St James Avenue, Kemptown, Brighton

These lovely covers are from my old stomping ground of the St James Street area of Kemptown. The area has changed a lot for the better (no doubt connected to my departure) but St James Avenue remains one is its most attractive residential streets.

The Clark and Hunt design is one of my favourites and the other one with a surround is a rare original.

Kemptown glories

I've been told that Kemptown has many good coal holes, and so it should - being stuffed with fine Regency and Victorian homes needing copious amounts of coal. I had half an hour to kill the other evening and did a quick circuit of the streets to the south of the County Hospital.

I encountered a fine mix of people - skinny dodgy-looking yoofs with big scary dogs, large shaven-headed middle-aged men with small yappy dogs, ladies of leisure drinking red wine on their doorsteps and smooth couples in matching dressing gowns on their Regency balconies.

I also encountered a fine mix of coal hole covers, including some larger-than-normal ones and some from manufacturers not encountered further west.  Feast your eyes on this lot.

First up, in Sudeley Terrace - a trio of Haywards covers in nice iron surrounds.

Moving on down to the seafront, on Chichester Terrace we find these great ones - some supersize like this Haywards with 19 glazed hexagonal panels.

And this nice chevron flower design.

And this very pleasing 'bullseye' Woodrow design.

this beautiful Clare, Hunt design from Shoreditch...

this unnamed design with slots in, and

a larger version of a fairly common design.

Round the corner, in Chichester Place there is this Haywards self-locking patent design 'D' model.

East Street, Brighton

Strolling along East Street one recent evening, I was staggered to notice this fine Clarke, Hunt and Company cover. Why staggered? Because
1 I've passed this way thousands of times and never noticed it,
2 it's the first time I've seen a cover by this manufacturer in Brighton, and
3 its striking design including spirals, sunbursts and circles.

Happy New Year.