(coming soon) bognor regis blue & memorial plaque trail€¦ · the bognor regis blue &...

T R A I L 4

Bognor Regis Blue & Memorial Plaque Trail

T A I L O R E D W A L K S U N L O C K I N G T H E B E S T O F B O G N O R R E G I S ’ R I C H H I S T O R Y

Thanks go to Sylvia Endacott of the Bognor Regis Local History Society for her work on the White Tower and also her 2016 study of Blue Plaques of the town “Words in Stone and Steel – Blue Plaques, Memorial and Foundation Stones around Bognor Regis”.

bognorregistrails.co.uk

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Henry Leopold Guermonprez 1858 - 1924Return to Belmont Street and continue eastwards, turn right at the junction with Albert Road. At the junction with Walton Road is St Joseph’s. The Blue Plaque can be seen at the fi rst fl oor level and celebrates Henry Guermonprez, a self taught natural historian. He collected and recorded the fl ora and wildlife of West Sussex. Part of his collection can now be seen at the Portsmouth City Museum

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TRAIL 4

Bognor RegisBlue & Memorial Plaque TrailThe Bognor Regis Blue & Memorial Plaque Trail celebrates people and

events that have either lived in or infl uenced the seaside town of Bognor

Regis. The trail is focussed primarily on Blue Plaques but also includes

memorial plaques and stones in the town. The trail commences at Bognor

Regis Pier, then heading west to Marine Park Gardens, then back through

the town to Hotham Park Gardens and ending at Dome House.

This is the longest of the Heritage Trails and visitors should allow at least

two hours to complete the trail

This ends the Bognor Regis Blue Plaque Trail and visitors can return to the Regis Centre Car Park by either walking back down Gloucester Road to the seafront or strolling back through Hotham Park. New Blue Plaques will be added to the trail over time and this version is up to date as of May 2019.

T R A I L 4 E N D S H E R E


The start of the Blue plaque trail is Bognor Regis Pier on the Esplanade a short walk from the Regis Centre car park.

TRAIL 4 STARTS HERE

At the front of the pier, a memorial plaque commemorates the role of the pier in WW2 when the pier was named HMS St Barbara for gunnery training with anti aircraft guns. During the war part of the pier sub-structure was cut, and a rope bridge built to connect the gun emplacement at the seaward end to the landward end. The rebuilding of this section after the war is thought to have been a cause of weakness in the pier’s structure due to low quality steel available after the war. Storms in 1965, 1999, and 2008 resulted in the loss of major parts of the seaward end of the pier.

HMS St Barbara; Memorial Stone

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From the pier, head east for a couple of metres and cross the road at the pelican crossing. Continue east and the second road on your left is Lennox Street. It is at th¬is location where Sir Billy Butlin established his Butlin’s Recreation Shelter in 1931, an amusement arcade with dodgems, children’s rides, and the largest display of slot machines on the coast at that time.

Butlin’s moved their amusements and built the holiday camp at the eastern end of the Esplanade in 1960 and had some 30,000 visitors that season.

Sir W E ‘Billy’ Butlin 1899 -1980 (coming soon)

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Head up Lennox street and turn left at the junction with the High Street where your will see a drinking fountain erected in 1866. The fountain celebrates Charles Osborn as ‘the oldest member of the medical profession in Bognor’.

Memorial Drinking Fountain – Charles Osborn

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Walk past the Methodist Church and continue along West Street. The third street on your left is The Steyne. Stroll though the gardens and at the seaward end of the Steyne is a drinking fountain, originally located on the promenade almost opposite to its current location; the drinking fountain commemorated the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Also in The Steyne is a memorial plaque for Amnesty International. The plaque was installed at the southern end of The Steyne on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights in 1998.

Please see over for more information about the buildings of the Steyne.

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Retrace your steps up The Steyne turning left into West Street taking the second turn on your left, and continue down West Street in the direction of the seafront. On the left you will fi nd the Bognor Regis Museum.

