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Bevendean

Photo:Bevendean in 1901

Bevendean in 1901

From the private collection of Sam Carroll

Photo:Bevendean in 2002

Bevendean in 2002

From the private collection of Sam Carroll

An introduction to the area
By Sam Carroll

I am quite passionate about this area. It is always underestimated. The run-down shops and boarded-up pub are more immediately noticeable than the surrounding countryside and the incredible sunsets and sea views.

Bevendean is a small estate situated between Woodingdean, the Racecourse and Moulescoomb. It is divided in name between the area on the hill closer to Moulescoomb (Upper Bevendean) and the area that is only reached by road via 'The Avenue'; a cluster of houses in the valley that is surrounded by fields (Lower Bevendean).

Beautiful and accessible
Bevendean is a post-war council estate and private development as can be identified by the style of houses. Many of the original inhabitants are still resident. A large proportion of the council houses are now privately owned, often by their original tenants or their families.

The countryside that surrounds the estate is beautiful and accessible. The two riding stables and the Bevendean Farm on one side of the valley provide idyllic images of grazing animals and on the other side the untamed terrain of Hogtrough Bottom and its varied wildlife creates a haven for berry-pickers, dog walkers and birdwatchers alike.

Spectacular views
From the top of the hill overlooking Bevendean there are spectacular views of Brighton with the sea in the background and on a clear day it is possible to see the Isle of Wight in the distance. It is on the very edge of the City and benefits from both easy access into the centre and also the feeling of rural solitude.

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments:

I live in Higher Bevendean, which seems to be heavily overlooked in many instances. Whenever I describe where I live many people dismiss it as Moulescombe. It is not. I have been here for over seven years and am very passionate about the place. My back windows overlook a picturesque hill which was once the home to an Iron Age Hill Fort (now Moulescombe Green Park). I have spent endless hours thumbing through local library archives to try and get some background history on this fortified village, but to no avail. I cannot even find any records of formal digs there and have even been onto Time Team about it. Can anyone give me some background on this historical site?
By Adrian J. Andrews (24/04/2006)

I live in lower Bevendean, and the previously mentioned 'boarded up pub' is gone and they are now building some new apartments. But, yeah, there may be one or two run down pubs...

By Pollie D. (30/01/2007)

I lived in Lower Bevendean, from the age of 3 until I got married in 1977. My parents moved away from Bevendean after living there for forty years in 1998, (the house being to large for them.) I enjoyed many happy summers playing in the surounding fields, and later using the pub, which has now made way for flats. My husband lived in Lower Bevendean since he was born. A few months ago we drove around Bevendean. The woods between the shops and Norwich Drive have over grown. I suppose no one ever walks through there anymore! My friends and I spent all our summers swinging in the trees, and trying to ride our bikes over bumps, also picking the blackberries which grew in abundance. I don't really know much about Lower Bevendean even though I spent my childhood there. I can remember the little old farm house which used to be in the middle of the green next to the school, that to was pulled down and made way for a children's play area in the 70s. But apart from a some areas being overgrown and a few new biuldings, Lower Bevendean still looks as it did when I was young.

By S. Middleton nee Bennett (13/02/2007)

I was born in Brighton in 1949 and lived in Lower Bevendean with my Foster Mother until the age of 14 when I was taken back by my mother and moved to New Jersey USA. I used my Foster Mothers last name and she had switched my first and middle names, so back then I was Robert Lewis Booth and now I'm Lewis Robert Pudner. I remember a lot of the same things as S. Middleton remembered. Picking blackberries in the woods at the bottom of the hill and even beach nuts in the same area. I lived at 133 Norwich Drive on the corner of Kennelworth Close and behind our house was all farm land and the farmer would alternate between growing wheat and grazing cows. I can't tell you how many times I stepped in a cow pie, no matter how many times I wiped my shoes in the grass I would always stink when I got home. I also remember the farm house next to the school, it was run down and abandoned and I would always fantasize about exploring the building. Some people talked about the pubs, I only remember one pub and I'm pretty sure it was called The Admiral. One time my Foster Mother sent me and Steven Capp, her grandson to purchase a bottle of stout. On the way back up those steep steps Steven tripped broke the bottle of stout and got a big gash in his leg I ran back to the pub and they called for an ambulance and he was rushed off to the hospital. I started getting interested in Brighton again after I found a website called virtualearth.com I found the house I lived in and the school I went to which was St Lukes boys school and the Pavilion, I got homesick all over again.

By Bob Pudner (04/07/2008)

You lived on the corner of Norwich Close, I lived behind you, in Norwich Close.

By Ken Chick (10/08/2008)

Lived in lower Bevendean for a month and a half. It was all pretty lovely at first, and the people in the immediate area seem very nice... then term time began. Two counts of vandalism and two lots of kids ringing my doorbell and running away later and I'm really starting to bitterly regret the move.

By Rachel (25/09/2008)

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