden, diamond shaped clock was first fixed to the south wall of the tower in 1828. However there is earlier evidence of a clockface on St Mary’s tower in the John Butler Sketch of 1786 and a watercolour of 1782. It is recorded that that face was moved and installed higher up in 1862. The East and West faces were added in 1898 – they are differentiated by their slightly convex blue faces. The South face had disappeared between 1898 and 1937 when it and the North face were installed – flat but thicker clockfaces. So it is only post-1937 that all four faces were evident.
1786 Sketch with the church tower with, inset, an enlargement of the shape at the belfry window and detail from a 1782 watercolourNote the South face diamond shape clock. Watercolour painting by F. Nash (1782-1856) Continue reading “The Clocks of St Mary’s”
Thanks to Tony Clevett, Neil DeVille and Roger Bateman we have newly discovered scans of the construction of Southlands Hospital Harness block. This was constructed between 1977 and 1978. For the full history of this short-lived building visit the Southlands article.
Many of you will know of the monumental project to rebuild “Tally Ho”, who’s origins were at the old Stow’s shipbuilding yard at the bottom of East Street. She was built in Shoreham in 1910 as the “Betty” and had a varied career including completing the Fastnet race in 1927, traversing the globe, being wrecked in the Americas and eventually laying as a hulk for decades in the US. In 2018 she was rescued by Leo Goolden who set about rebuilding her to sail again. That project became a 6 year YouTube sensation that culminated this month with the re-launch of Tally Ho.
Fisherfolk on a Tidal Estuary 1874, Shoreham by James Webb 1825 – 1895
Could this be the viewpoint?
Nelson writes: I’m sure we discussed this painting some years ago on the old web site without coming to any real conclusion as to its exact location. Assuming the content is not artistic licence then the view almost fits the history we have of one part of the Shoreham river front area. The windmill could be the one that stood on Mill Green at Ropetackle and behind it rising ground in the distance that may be Mill Hill; the town to the right and the timber work in the foreground is perhaps where the flood arch is now.
There are two question marks of this though. The Norfolk Suspension Bridge had been well and truly built by the time the artist painted it and (if it is this area) should have featured as the centre piece of the painting so why has he masked the bridge with the boats’ sails? The Ropetackle mill (we know it was a post mill and the painting confirms this) and the land it was on was sold in 1790 to Daniel Roberts who built a large granary on it. This had burned down by the 1820’s but could it be that the windmill was at a distance from the granary and still standing at the time of the painting – it certainly looks dilapidated with only two sails?
Star Inn In the 18th century the Star Inn on the corner of Church Street with the High Street was the once town’s main coaching inn and had stables stretching to East Street from the main building. The early 1900’s photo here was taken shortly after a face lift which, sadly, hides for ever its earlier heritage.
A collection from Alex Robertson. The early days of aviation at Shoreham.
For a detailed article on the earliest days of aviation at Shoreham visit here. For a graphical timeline of the expansion of the aerodrome site visit here.
Mr AV Roe’s planes at Shoreham Aerodrome c1913Mr AV Roe’s planes at Shoreham Aerodrome c1913Mr AV Roe in 1913 at Shoreham Aerodrome.c1913. The 1912 Burga Monoplane built by AV Roe and test flown at Shoreham in Nov 1912. Damaged in an accident a month laterContinue reading “Aerodrome c1913”
