Madeira Terrace

Last updated

Madeira Terrace, Madeira Walk, Madeira Lift, and Madeira Shelter Hall are an 865 m long, Victorian cast iron stretch of seafront arches and walkway, with integral former shelter hall and a 3-stage lift tower, on Madeira Drive in Brighton, UK. The complex was built between 1890 and 1897 and designed by the Brighton Borough Surveyor, Philip C. Lockwood. The various structures have a common design style and colour scheme, and form a unified whole. Madeira Terrace, Madeira Walk, the lift tower and related buildings are listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, having been upgraded in 2020. [1]

Contents

As of 2021 the terrace was in a state of disrepair and at risk of collapse. The entire length of Madeira Walk, the upper deck and some of the staircases have been closed to the public since 2012. In October 2024, Historic England agreed to provide £750,000 to begin the restoration of the arches but the project was expected to total in the multimillion-pound range. [2]

Madeira Terrace and Madeira Walk

Madeira Terrace (2011). Madeira Terrace, Madeira Drive, Brighton (NHLE Code 1381696) (February 2011) (3).JPG
Madeira Terrace (2011).

Madeira Terrace is a 2,837-by-25-foot (864.7 m × 7.6 m) covered walkway at the foot of East Cliff, stretching from the Colonnade, Madeira Drive to the west, to Duke's Mound in the east. It faces south toward the sea and stands against the cliff behind. [1]

The terrace and walkway are decorated with cast iron balustrades and there are 151 separate arches. Decorations include keystones depicting possibly Neptune, Venus, and dragons. [1] [3] [4] The walkway has four shelters along its length, each with a roof. There are also numerous cast-iron benches. [1]

"There are also five sets of steps along the length of the complex which give access to all three levels. At the western extent there is a ramp from the beach level up to the promenade. The ramp has commercial units within its brick arches. The last cast-iron arch to the western side is also brick-faced". [1] Later in the twentieth century a former public toilet was added, half in-filling the preceding four arches. [1]

The Brighton Borough Surveyor Philip C. Lockwood (1821–1908) was responsible for the whole structure, which was finished in 1897. It was constructed in three phases from 1890 and is one of the longest cast-iron structures in the world, [5] [6] intended to "facilitate the act of promenading." [7]

"The critical part of the Terrace's structure are the massive north south cast iron trusses that are supported by the retaining wall and the cast iron columns along the front elevation." [8] The wall was constructed in 1830 to hold back the unstable cliff face and to enable construction of the A259 Marine Parade road. [8] "These trusses are very dependant on the fixity provided by the wall and to ensure this fixity they are buried deep into the wall." [8]

As of 2021 the terrace is in a state of disrepair and at risk of collapse. [9] [10] [11] [12] The entire length of Madeira Walk and the upper deck, and some of the staircases, has been closed to the public since 2012. [13] Only 5 of the 133 trusses have any significant fractures. [8] In 2015 it was identified by The Victorian Society as one of the top ten at-risk Victorian and Edwardian buildings. [14] [15] [16] The Save Madeira Terrace crowdfunding campaign raised £466,000 to restore 3 arches. [17] [18] [19] As of 2020, Brighton and Hove City Council had secured funds to restore an as yet unspecified series of 30 of the arches. [20]

Madeira Walk and a staircase (2008). Madeira drive, early Sunday morning-2559177806.jpg
Madeira Walk and a staircase (2008).

Madeira Lift

Madeira Lift from Marine Parade (2018). Madeira Terrace And Madeira Walk And Lift Tower And Related Buildings April 2018 01.jpg
Madeira Lift from Marine Parade (2018).
Madeira Lift with the exit onto the terrace walkway (2009). Madeira Lift, Brighton, East Sussex-3589734534.jpg
Madeira Lift with the exit onto the terrace walkway (2009).

Toward the east of the terrace, in Kemptown, Madeira Lift is an ornamental Victorian lift or elevator which opened on 24 May 1890. The 3-stage lift tower links Madeira Drive at beach level, to Marine Parade above, with an intermediate stop at the terrace walkway. At its base it opens into Madeira Shelter Hall, which is currently occupied by the Concorde 2 music venue.

