Halloween celebrations in Brighton and Hove

Witches Potion Gateau

If you were searching through the back copies of the Brighton Herald and Brighton Gazette you would find few references to Halloween until the late 1940s and early 1950s.

These events were unassuming compared with today’s celebrations. In 1949, a Halloween dance was held at the Aquarium Ballroom, accompanied by a ‘Special Scottish Cabaret’ arranged by that doyenne of Brighton’s dancing class set, Vera Garbutt.

Even more daring was Hove Young Conservative’s dabble with witchcraft, when they held a Halloween Ball at Hove Town Hall in 1955.

By 1959, all restraint was thrown aside when the Brighton Herald gave over a whole page to Halloween. Local traders joined in with various adverts punning the day. Jack’s, Hair Fashions of Brighton, ran with the line “don’t let your hair stand on end” and Wade’s, drapers, of Western Road advised frightened customers to hide under bed sheets bought from their store.

Halloween Activities 

Games were also recommended, although current Health & Safety inspectors would certainly baulk at this particular one; an apple and a lit candle are hung on either end of a stick suspended from the ceiling. The stick is twirled and the participant has to jump up and catch the apple in their mouth. The article does add a note of caution; you may receive burns and hot wax from the candle rather than catching the apple.

Preston Manor, 1908, BHTMP400381

The ‘Specially for Women’ column in Brighton Herald’s October 1965 edition advised that ‘informality is the keynote of any Halloween get-together’.  Suggestions were as follows; varied cheese boards, checked table cloths and coloured candles stuck in bottles to capture the right atmosphere.

In more recent years Preston Manor has put on a series of extremely popular Halloween ghost tours. According to the publicity, those brave enough can ‘Tour Brighton’s most haunted house on the creepiest night of the year’.

Paul Jordan, Brighton History Centre

The Royal Pavilion and the Great Storm of 1987

Brighton has often been struck by heavy storms, but the one that lingers in living memory for many people is the Great Storm of 1987.  25 years ago, on the night between 15 and 16 October, freakishly strong winds raged across the south east of England. Numerous trees in Brighton & Hove were uprooted, and many buildings were damaged.

The Royal Pavilion estate was not spared. The trees in the grounds suffered considerable damage, including one tree which managed to crush two telephone boxes against the Pavilion Theatre. But the most distressing piece of damage occurred on the roof of the Pavilion. A stone ball was dislodged from one of of the minarets, which crashed through the roof and embedded itself in the carpet of the Music Room.

Sadly, this damage is just one of a series of disasters that have befallen this room. In the 1860s, a gas explosion damaged a corner of the room prompting the building’s temporary closure. In 1975 the room was hit by a devastating arson attack, requiring a lengthy programme of restoration. This work was just nearing completion when the storm struck, and the hand-woven carpet hit by the stone ball had only been recently laid. While investigating the damage, it was discovered that parts of the building were suffering from dry rot. This required further restoration work, and the Music Room did not open again until 1992.

If you would like to learn more about the Great Storm and its effect on Brighton & Hove, there is a great collection of photographs and personal memories on the My Brighton & Hove website.

Kevin Bacon, Digital Development Officer

Favourites from the Royal Pavilion Gardens – Fuchsia magellanica alba

Fuchsia magellanica alba

Charles Plumier named the Fuchsia in 1702 in honour of the renowned botanist Leonhart Fuchs whose work on medicinal plants, published in 1542, he much admired.

Fuchsia magellanica alba

This was one of Plumier’s finds that he brought back to Paris from his travels in the Americas where he had been searching for new species. It was first reported in England in the Botanical Magazine in 1789, so was well established here when the Royal Pavilion was built.

Our Fuchsia is a native of Chile and Argentina and is the plant from which many modern hardy Fuchsias have been bred. It can grow to the size of a small tree if allowed, and flowers freely from June to the first frosts, or even longer if we’re lucky with the weather, as it’s hardy to –5C.

Fuchsia magellanica alba

Such a pretty plant, with its lovely drooping tassels, the ordinary Fuchsia magellanica has red and purple flowers, and we have several of these in the gardens. But the variety alba has the sweetest pale pink colouring, very subtle and delicate, an absolute delight. It looks extremely exotic, fitting perfectly in the Pavilion planting. Look in the bed close to the Dome to see a magnificent specimen, with a second, smaller bush in the bed at the centre of the footpaths.

Volunteer Gardener, Royal Pavilion Gardens