Splendours of Hove

A long overdue welcome to our Hove Ambassador, Emma, who has sent me these fine montages of covers around the Palmeira / Brunswick Square hood. The one in the middle stopped Emma in her tracks, such was its enormity. It is also interesting because it's the only Haywards coalhole cover I've seen which lists their address as 96 Blackfriars Road, as opposed to the more normal Union St. Thank you Emma, keep sleuthing.

Pavilion Buildings, Brighton

This fine, large coal hole cover is outside the Nat West bank on Pavilion Buildings near Brighton's Royal Pavilion.

I noticed it while queuing for the cashpoint and considering the footfall in this street it is in remarkably good condition. I was also pleased to note that the Council had obviously repaved the street with small setts and had resisted the temptation to remove the coal hole cover. Although I suspect that there were once many other covers in this street which failed to survive.

Greville Street London EC1

A few hectic months at work have deprived me of chances to find new coalhole covers to document. However, another visit to the Hatton Garden area has delivered this beauty - a large cover with intact glass prisms and air vents, from an unknown manufacturer.

London by the Sea, Part 2?

On Third Avenue, the Hove seafront and in Adelaide Crescent, I found these unusual coalhole covers, all apparently from London suppliers, one of them from Nicholls and Clarke of Shoreditch.

Adelaide Crescent was disappointing as the pavements have obviously been repaved in the recent past and nearly all coalhole covers removed. However, one of them was a 1856 Chapman Parsons cover from Pimlico, which I've not seen before.

London-by-the-sea?

Usually Brighton is known as London by the Sea, but as far as coalhole covers are concerned, it appears to be Hove (actually).

I recently spent a sunny and fruitful lunchtime in Third Avenue, a little bit of the seafront and then Adelaide Crescent - a very grand Regency crescent.

In Third Avenue there was a rich haul of Haywards covers, some of which I've not seen before. Some are pictured here. My particular favourites are the 'cross' design and the 'No.3' design with hexagonal windows. There was also a previously unseen 'Nicholls and Clarke' design from Shoreditch.

Perhaps, Brighton was considered a little too vulgar to supply coalhole covers and one hailing from London had greater coalhole cachet?