Opposite the museum at high level above a shop is a Blue Plaque for Joseph Witham. Joseph Witham was born at the house, he became a marine artist and from 1874 he became known for his paintings of ships. Some of his work can be seen at the National Maritime Museum.

Joseph Witham 1832 - 1901

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Next door to Joseph Witham’s plaque is a new Blue Plaque commemorating Frank L’Alouette. He was a War O¦ ce sanctioned o¦ cial photographer during World War 2, recording memories of Bognor Regis and the district during the war. A collection of 391 photos taken by him can be seen on the West Sussex Past Pictures website. The plaque commemorates the location of his photographic shop in the town

Frank L’Alouette 1901 - 1968

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Situated at the bottom of West Street is the Royal Norfolk Hotel. Famous guests have included the exiled Emperor Napoleon III in 1872, Queen Alexandra and her sister Empress Maud of Russia.

On the entrance gate to the hotel is a blue plaque to commemorate the time that Tony Hancock spent at the hotel while fi lming “The Punch & Judy Man” his last fi lm in 1962.

Tony Hancock 1924 - 1968

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Sir Richard Hotham 1722 - 1799Continue back up Belmont Road to the High Street and turn right. Follow the road to the entrance to Hotham Park Gardens opposite Gloucester Road. Stroll up the path and opposite the bandstand is Hotham Park House, the home of Sir Richard Hotham. The plaque is dedicated to Sir Richard Hotham who was the founder of modern day Bognor Regis as a seaside resort. In 1787 he initiated the building of a holiday resort for the gentry, which he named Hothamton.

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William Roy MacklinContinue along the path through the park and exit at gates of the short-term car park. Cross the Upper Bognor Road and enter the Chichester University Bognor Regis Campus at Gate A. On your left is Dome House, the only Grade 1 listed building in Bognor Regis. Dome House was build by Sir Richard Hotham in 1797 and was the centre piece of Hothamton Crescent with Mordington House on the left and St Michael’s House on the right. Dome House was designed to attract royalty to his newly created resort of Hothamton.

Notable visitors included Lady Jersey, Princess Charlotte and the then Prince of Wales (the future King Geoge IV). The Green Plaque celebrates Roy Macklin who was the fi rst Principal of the College that became the Bognor Regis Training College after World War 2.

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VISITORS COMING BY CAR ARE RECOMMENDED TO PARK IN THE CAR PARK NEXT TO THE REGIS CENTRE OFF CLARENCE ROAD DUE TO ITS CENTRAL LOCATION AND CONVENIENCE FOR THE START AND END OF THE TRAIL.

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The Steyne - Memorial Drinking Fountain & Amnesty International Plaque

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TRAIL 4


TAILORED WALKS UNLOCKING THE BEST OF BOGNOR REGIS’ RICH HISTORY



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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TRAIL 4 ENDS HERE



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VISITORS COMING BY CAR ARE RECOMMENDED TO PARK IN THE CAR PARK NEX T TO THE REGIS CENTRE OFF CL ARENCE ROAD DUE TO ITS CENTRAL LOCATION AND CONVENIENCE FOR THE START AND END OF THE TRAIL .

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The buildings and seafront location of The Steyne demonstrate why the area became so popular, many of the buildings being considered of special interest and the area is now a conservation area. Famous visitors are said to include Sir Robert Peel, Lewis Carroll and the actress Gertrude Lawrence.

Buildings of special note are Wellington House No. 6 (not architecturally but for its association with Lewis Carroll) , Gabriels Hall No. 25, Richmond House No. 27 and the Bath House No.9. The Bath House was built in 1824-5 as furnished apartments. Sea baths could be taken in the basement; customers of the Bath House were charged two shillings (10p) for a hot bath, or one shilling (5p) for a cold bath.

T H E S T E Y N E

Simply follow the numbered trail on

the map and read the corresponding

numbered descriptions and selection

of images throughout this leafl et.

The Trail MapT R A I L 4


S T A R T H E R E

E N D H E R E

From the hotel, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and head west on the promenade. Just in front of Rock Gardens is a new Blue Plaque celebrating the life of Martin Venables, an eminent local geologist. He studied the rocks of Bognor Regis and discovered and named a number of Sussex fossils, Bognoria, Aldwickia, Portnallia and well as a genus Venablesi.