The lift tower has a pagoda-style roof and a weather vane depicting a dolphin. The top stage of the lift tower originally had a square-faced, projecting clock, but this is no longer in place. [1] The top section is surrounded to the east, west and south by a square platform with a railing. [1] The lift has sliding, metal grille-type doors and is timber-lined and functional. [1]

The lift was closed to the public in July 2007, and major work was carried out on the lift mechanisms and shaft. It reopened in April 2009. [21] [22] Later, it was closed again and its exterior at marine Parade restored, reopening in 2013. [22]

The lift previously operated without the intermediate stop, throughout the summer—closing on the last weekend of September each year. It is operated by Concorde 2 on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council. [23] As of 2023, it is now closed indefinitely pending future repairs to the shaft of the lift. [24]

Thieves stripped various shelters and the roof of the lift of over 10 tonnes of lead and copper in December 2019. [25]

Madeira Shelter Hall

Madeira Shelter Hall (now Concorde 2) and related buildings (2018). Madeira Terrace And Madeira Walk And Lift Tower And Related Buildings April 2018 13.jpg
Madeira Shelter Hall (now Concorde 2) and related buildings (2018).

Madeira Shelter Hall, also known as Eastern Shelter Hall, is the single-storey shelter hall for the lift. "It has a projecting 11-window centre bay, with recessed wings of seven bays to either side." [1] In the 1800s it was also tea rooms. Later it was a bikers' cafe in the 1960s; an amusement arcade in the 1970s; opening as the Concorde 2 on New Year's Eve 1999—a 600-capacity music venue that remains in use. [26] [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton</span> Seaside resort on the south coast of England

Brighton is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the city of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located 47 miles (76 km) south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Pier</span> Ruined 19th century pier in Brighton, England

The West Pier is a ruined pier in Brighton, England. It was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1866. It was the first pier to be Grade I listed in England but has become increasingly derelict since its closure to the public in 1975. As of 2024 only a partial metal framework remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Brighton Hotel</span> Hotel in Brighton, England

The Grand Brighton Hotel is a Victorian sea-front hotel in Brighton on the south coast of England. Designed by John Whichcord Jr. and built in 1864, it was intended for members of the upper classes visiting the town and remains one of Brighton's most expensive hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton i360</span> Observation tower in Brighton, England

Brighton i360 is a 162 m (531 ft) moving observation tower on the seafront of Brighton, East Sussex, England at the landward end of the remains of the West Pier. The tower opened on 4 August 2016. From the fully enclosed viewing pod, visitors experience 360-degree views across Brighton, the South Downs and the English Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Dials, Brighton</span> Neighbourhood of Brighton, England

Seven Dials is a district surrounding a major road junction of the same name in Brighton, in the city of Brighton and Hove. It is located on high ground just northwest of Brighton railway station, south of the Prestonville area, and approximately ¾ mile north of the seafront.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy Court</span> Historic site in East Sussex, United Kingdom

Embassy Court is an 11-storey block of flats on the seafront in Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has been listed at Grade II* by English Heritage. Wells Coates' "extremely controversial" piece of Modernist architecture has "divided opinion across the city" since its completion in 1935, and continues to generate strong feelings among residents, architectural historians and conservationists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clock Tower, Brighton</span> Historic site in East Sussex, England

The Clock Tower is a free-standing clock tower in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1888 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the distinctive structure included innovative structural features and became a landmark in the popular and fashionable seaside resort. The city's residents "retain a nostalgic affection" for it, even though opinion is sharply divided as to the tower's architectural merit. English Heritage has listed the clock tower at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings and architecture of Brighton and Hove</span>

Brighton and Hove, a city on the English Channel coast in southeast England, has a large and diverse stock of buildings "unrivalled architecturally" among the country's seaside resorts. The urban area, designated a city in 2000, is made up of the formerly separate towns of Brighton and Hove, nearby villages such as Portslade, Patcham and Rottingdean, and 20th-century estates such as Moulsecoomb and Mile Oak. The conurbation was first united in 1997 as a unitary authority and has a population of about 253,000. About half of the 20,430-acre (8,270 ha) geographical area is classed as built up.

