Still in Blaker's Park

Brighton is blessed with an extraordinary number of clock towers. There is one (commonly known as "the" clock tower) in the centre of the city, one in Preston Park, one in Queen's Park, one in Blaker's Park and another one at Patcham. This, as the title says, the Blaker's Park clock tower.

(I should have straightened the picture with Photoshop! The tower is not really leaning.)

War damage

You will see from yesterday's picture that Blaker's Park has no sort of fence around it. There were at one time iron railings sunk into that low concrete wall but back in 1940/41 the country was suffering a desperate shortage or raw materials to build guns, tanks, ships and planes to replace those left at Dunkirk, sunk by U-boats or shot down in the Battle of Britain. Housewives gave their aluminium saucepans to make into Spitfires while park and other ornamental railings were cut down to make ships and tanks. Look closely and you will see where there are stubs of the old railings sunk into the wall.

Blaker's Park

The houses in yesterday's picture look out across this park.

Cleveland Road

I don't know but would guess that these houses were built in the latter years of the 19th century when Brighton was expanding fast up onto the Downs. They would certainly not have been for the working classes - possibly for senior clerks or people running their own businesses perhaps. There are plenty of similar streets of buildings in the town.

Church Hill cottages

I might describe these cottages as "typical" of the area given the flint. But every house is different on Church Hill, Patcham. These are at the bottom opposite the bus stop.

Meet the Tin family

I'm told there used to be a whole Tin family by the horse trough down in Patcham village centre but when the road layout was altered the rest ran away. No-one knows (or is admitting to knowing) how the family arrived or who changes the clothes according to the season.

Green travellers?

I am quite accustomed to seeing satellite dishes - large ones - outside the caravans of travellers, but solar panels? This is a first.

(I think these are the travellers who were at Waterhall, now moved to beside 39 Acres.)