A two-storey detached red brick building with accommodation in the attic, facilitated by the large roof and a semi-basement to the street.
No
LLHA00265
The building was designed by architect John George Gibbens and built by William Willett in 1893 at cost price. Known as the Convalescent Police Seaside Home, it was the first purpose built police convalescent home to be built in the UK. The money required to build the property was gained via donations and was brought to fruition by Catherine Gurney OBE, notable as an activist in the temperance movement and for forming he International Christian Police Association. Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (3rd daughter of Queen Victoria) laid the foundation stone in 1892 and the Countess of Chichester opened the home in 1893.
It functioned as an Auxiliary Military Hospital during WWI. The Home continued in active use by the police until 1966 when it was moved to the newly opened Home on the Kingsway, Hove. It is now a private care home.
This is a two-storey detached red brick building with accommodation in the attic, facilitated by the large roof and a semi-basement to the street. The late-Victorian building is red brick with steeply pitched clay tile roofs, gables and tall chimneys; the central entrance is raised half a floor and sits beneath a canopy topped by an open segmental pediment in terracotta and brickwork. Beside the main entrance is a two storey (semi-basement to ground floor) canted bay with decorative pediment in brick and terracotta. The building has a 1940s two storey flat roofed extension to the west which is subservient to the main building.
iv. The building was designed by a notable local architect style with a grand entrance and terracotta embellishments. Gibbens had worked in the office of William Burgess and the building shows clear vernacular Arts and Craft style influence. It was built by a notable local builder responsible for the Willett Estate conservation area in Hove.
i. Close association with International Christian Police Association, its importance reflected in the founding and opening by members of the Royal Family.
ii. The building is located outside of a Conservation Area and is an imposing presence in the street scene, forming an attractive grouping with the grade II listed Methodist Church of 1895 next door, so making a very positive contribution to the street scene of this part of Portland Road.
ii. A rare example of a building built specifically for the role as a police convalescence home, which served the entire London and south-east region.
i. The original building remains largely intact externally.
2023
