In Your Street: North Road, Preston Village

North Road formed part of the old Preston Village, which was a village in its own right before becoming a parish of Brighton in 1873.

Visitors to the area today will find cobblestone and characterful flint cottages that date back to the 1700s, an old police station, school, forge and even a former slaughterhouse with tell-tale signs of the activity that used to grace its walls in yesteryear.

Only about 50 people were recorded to be living in the village at the time of the Domesday survey of 1086, though by the late 18th Century it was a popular destination for visitors from Brighton who would take a horse ride from the town.

The Encyclopaedia of Brighton reveals tea gardens between Middle Road and North Road were a popular attraction for tourists from 1770 to the early 1800s, contributing to a boost in population to 222 by 1801.

Today North Road still retains many of its old buildings including Preston Cottage at number 28 – an early 19th Century cobble-fronted farmhouse – and the gothic buildings of the old Preston Church of England Infant School, which was converted into homes in 1985.

At the northern end of the street is the Old Forge, a single-storey bungalow-type building made of brick and flint.

The village’s old police station used to be at number 18 from the 1870s until around the 1920s and there was an abattoir next door to the forge in the late 1800s, which is now home to a managing agent.

When The Argus knocked on the door of the business, staff were keen to point out old cattle hooks and chains that are still attached to the roof of the building since its slaughterhouse days.

Knowledgeable North Road resident Sara Piper, 61, revealed more about the village’s history.

She said: “Preston was initially owned by the Bishops of Chichester and later formed part of the manorial land of the Stanford family.

“Our house dates back to 1670 but was substantially modernised in the 18th Century when a Georgian facade was added.

“It was the home of the village blacksmiths for generations and the forge became a motor engineers as horses gave way to cars.

“Johnson, a local motor engineer, built the famous green and cream Southdown miniature buses there.”

Two years ago Mrs Piper was visited by an elderly Canadian woman whose ancestors were blacksmiths in the village.

The woman handed over a copy of a photograph taken outside Mrs Piper’s house in the late 19th Century.

Mrs Piper said: “It showed several generations of prosperous blacksmiths in their Sunday best.

“She now has one of the many horseshoes that have been dug out of the back garden as a memento in her home in Canada.

“I’ve also met elderly people who remember bringing their chestnuts to roast at the forge, and the village once boasted its own fire and police station and a small gaol behind the Brewery Tap – which as its name suggests also brewed its own beer. The gaol later became a boxing gym.”

When The Argus visited the road last week, it caught on camera the moment two long-lost friends were unwittingly reunited.

At the precise moment resident Nigel Fairs walked up his path into his house, his new next door neighbour opened the door and let out a friendly “hello”.

The next five minutes included an array of shocked expressions and surprise as it turned out the neighbour, 45-year-old Marian Cleary, had known Mr Fairs since the 1980s.

She said: “I was a member of a theatre company Nigel ran in Maidstone, Kent, before I went to university in 1987.

“We became great friends but lost touch with increased distance and our lives diverged.

“I was so shocked but we recognised each other straight away.

“It’s really handy because it means I can steal his Wi-Fi until I get mine connected!”

Former North Road resident Michael White, 79, was the inspiration for this week’s In Your Street selection.

He was a pupil at the infant school during the 1940s and recalled his own memories of life in the street.

He said: “I came to the road as a youngster with my siblings after we were evacuated from London during the war.

“We initially went to Tivoli Crescent, just off Dyke Road, but we were bombed out and my mother found number 27 North Road was free.

“At the back of number 27 there was an empty house, which was much larger than our set up, and my mother marched round there and managed to secure it.”

Mr White recalled memories of the ‘Milk Vessel Recovery’ business plant in North Road, which used to collect empty milk bottles.

He added: “I used to work there on Saturday mornings washing the bottles and it paid a sixpence.

“There also used to be a newsagent on the corner of North Road called Newingtons. I worked there as a paper boy when I was 11 and would be up at 5.30am to do three rounds before school.

“It’s still a post office now. There’s so much history in the road, it was a great place to grow up.”

In 1970 the village was granted conservation status, owing to its alluring and historical past.

My new neighbour turned out to be my old friend

I’ve lived near Preston Park for 13 years, but the village seems to have a very different feel to it.

It's amazing how the sound of the A23 disappears as soon as you walk up North Road.

I’ve lived in Brighton since I came to Sussex University to do a PGCE in 1993.

I have worked as a secondary school English teacher and a journalist.

I combine both now doing a range of wordy work from editing to writer training.

Ten minutes after getting the keys to my new place I saw a bloke walking up the path next door.

I assumed he was my neighbour so thought I’d say hello and see if he had a parcel that had already arrived for me and it turned out it was my old friend Nigel.