HOW lovely it was to read Adam Trimingham’s column in which he waved a banner for Portslade.

Of course people living in Portslade are strongly aware of their own identity.

The ancient Portslade Manor, although in ruins, is a rare relic.

Another cause of pride is the church of St Nicolas, which has been in continuous use since it was built in around 1170. It never fell into a state of decay as did the churches of neighbouring parishes Aldrington, Hove, Hangleton and West Blatchington.

Out of the five parishes, Portslade was the largest and more important for hundreds of years.

For a start, there was the size of Portslade, which stretches from the coast back into the Downs, while the original parish of Hove only reached as far north as what became the Old Shoreham Road, and as far west as the Westbournes (pre-1894 figures).

Then there was the population – in 1801 Portslade could boast of 284 inhabitants while Hove could only muster 101, there was nobody living in Aldrington, just 36 in Hangleton, and it is uncertain how many people were to be found at West Blatchington.

Portslade’s population continued to be higher than Hove’s in 1811 and 1821, but by 1831 the figures changed with the building of the Brunswick area – the figures for that year were 615 for Portslade and 1,360 in Hove.

Judy Middleton

Mile Oak Gardens

Portslade