Moulsecoomb - Bevendean History Project
Opening of the Moulsecoomb Estate
THE COUNCIL SHOULD PROVIDE FREE BICYCLES
FOR TENANTS OF MUNICIPAL HOUSES
Lord Mayor Of London Performs An Inaugural Ceremony
Lord Mayor Of London Performs An Inaugural Ceremony
Tenants of Brighton Municipal houses should be provided with free bicycles.
Alderman Sir Herbert Carden, J.P., made this suggestion on Wednesday as a means of solving the transport difficulties of those who are exiled to the estates on the outskirts of the town.
“Why shouldn’t the Corporation do it?” He asked. “We give every tenant of the Corporation house and electric cooker under wash boiler. Why can’t we give them a bicycle?”
These remarks were made in connection with the official inauguration of Brighton’s latest housing estate at East Moulsecombe.
To perform this ceremony the Lord Mayor of London (Sir George Broadbridge, K.C.V.O.), who is a native of Brighton, paid a special visit to the town of his birth, accompanied by the Sheriffs (Sir Frank Pollitzer and Sir Charles McRea) and attended by the Common Cryer and Sergeant at Arms (Mr W. T. Boston).
The distinguished visitors drove to East Moulsecoomb with the Mayor and Mayoress (Councillor J. Rapley, J.P., and Mrs Routley), and followed by a large party of members and officials of the Corporation in Southdown motor coaches.
Alderman Sir Herbert Carden, J.P., made this suggestion on Wednesday as a means of solving the transport difficulties of those who are exiled to the estates on the outskirts of the town.
“Why shouldn’t the Corporation do it?” He asked. “We give every tenant of the Corporation house and electric cooker under wash boiler. Why can’t we give them a bicycle?”
These remarks were made in connection with the official inauguration of Brighton’s latest housing estate at East Moulsecombe.
To perform this ceremony the Lord Mayor of London (Sir George Broadbridge, K.C.V.O.), who is a native of Brighton, paid a special visit to the town of his birth, accompanied by the Sheriffs (Sir Frank Pollitzer and Sir Charles McRea) and attended by the Common Cryer and Sergeant at Arms (Mr W. T. Boston).
The distinguished visitors drove to East Moulsecoomb with the Mayor and Mayoress (Councillor J. Rapley, J.P., and Mrs Routley), and followed by a large party of members and officials of the Corporation in Southdown motor coaches.
The Lord Mayor and Civic Party on Wednesday's ceremony.
One of 200
The house selected for
“taking over” was No. 99, Hodshrove Road. In the roadway
outside, Councillor C. G. Manton, Chairman of the Housing Committee,
invited the Lord Mayor to perform the ceremony, informing him that it
was one of 200 non-parlour two-bedroom houses which were being erected
at a cost of £343 per house, or, including roads and sewers,
£420. The rents were 12s. 8½d per week – a
remarkable figure about which councillor Manton made some humorous
comments. He felt, he added, that Brighton was foremost in its
endeavours to house the working classes and do away with the slums and
overcrowding, as proof of which he mentioned that since the war the
Corporation have built 4000 houses, mainly owing to the energy of Sir
Herbert Carden and Alderman Milner Black, J.P.
“What worries me,” he went on, open quotes is the cost of transport. We hope that as a result of what will be done tomorrow fares will come down there by giving the tenants of this and other estates further advantages.”
“What worries me,” he went on, open quotes is the cost of transport. We hope that as a result of what will be done tomorrow fares will come down there by giving the tenants of this and other estates further advantages.”
A Compliment
The Lord Mayor said he
regarded it as a compliment to be asked to come down to his native town
and set in motion the machinery of that new housing estate. He was
aware of the housing efforts of the Brighton Corporation, of which
Moulsecombe is only one evidence. That estate and others would remain
as lasting monuments to those responsible for the administration of the
town.
“I cannot conceive a better work than slum clearance and the provision of better housing and health his surroundings for the people,” he continued, “and the houses you’re putting up must be a great blessing to their tenants. I hope not only that this estate will be a great success, but that all those who come to live in these houses will have health and happiness for the rest of their lives.”
Sir George then unlocked the door of No. 99, and with the Sheriffs, the Mayor and Mayoress, Sir Herbert Carden and others inspected the house, the convenient arrangement of which and the fine view of the Wild Park from the back being generally admired.
“I cannot conceive a better work than slum clearance and the provision of better housing and health his surroundings for the people,” he continued, “and the houses you’re putting up must be a great blessing to their tenants. I hope not only that this estate will be a great success, but that all those who come to live in these houses will have health and happiness for the rest of their lives.”
Sir George then unlocked the door of No. 99, and with the Sheriffs, the Mayor and Mayoress, Sir Herbert Carden and others inspected the house, the convenient arrangement of which and the fine view of the Wild Park from the back being generally admired.
From the Brighton Gazette on 31 July 1937
