I have just been reading Adam Trimmingham’s article in last Saturday’s magazine on the history of Mile Oak.

Although it was a very good article there are a few points I would like to point out.

A century ago Mile Oak was not a desolate place. In the 1800s there had been a very successful racing stables which is why the names of the roads were connected with horse racing.

In 1906, although the stables and race track stayed, the land was converted to a leisure resort. It had a very successful tea rooms which could accommodate 500 people.

In the 1800s there were two farm cottages, where the farm is now and which were by the tree that Mile Oak was named after. These were called Mile Oak Cottages.

Mr Trimmingham then goes on to say about the development along the valley. While this is correct it is not actually Mile Oak but Upper Portslade.

Mile Oak is the area north of Chalky Road and this is often reported wrongly including in The Argus.

Although Mile Oak expanded in the 1950s and 60s we had a church from about 1935 and the new church was built on the same site in the mid 1960s. We also had a row of shops in Mile Oak Road from the 1930s.

The school, although proposed in the 1930s, wasn’t built until the 1960s. The pub was built about 1953.

Brighton’s piggy bank land was just outside Mile Oak and Hangleton Bottom is a reasonable distance away.

Mary Smith

Heathfield Crescent

Portslade

Brighton