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An introduction and history

Photo:Tenantry Down Allotment Site

Tenantry Down Allotment Site

Photograph by Simon Tobitt

Photo:Onions (Barry Sharp's Allotment)

Onions (Barry Sharp's Allotment)

Photograph by Simon Tobitt

A tour of Brighton and Hove's allotments
By Simon Tobitt

During Autumn 2005, My Brighton and Hove will be taking a peek into the city's allotment sites - busy, green havens fenced away from public view. We will be speaking to some of the allotment holders that work plots in this city, to try and understand their motivations and uncover their gardening tips, hear funny anecdotes, and discover their hopes and fears for the future.

The My Brighton and Hove philosophy is to consider the city as it is today and as it was in the past. From an historical perspective, we have a very brief history of the allotment movement to provide a general background to the context of allotmenteering. There is a chronicle of allotments in Brighton & Hove, as they have appeared through the city's newsprint media. There are also digital images from the original handbook provided to Brighton's "Dig for Victory" diggers, producing food on the command from 'Mr Churchill' to keep Britain fed during the war-time food crisis. Also, there are some helpful web links for those who want to pursue further interest in allotments.

From a contemporary perspective, we have interviews with allotment holders across Brighton & Hove. We will be adding to these week by week during the autumn.

In the first week we will be meeting Jenn Price and Marigold Rogers who have an allotment at the Horsdean site in Patcham. At the time of writing, the site is threatened with development into a park-and-ride facility.

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments:

Wonderful!
By Tony Tree (28/11/2005)
Simon! Congratulations on 'going live' with your long-awaited allotments feature. I enjoyed the first instalment and look forward to the weeks to come.
By Andrew Webb (30/11/2005)
Well done Simon! I really like the pictures.
By Louise H. (01/12/2005)
We had 2 allotments when I was little, one in Cravenvale and the other at the top of Bear Road. They were my dad's pride and joy. So much so, that he's buried just behind his old plot in Bear Road Cemetery. What memories, trudging up over the racecourse in bright red wellies, growing all our own veggies! In the summer the waste land was covered in wild flowers and bright red poppies. We wore our swimming costumes and the old galvanised water tank surrounded by marrows was used as a swimming pool.
By Jenny (16/12/2005)

My father had an allotment top of Elm Grove on the Race Hill . The gypsies came nearby to hold their holiday fair in Brighton racing week, this was in the 1930s.  Two years running they raided the allotments and helped themselves to the vegetables grown by my Dad, after that he gave up. I well remember the long hard walk up Elm Grove from Upper Lewes Road.  I would watch the trams going by to the top of the hill, they cost a penny.  This was the time of the big depression

By Cyril Pelham (30/09/2006)

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