St James's Street

Typically Brightonian

St James’s Street may not be the smartest street in Brighton but it’s certainly one of the liveliest. There must be few places in Britain where you can see such an eclectic mix of people in one place: pensioners and punks; Brighton College pupils; leather-clad students from the Brighton Institute of Modern Music; flamboyantly-dressed transvestites and gay men walking their little dogs. St. James’s Street is typically Brightonian in its acceptance of all sorts of people, their dress and their lifestyles.

Good old fashioned service

In the twenty-two years I have lived in Brighton, St. James’s Street has improved dramatically although it’s sad to see an increasing number of established shops and restaurants are closing. The shops I visit most are Morrison’s supermarket (a vast improvement on the old Somerfield) the tardis-like sub-post office and Dean’s electrical shop with its good old-fashioned service, next to the Bulldog pub.

Mostly original buildings

The amazingly eccentric window displays in the Friends of the Royal Sussex Hospital charity shop often make me smile when I walk past! Although some of the shop fronts are a bit shabby, the buildings are mostly original there are some impressive balconied facades and bow-windows, particularly at the bottom end near the Old Steine.