Hangleton

In 1928 the Hangleton was absorbed into the Borough of Hove for administrative purposes (the ecclesiastical parish was still linked to Portslade). At the time of the census in 1931 the population of the parish was still only 109,[3] but during that decade residential and commercial development started apace and continued after World War II. Housing spread northwestwards from Hove and Aldrington, especially from 1936 onwards, and the whole area was built over by the end of the 1950s.[9] St Helen's Church, which was "still entirely isolated" in 1929 when it was kept locked except during services, became surrounded by houses; it was reopened for regular worship in 1949,[9] having been used irregularly (sometimes as infrequently as once per year) since the mid-19th century.[6] Housebuilding in the parish was largely complete by the end of the 1950s, although the population has continued to grow: at the 1951 census it was 6,158, rising to 9,006 in 1961[10] and an estimated 14,270 in 2013.[11][note 1] Hangleton is popular both with families and with retired people,[12] and the percentage of residents under the age of 16 is one of the highest of any ward in the city of Brighton and Hove.[11]

The earliest housing was provided by Hove Borough Council and was mostly terraced or semi-detached. Also in the 1930s, but mostly in the 1950s, private developments of semi-detached houses and detached bungalows emerged, especially on the highest ground offering good views of the South Downs and the sea. There are also some low-rise blocks of flats. Many streets are lined with trees and extensive grass verges, some houses have large front gardens, and the overall housing density is low—especially in the northwest of the estate, where most of the privately developed bungalows are situated. The council housing is mostly in the north and east of the estate. Most houses built by the council are now owned by their occupiers; privately rented housing is the other main form of housing tenure.[12]

In 1951 the parish had a population of 2676.[13] On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished.[14]

Hangleton Manor became a farmhouse and was still used as such until 1930 when the farm was broken up and the land allocated for residential development. The 16th-century building went through various uses—a private house, a hotel and a restaurant—and was requisitioned by the Army in World War II. It became a listed building in 1956, but it was in such poor condition that demolition was anticipated. Between 1964 and 1967 it was empty and suffered repeated vandalism, but in the latter year a plan to convert the building into flats was announced. Nothing came of this, but the following year a hotelier from Worthing bought the building and converted it into a country club. By 1976 it was a pub called the Hangleton Manor Inn and had been extensively restored.[15] In the pub garden is a dovecote, also a listed building, dating from the 1680s. It was restored in 1988.[16]

St Helen's Church, the Church of England parish church, is a Grade I listed building.[17] It is a simple flint building with dressings of Caen stone, originally with a thatched roof, and is similar to other downland churches in Sussex. Lord of the manor Richard Bellingham, who built Hangleton Manor, is commemorated by a memorial in the chancel. Situated in a "bleak and isolated spot", it only reopened fully in 1949 after a long period with infrequent services. It has been separately parished since 1955.[18][19] St Richard's Church, a brown-brick building designed by architects Carden and Godfrey, opened in 1961 to serve the southern part of Hangleton known as The Knoll. In the mid-1990s it was converted into a combined church and community centre.[10] Between 1932 and 1961 The Knoll had been served by a combined church and hall within the parish of St Leonard's Church, Aldrington. It became part of Hangleton parish in 1955.[20] The Hounsom Memorial United Reformed Church was built in 1938 to the design of Brighton architect John Leopold Denman. It was founded by the Sussex Congregational Union and Cliftonville Congregational Church in central Hove; Hangleton was identified as a good location for a new Congregational church because it was developing rapidly and no Nonconformist church had yet been provided.[21][22][23] The Baptist church on Hangleton Way was built in 1957 as Hangleton Free Church. It was founded by members of Holland Road Baptist Church in central Hove. Later names included The Vine Fellowship and Oasis Church;[24] it is now called Emmanuel Church.[25]

The Grenadier pub (left) and Hangleton Manor Inn

Hove Park School, one of the city's main secondary schools, was formed in 1979 by the merger of two older schools.[26] The buildings date from 1935 and were built on a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site bought by East Sussex County Council in 1931–32.[27] King's School, Hove moved to a purpose-built site on Hangleton Way at the northern edge of Hangleton in 2018. It had been established in 2013 in the former Portslade Aldridge Community Academy premises in Portslade village. It is adjacent to West Blatchington Primary School,[28][29] which dates from 1957.[30] Hangleton Primary School incorporates the former Hangleton Infants School, opened in 1949, and Hangleton Junior School (1952).[31]

