Now I know I'm being "cheeky" but do you know if Ashton Street still exists in Brighton? As my uncle "Bill Hyatt" used to own a greengrocery shop at number 8. I can't find it on the maps only Ashton Rise. Would that be the same street?
Hi Sue
I've just been having a look through some books to try to find Ashton Street. It no longer exists, but Ashton Rise is in almost the same area.
This whole area of Brighton known as Albion Hill, was gradually redeveloped after WW2 and Ashton Street was demolished in the late 1950's to make way for, in my opinion, some rather hideous blocks of flats. Number 8 would have probably been very near to the Albion Hill end of the road and would have been somewhere under either the Thornhill block or the Lee Bank block of flats.
The houses were very similar in size and design to the ones up Islingword, as were and are most of the houses in the area.
I used to walk through that area almost every evening on my way home from work in the summer. Albion Hill is not fun to walk up, being one of the steepest streets in town, but luckily I used to cut through at the bottom. I'd hate to live at the top!
It's within spitting distance of Islingword Road, and would have been a minute or two's walk away (okay, a very long spit, but you know what I mean!)
The Brighton History Centre may have some photos of the street, so next time I manage to get down there I'll have a look and see if I can get copies. When I'm there, I'll also see if they have a copy of Roy's booklet.
Glen
