Carolyn Orme has sent us photos of her Belfield predecessors and their bungalow in Bungalow Town asking for more information as to its location. ‘Maelvy’ is readily identifiable on the available photos and records. We’re now trying to date the main photo of her family outside the bungalow that also shows the neighbouring ‘Anchorage’ beside it. It is difficult to see for sure but it does look like the photo was taken before ‘Seaside’ was built (where they are standing/sitting) to obstruct their view of the sea.
‘Seaside’ appears to have been built in 1917 so before then; the Belfields are shown occupying ‘Villa Lido’ in 1911 and 1914 before the well known Melville family start appearing there. One of the Belfield family was attending Lancing College at the time and he was born in 1900. No Belfield’s are shown at ‘Maelvy’ in the directories but they may only have rented it for a short while.
Do the family’s fashions suggest pre or post war period? Could the lad sitting centre be Philip or does he look too young to be 11?
Another photo (top left) from Carolyn Orme of a fairly nondescript bungalow that looks much like many others in Bungalow Town. A glimpse though of the belvedere bannister on the roof of the building next door gives it away. Kingsville and its further neighbour Wavecrest were two of the few buildings on the beach with belvedere tops and immediately west of them was this bungalow ‘The Warren.’
There is quite a gap between the dates of Carolyn’s photo and ours, the main architectural differences being the porch top bannisters and cut out window/door in the gable end. Below left is a later close up of ‘The Warren’s’ sliding doors that look to have remained largely unaltered.