Thomas Lainson, FRIBA was a British architect. He is best known for his work in the East Sussex coastal towns of Brighton and Hove, where several of his eclectic range of residential, commercial and religious buildings have been awarded listed status by English Heritage. Working alone or in partnership with two sons as Lainson & Sons, he designed buildings in a wide range of styles, from Neo-Byzantine to High Victorian Gothic; his work is described as having a "solid style, typical of the time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundhill Crescent</span> 19th-century housing development in Brighton and Hove

Roundhill Crescent is a late-19th-century housing development in Round Hill, an inner suburb of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Partly developed in the 1860s with large terraced houses on a steeply sloping open hillside, the crescent—which "curves and changes height dramatically along its length"—was finished two decades later and now forms the centrepiece of the Round Hill conservation area. Smaller houses completed the composition in the 1880s, and England's first hospital for the treatment of mental illness was founded in the crescent in 1905. The five original sets of houses from the 1860s have been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for their architectural and historical importance, and the crescent occupies a prominent place on Brighton's skyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole</span>

The DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole is a 4-star hotel and conference centre located on the seafront in Brighton, East Sussex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Wheel</span> Ferris wheel in Brighton, England

The Brighton Wheel, also known during its planning and construction phase as the Brighton O and the Wheel of Excellence, was a transportable Ferris wheel installation which operated from October 2011 until May 2016 on the seafront in Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Situated below the East Cliff near Brighton Pier and built with private funding, its promoters anticipated that several hundred thousand visitors per year would experience the 12-minute ride. The wheel's location in a conservation area with many residential buildings proved controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montpelier, Brighton</span> Inner suburban area of Brighton, England

Montpelier is an inner suburban area of Brighton, part of the English city and seaside resort of Brighton and Hove. Developed together with the adjacent Clifton Hill area in the mid-19th century, it forms a high-class, architecturally cohesive residential district with "an exceptionally complete character". Stucco-clad terraced housing and villas predominate, but two of the city's most significant Victorian churches and a landmark hospital building are also in the area, which lies immediately northwest of Brighton city centre and spreads as far as the ancient parish boundary with Hove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montpelier Crescent</span> Historic site in East Sussex, United Kingdom

Montpelier Crescent is a mid 19th-century crescent of 38 houses in the Montpelier suburb of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Built in five parts as a set-piece residential development in the rapidly growing seaside resort, the main part of the crescent was designed between 1843 and 1847 by prominent local architect Amon Henry Wilds and is one of his most distinctive compositions. Extra houses were added at both ends of the crescent in the mid-1850s. Unlike most other squares, terraces and crescents in Brighton, it does not face the sea—and the view it originally had towards the South Downs was blocked within a few years by a tall terrace of houses opposite. Montpelier was an exclusive and "salubrious" area of Brighton, and Montpelier Crescent has been called its "great showpiece". Wilds's central section has been protected as Grade II* listed, with the later additions listed separately at the lower Grade II. The crescent is in one of the city's 34 conservation areas, and forms one of several "outstanding examples of late Regency architecture" within it.

The Anthaeum was an iron and glass conservatory planned by English botanist and landscape gardener Henry Phillips and designed by architect Amon Henry Wilds on land owned by Sir Isaac Goldsmid in Hove, a Sussex seaside town which is now part of the city of Brighton and Hove. Conceived on a grand scale and consisting of a gigantic cupola-topped dome covering more than 1.5 acres (0.61 ha), the structure was intended to enclose a carefully landscaped tropical garden, with exotic trees and shrubs, lakes, rockeries and other attractions. The scheme was a larger and more ambitious version of a project Phillips and Wilds had worked on in 1825 in Hove's larger neighbour Brighton, for which money had run out before work could commence. Unlike its predecessor, the Anthaeum was built: work began in 1832 and an opening ceremony was planned for 31 August 1833. Disagreements between the architect, the project engineer and the building contractor led to structural problems being overlooked or ignored, though, and the day before it opened the Anthaeum collapsed spectacularly. Its wreckage stayed for nearly 20 years overlooking Adelaide Crescent, a seafront residential set-piece whose northern side it adjoined, and Phillips went blind from the shock of watching the largest of his many projects end in disaster. Palmeira Square, another residential development, has occupied the site since the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmeira Square</span> 19th century residences in Hove, England

Palmeira Square is a mid-19th-century residential development in Hove, part of the English city and seaside resort of Brighton and Hove. At the southern end it adjoins Adelaide Crescent, another architectural set-piece which leads down to the seafront; large terraced houses occupy its west and east sides, separated by a public garden; and at the north end is one of Hove's main road junctions. This is also called Palmeira Square, and its north side is lined with late 19th-century terraced mansions. Commercial buildings and a church also stand on the main road, which is served by Brighton & Hove bus routes 1, 1A, N1, 2, 5, 5A, 5B, N5, 6, 25, 46, 49, 60, 71, 71A and 96.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Crescent</span> 19th century residences in Hove, England

