Patcham

Patcham is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is approximately 3 miles north of the city centre, bounded by the A27 (Brighton bypass) to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west. The A23 passes through the area.

History

Patcham was originally a separate village based around the partly 12th- and 13th-Century All Saints church. The parish of Patcham extended to 32 square miles and encompassed large parts of what are now adjacent suburbs, such as Withdean, Westdene, Hollingbury and Tongdean. It extended eastwards into modern-day Moulsecoomb, westwards beyond Dyke Road into Hove, and northwards across the sparsely-populated South Downs towards the parishes of Pyecombe and Ditchling. The centre of the original village, based around the church (on Church Hill) and the Old London Road - now bypassed by the modern A23 - is a conservation area, and several buildings are listed.

Modern Patcham

Sir Herbert Carden, a prominent Brighton solicitor who served as Mayor for three years from 1916 and who served on the council from 1895 until 1941, was responsible for the boundary changes on 1 April 1928 which brought Patcham within the "Greater Brighton" area. To commemorate this, two large stone pillars, known as the "Pylons", were erected on the A23 just north of Patcham. [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__5252.aspx] The land around the village was mostly undeveloped at this time, which allowed substantial housebuilding work to commence. Many of the estates built around the old village date from the 1930s. The Ladies Mile Estate, built around the former drove road from the village to Stanmer Park, is one such example; it is separated from Hollingbury to the southeast by Carden Avenue, named after Sir Herbert.

The roads around the Mackie Avenue estate (all with scottish names) were named by the scottish builder who developed the estate. He also planted the Scots Pines on the Ladies Mile Open Space.

The Windmill View estate at the top of Ladies Mile Road is built on the site of the old Patcham Fawcett School.

Places of Interest

and locally as Westdene Mill, it was built in 1885 and was used for 40 years. A second mill, now demolished, stood on a site near Overhill Drive and is commemmorated by the street name Old Mill Close. [http://www.sussexmillsgroup.org.uk/Patcham.htm Patcham Mill website]

Patcham Place [http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hostelpages/124.html] ( [http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__8426_img__12759_path__0p115p194p853p.aspx Photo] ) was the city's Youth Hostel till Sept 07, located in the old village centre opposite the post office. It is situated in a large area of open parkland, beneath which runs the Brighton Main Line through the 492-yard Patcham Tunnel. The house dates from 1594 and was originally the seat of the Shelley family. It later belonged to the Stapley family - Anthony Stapley played a leading part in the Civil War, being Governor of Chichester and a Regicide.

All Saints Church ( [http://www.aspawd.org.uk website] ) is one of the city of Brighton and Hove's oldest churches, and is still a lively community of people. A church was recorded on this site in the Domesday Book. The churchyard includes an interesting gravestone marked with a pirate skull and crossbones motif. Close to the church stands an ancient dovecot and converted tithe barn.

Transport

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company routes 5 and 5A (from Hangleton via the city centre) undertake a circular tour of the eastern side of Patcham. Route 5A travels through the centre of the old village, while Route 5 deviates on to Carden Avenue. Both of these routes have a 20-minute daytime frequency. The hourly Route 56 starts in the village centre and passes through the Ladies Mile Estate "en route" to Hollingbury, the City Centre and the Knoll Estate in Portslade.

Some other services stop on the A23 outside the Black Lion pub near the Youth Hostel:
* Countryliner Coaches route 40 (to Cuckfield, Mondays to Saturdays)
* Metrobus route 87 (to Haywards Heath, Sundays only)
* Metrobus route 273 (to Crawley, Mondays to Saturdays)
* Stagecoach (Monday to Saturday), Compass Travel (Sunday) Route 17 (to Horsham)

After the second world war, Patcham was served by Brighton Hove & District Transport with bus routes 5 and 5b running jointly every 7 or 8 minutes from Brighton via the London Road to Carden Avenue, Winfield Avenue, The Ladies Mile (Clock Tower) and Mackie Avenue. Route 15 operated every 20 minutes from Brighton via the London Road to Carden Avenue, Winfield Avenue, The Ladies Mile (Clock Tower) and Barrhill Avenue to Braeside Avenue(The Deeside). Route 15b operated every 20 minutes from Brighton via London Road to Patcham Fountain, Patcham Old Village, Ladies Mile Road to The Ladies Mile (Clock Tower).Between them Routes 5, 5b, 15 and 15b provided 14 buses an hour between Patcham and Brighton compared with the 6 buses an hour today!