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Montague Place

The Electrobus Garage

By Martin Nimmo

About half-way up Montague Place, between Bristol Road and Eastern Road, is a large single-storey building with a glazed roof, labelled Worthing Fruit and Flower Co Ltd.

This was built as a bus garage and re-charging station for the new battery-driven Electrobuses of the Brighton Hove and Preston United Omnibus Company, in about 1908. The BH&PUOC was a predecessor of both Thomas Tillings and Southdown, and sold out in 1915/16, partly because all its newest petrol buses had been commandeered by the War Office for troop transport.

Electrobuses were introduced on route 1 (Portslade Station to Kemp Town) to counteract complaints made in genteel Hove about the noisy petrol buses. Their batteries had to be recharged every few journeys, and rather than have them all come back to Conway Street Hove, a new garage was built in Kemp Town. The electrobuses lasted until about 1918.

One other interesting relic of those days is a bus shelter on Eastern Road, opposite Bristol Place, now a tobacconist's and sweet shop!

Sent to the website by e-mail 21-01-2003

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments about this page

I believe that the building referred to was used in the early 70s for the indoor scenes of 'Oh What A Lovely War!'. The outdoor scenes were shot at Sheepcote Valley near the race course, an old rubbish dump!

By Phil Colls (14/03/2004)

What happened to all the old electrobuses? Are any available to purchase?

By B.Sanders (23/09/2007)

If only a single Electrobus remained! While long-lived for buses of the day (they seemed to survive around ten years), the remaining Electrobuses were sold by Tillings in around 1918, and some became the basis for delivery vans for J Lyons & Co of Cadby Hall. No traces of what became of them are available - unless you know otherwise!

By Martin Nimmo (08/02/2008)

Was the building mentioned in Montague Place once used by Belgravia Dairies as a Milk Depot and charging place for their milk floats?

By A Southwell (28/10/2008)

I just wonder if anyone remembers a little greengrocer in Montague Place? Also a little grocer shop next door - Miss Hall and her sister ran it. Also Pakley on the corner of College. I knew so many people. I went to All Souls School.

By Rosemary Brazill (16/07/2009)

Thank you so much for your email. I love your site - it's amazing. The shop on the corner of College Street was Oakley. It was a little hardware shop. The building mentioned in Montague Place by A Southwell was Belgravia Dairies - we got our milk from there every day.

By R Brazill (17/07/2009)

Mrs Simmons (possibly Mrs E.B.Simmons), a hard of hearing lady of no. 22 Montague Place, Brighton, used to run Brighton Homely Board Residence in 1949 and that she reserved all the accommodations for deaf people during the summer season. Any information about herself or the residence would be greatly received.

By Geoffrey Eagling (14/10/2010)

The greengrocers was run by Mr Roberts. The sweetshop on the corner by Miss Hall and Miss Addison.

By Phil Colls (26/10/2010)