Hangleton Manor Inn occupies the 16th-century manor house and is a Grade II* listed building.[32] It has been operated as a tied house by the Hall & Woodhouse brewery since September 2005.[33] The Grenadier pub, designed by John Leopold Denman for the Kemp Town Brewery of Brighton, opened in 1935. It had a well-planted garden which the Brighton Herald described as "one of the most beautiful in Hove", but this was lost in 1968 when shops and flats were built on it.[34] The pub is operated by Mitchells & Butlers under their "Sizzling Pubs" brand.[35] Tamplin's Brewery of Brighton bought land for a pub at the north end of the estate in 1948, and The Downsman opened in 1956. A large area of open land believed to be a site of archaeological interest was retained next to it. After various name changes in the 1990s it reverted to its original name,[36] but in closed in 2014 and permission was granted in 2017 for demolition and replacement with 33 houses and flats.[37]

Views from the slopes of Round Hill, above Hangleton

To the north of the A27 is the Old Dyke Railway Trail which follows part of the route taken by the old Dyke Railway Branch Line and takes walkers and cyclists up to Devil's Dyke beauty spot. It runs between two golf courses, the West Hove and Brighton and Hove Golf courses. Much of the trail across the Downs is on a hard surface.

There are many archaic Down pastures in the area. To the west is Benfield Hill (TQ 261 078), a Local Nature Reserve which is famous for its glowworm displays on midsummer evenings. On the steep east side of the hill there is large thyme, autumn gentian and many butterflies. Bee orchids can be also found in some years. On the western side of the Hill the gentle slope has longstanding populations of small blue and brown argus butterflies. The tall grass encourages magnificent displays of burnet moths.[38]

To the north of the City boundary this secondary chalk grassland continues on Devil’s Dyke Farm land (TQ 260 095). A prehistoric barrow (TQ 258 094) marked that boundary, but is now only detectable by a slight rise in the fence line as it crosses the ploughed-out mound. In a good evening light you can see the lynchet lines of an Iron Age field system in Adder Bottom (TQ 253 101) just west of the Devil’s Dyke Farm.[38]

Round Hill. to the north east, is a special place too. There are signs from a number of periods of human history. There are many old barrows in the area and even the name Skeleton Hovel for the old flint barn (TQ 269 085) is thought to commemorate a prehistoric burial site unwittingly discovered during farming work.[38] Round Hill's eastern slope (TQ 269 085) is the richest chalk grassland site in Hangleton, although it desperately needs grazing management for its many downland flowers such as field fleawort, chalk milkwort, orchids, cowslips, hairy violet, rockrose, crested hair-grass and devil’s bit scabious. There are two rare Forester moth species, fox moth and heath moth, purse-web spider, moss and pygmy snails.[38] To the north of Round Hill is the Newtimber parish.

To the north of this part of Brighton and Hove downland area are the Poynings and Newtimber parishes and the impressive geography of Devil's Dyke.

Between Hangleton and Westdene, south of the A27, is Toads Hole Valley. Its west slope, below Downland Drive was once a rich, grazed downland area, and it is still home to threatened species such as dormice, hedeghogs and adders. The valley has been unmanaged for many years and the area has turned to scrub. It has now been designated for development and up to three hundred homes are planned to be built on the site.[39]

A route 5 bus outside the Grenadier pub at West Way, Hangleton

A bypass for Brighton and Hove, rerouting the A27 trunk road away from inner suburban areas, was first discussed in the 1920s, but the borough and county councils only voted in favour of one in 1980–81. A route looping tightly around the northern boundary of the urban area, including the Hangleton estate, was chosen. Various public inquiries were held, including one in 1987 about the need for a link road at the western edge of Hangleton, connecting the bypass and the old main road through Portslade. Construction started in 1989; the section north of Hangleton was built in 1990–92; and the whole route opened in April 1996.[44][45] The Hangleton Link Road is designated the A293, and the junction with the bypass is called Hangleton Interchange.

The Brighton & Hove bus company run regular services around the Hangleton estate on routes 5, 5A and 5B. Destinations include central Hove, central Brighton, Preston Park, Withdean, Patcham and Hollingbury.[46] The central part of the Hangleton estate around the Grenadier pub is 12 minutes by bus from central Hove; outlying parts of Hangleton are about 25 minutes away.[12] Another local bus company, The Big Lemon, operates route 16 between Hangleton, The Knoll, Portslade railway station, Portslade-by-Sea and the Sainsbury's supermarket at West Hove, and route 47 between Hangleton, The Knoll, Seven Dials, Brighton railway station, central Brighton, Kemptown, Brighton Marina, Ovingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean.[47]

Between 1 September 1887 and 31 December 1938, the Brighton and Dyke Railway ran from a point west of Aldrington on the West Coastway line to Devil's Dyke on the South Downs.[48] It passed through Hangleton without stopping,[12] although from 12 January 1934 a short-lived station called Rowan Halt was provided on Rowan Avenue beyond the south end of the estate. North of this, part of the trackbed survives as a footpath from Hangleton Way on to the Downs: the Dyke Railway Trail opened in July 1991 and can be used by horse riders, cyclists and walkers.[49]