Historic terraces

Madeira Terrace was originally built as a covered promenade to attract tourists from London when the new railway opened in the late 1800s.

It was built by borough surveyor Philip Lockwood and opened to the east of Royal Crescent in 1890, before being extended to meet the Aquarium in 1927 to 1929.

Historic photo of Madeira Walk in Brighton.

It’s considered the longest cast iron structure in Britain, running from the Aquarium Colonnade to the Volk’s railway maintenance building. 

Madeira Terrace has weathered the marine environment for more than 100 years. 

Since 2012, the terrace has been progressively closed to the public as the structure degraded and became unsafe. 

It was finally fenced off in 2016, with 4 of the 6 staircases connecting Madeira Drive to Marine Parade also being closed. 

The Green Wall

Engineering works in the early 19th century stabilized the east cliff with a special limestone cement to stop them eroding. This was to protect the east cliff where the new buildings of Kemp Town were being established. A balustraded promenade was built along the top of the cliff - Marine Parade - and a series of 7 staircases providing access up and down the cliff face. 

The green wall predates the Terrace structure. In 1872 Euonymus Japonicus, or Japanese Spindle, was established at the foot of the cliff and by 1880 it had reached the top of the cliff face in places. The first phase of Madeira Terrace construction started in 1888, running east from the Royal Crescent steps.  

100 years later, Madeira Terrace underwent significant engineering works. In 1971, sprayed concrete was applied to face of the retaining wall above the level of the deck and the green wall planting may have been removed.

Concrete planters were installed on the deck and fixed to the retaining wall, so the original planting had to be removed. It's not known if the original Spindle plants were transplanted into the planters, or whether the plants we see today were planted in 1971. 

Funding agreed to start work in 2024 

At a special Cabinet meeting in August 2024 Cabinet members voted to approve an additional £3 million budget to move forward the restoration of 28 of the Madeira Terrace arches, Phase 1 of the restoration. 

Council Leader Bella Sankey announced that: “As the project moves forward, we will be seeking ideas from residents, local businesses and investors on how the restoration of the rest of the arches can be funded in a way Brighton-friendly way.”

In October 2024 Historic England announced a £750,000 grant towards Phase 1 of the restoration. 

Following the launch of a public Invitation to Tender process in December 2023, JT Mackley & Co were appointed as main contractors for the first stage of restoration in October 2024. 

The contractors started clearing the site of rubbish, items to be stored or saved and greenery which is not part of the conservation of the green wall. They will create their working compound, segregating the works area in order to clear vegetation and protect some of the Green Wall spindle plants being retained  

Before Christmas 2024 contractors started taking down the dilapidated concrete deck so that parts of the cast iron structure can be transported to specialist foundry in the north of England to assess the repairs possible. 

We hope that the first phase of restored arches could be open to the public in 2026.