Hove Museum was built by local architect Thomas Lainson in 1877.
No CA
LLHA0137
Hove Museum was built by local architect Thomas Lainson in 1877 for John Olliver Vallance. Yellow gault brick with rendered dressings, it is designed in an Italianate style with similarities to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Used to house German prisoners of war during World War I, it was converted to two houses in 1923, leading to much alteration including the removal of the central front door, staircase and fireplaces. Mrs Vallance died in 1924 and the house sold to Hove Council for use as a museum and art gallery in 1925. The building is set back off the road within its own grounds which form its setting and emphasise the formal layout of the area. The Jaipur Gate (listed) is set within the grounds. The piers and cast iron railings to the boundary were reinstated in 1994. Source: Middleton 2002
ii A fine Victorian villa with high quality Italianate style features, with similarities to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight iv A good example of work by a notable local architect (Thomas Lainson) for the Vallance family (local landowners). Thomas Lainson also designed Pickford’s in Holland Road (demolished) and the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children (assessed separately), and had oversight of the construction of much of Poet’s Corner as surveyor of the Vallance Estate.
i It is atypical in style, design, period and materials for the Pembroke & Princes Conservation Area, but makes a positive contribution ii Forms a visual focal point, due particularly to its use as a public building iv The Jaipur Gate (listed grade II) is located within its grounds.
i One of few Victorian villas of this size to survive.
i Despite alterations to form two dwellings (and later to form the museum), the building retains a sense of completeness and the majority of its design features
Pre-2015