Adelaide Crescent is a mid-19th-century residential development in Hove, part of the English city and seaside resort of Brighton and Hove. Conceived as an ambitious attempt to rival the large, high-class Kemp Town estate east of Brighton, the crescent was not built to its original plan because time and money were insufficient. Nevertheless, together with its northerly neighbour Palmeira Square, it forms one of Hove's most important architectural set-pieces. Building work started in 1830 to the design of Decimus Burton. The adjacent land was originally occupied by "the world's largest conservatory", the Anthaeum; its collapse stopped construction of the crescent, which did not resume until the 1850s. The original design was modified and the crescent was eventually finished in the mid-1860s. Together with the Kemp Town and Brunswick Town estates, the crescent is one of the foremost pre-Victorian residential developments in the Brighton area: it has been claimed that "outside Bath, [they] have no superior in England". The buildings in the main part of Adelaide Crescent are Grade II* listed. Some of the associated buildings at the sea-facing south end are listed at the lower Grade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Hotel, Brighton</span>

The Norfolk Hotel is a 4-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Designed in 1865 by architect Horatio Nelson Goulty, it replaced an earlier building called the Norfolk Inn and is one of several large Victorian hotels along the seafront. The French Renaissance Revival-style building, recalling E.M. Barry's major London hotels, is "tall, to make a show": the development of the passenger lift a few years earlier allowed larger hotels to be built. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Life Brighton</span> Aquarium in Brighton, United Kingdom

SEA LIFE Brighton, known originally as Brighton Aquarium and then from 1969 until 1991 as Brighton Aquarium and Dolphinarium, is an aquarium attraction in Brighton, part of the English seaside city of Brighton and Hove. Opened as Brighton Aquarium in 1872, it is the oldest continuously operating aquarium in the world, and the main tank was the largest in the world at the time. The attraction was bought by SEA LIFE in 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Historic England. "Madeira Terrace and Madeira Walk and Lift Tower and Related Buildings, Madeira Drive (Grade II) (1381696)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  2. "State of Park Report". Peak District Government. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. Antram & Morrice 2008 , p. 129.
  4. Collis 2010 , p. 192.
  5. "The most endangered buildings in Britain – in pictures". The Guardian. 15 September 2015. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  6. Southworth, Phoebe (15 October 2020). "Brighton's Madeira Terrace: Britain in danger of losing world's longest cast iron structure". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. "Thirty Madeira Terraces arches set to be restored". 12 June 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Madeira Terrace lost in retail/leisure madness". brighton-society.org.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  9. "Brighton seafront Madeira Terraces 'at risk of collapse'". BBC News. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  10. "Brighton homeless under crumbling Madeira Terraces". BBC News. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  11. "Brighton's Madeira Terrace restoration 'simple', Victorian Society says". BBC News. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  12. "Crumbling Madeira Terrace could be saved with £13.4 million investment". ITV News. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  13. "Madeira Terrace restoration". www.brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  14. Kennedy, Maev (16 September 2015). "Victorian Society reveals its top 10 endangered buildings". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  15. "Pier and boat store on top 10 at-risk buildings". BBC News. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  16. "The 'Welsh Versailles' lies derelict and unloved – and no-one knows who owns it". The Independent. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  17. "Crowdfunding bid to save Brighton's seafront terraces". BBC News. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  18. "Crowdfunding raises £466k to save Brighton's seafront terraces". BBC News. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  19. "People power: how cash-strapped councils are turning to crowdfunding". The Guardian. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  20. "First designs approved to restore seafront arches after 'years of neglect'". The Argus. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  21. "Victorian seafront lift reopened". 12 April 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  22. 1 2 "Brighton's Victorian Madeira lift revamped". BBC News. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  23. "Brighton woman launches online petition in campaign to keep Madeira Lift open in winter months". The Argus. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  24. "Madeira Terrace's Victorian lift will not reopen this summer". 2023.
  25. "£10,000-worth of damage to historic Brighton seafront buildings after lead and copper stolen". The Independent. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  26. "Seafront music venue celebrates twenty years in business". The Argus. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  27. "The gig venue guide: Concorde 2, Brighton". The Guardian. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

Bibliography

50°49′07″N0°07′47″W / 50.8187°N 0.1297°W / 50.8187; -0.1297