Martin Venables 1901 - 1990

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Return from Rock Gardens to Aldwick Road and turn left where you will fi nd the outstanding White Tower. It was built in 1898 by John Cyril Hawes, a renowned architect and builder of churches in Australia and the Bahamas. He also became a Franciscan monk. The White Tower is one of the most iconic and unusual buildings in Bognor Regis.

John Cyril Hawes 1857 - 1956

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Continue west along Aldwick Road and turn left into Victoria Road. At the seafront turn right onto Park Road and continue along the promenade. Marine Park Gardens are on your right. The new Blue Plaque dedicated to William Fletcher is located on the pavilion. The council purchased the site of the gardens during a sale of William Fletcher’s land in 1926. William Fletcher opened Marine Park Gardens on 23 July 1935. William Fletcher is remembered for his interest in trees and the development and planting of Hotham Park Gardens in conjunction with Kew Gardens.In addition to the Blue Plaque is a Memorial Plaque to J & L Black.

William Fletcher 1852 - 1941 Marine Park Gardens

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From Marine Park Gardens retrace your steps back along Park Road towards Victoria Road. From the promenade if the tide is low looking west you can see the remains of a Mulberry Harbour section from World War 2. On your right as you approach Victoria Road are the beautiful buildings of Marine Parade, characteristic of old Bognor.

Continue up Victoria Road and on your right is a Blue plaque to Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch, author and creator of the railway detective Thorpe Hazell.

Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch 1868 - 1933

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At the end of Canada Grove is The Picturedrome. The plaque celebrates the purchase of the cinema by Bognor Regis Town Council in 2010. Built in 1886 as the New Assembly Rooms, the building became a cinema in 1919.

The Picturedrome - Building Plaque

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Opposite the Picturedrome is Bognor Regis Railway Station. There are two Blue Plaques celebrating the opening of the station in 1864, which had a major infl uence on the town’s growth as a seaside resort, and the construction of the new Station building in 1902. The Station was awarded Grade II listing in 1994.

The Railway Station – 2 Building Plaques

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From the Station, walk down Station Road towards the town centre and down London Road the main pedestrian shopping precinct in the town. At the end of London Road directly opposite you is The Arcade. Just two minutes from the Arcade along the High Street heading west is a plaque celebrating the original clock of Wades the Jewellers. The replacement clock which is similar to the original is located above the Your Move Estate Agency.

Wades Clock Plaque15

At the end of the Arcade, turn left into Belmont Street and on your left is a plaque to Dante Gabriel Rossetti the founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Movement in 1848. A poet and painter, Rossetti worked at a studio in what were thought to be stables for the building Bognor Lodge. Turn round and head a few metres back past the arcade, a Memorial Plaque to James W. C. Fegan can be found. James Fegan was the founder of Fegans home for Boys.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 - 1882

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On the opposite side of the Clarence Road is a Blue Plaque to James Joyce the author. While holidaying in Bognor in 1923, he wrote part of his novel Finnegans Wake.

James Joyce 1882 - 1941

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Continue up Victoria Road and turn right into Cavendish Road. At the end of the road turn left into Argyle Road and follow it round to Canada Grove. Half way along Canada Grove is a new Blue Plaque, which celebrates meetings at the Lodge since 1878.

Masonic Lodge 12

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T R A I L 4


T A I L O R E D W A L K S U N L O C K I N G T H E B E S T O F B O G N O R R E G I S ’ R I C H H I S T O R Y



A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S


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TRAIL 4 STARTS HERE



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VISITORS COMING BY CAR ARE RECOMMENDED TO PARK IN THE CAR PARK NEXT TO THE REGIS CENTRE OFF CLARENCE ROAD DUE TO ITS CENTRAL LOCATION AND CONVENIENCE FOR THE START AND END OF THE TRAIL.

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(coming soon) bognor regis blue & memorial plaque trail€¦ · the bognor regis blue &...

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