Through The Eyes of a Brighton Girl

 Hello,

My name is Carol. I was born and raised in Brighton.  From an early age I was interested in Brighton’s history. When I was at junior school we were taught about the history of the school. A topic that completely grabbed my attention and I wanted to learn more. My Mum then went out and bought my first Brighton history book when I was 11 years old.

In my late teens I bought a couple of James Gray books, ‘Victorian Brighton’ and ‘Brighton Between the Wars.’ They inspired me to start taking photographs of our town, with the thought that they may not be of interest at the time but would be of interest in decades to come. Often on a Sunday, when the shops were closed and not much else to do, my friend Simona would join me and we’d go off for a walk around town, taking photographs. I took many around the North Laine area, as back then, in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, the area was pretty run-down with many derelict buildings, that I felt I needed to capture before they were gone forever.

My photography skills were very limited back then, just snaps really. Many were damaged and lost when we had a water tank leak, and I had stupidly stored my photos in a shoe box in the cupboard underneath. I lost hundreds of photos but also managed to salvage hundreds too, which I scanned and removed as much of the damage as I could but as you will see, much of the damage is evident in my earlier photos.

Over 30 years later I am still documenting the town’s history, probably more so now, than I ever did. Photographing buildings being demolished and what they are replaced with. Taking photos of ghost-signs when they appear, and other remnants of the past and just general street scenes. It’s amazing to see how much can change, even in a few short years. Brighton has changed, in many ways for the better but sadly we have lost many lovely buildings along the way.

It was always my intention, that one day, I would share my photographs publicly, so here’s part of my collection. All the photographs here have been taken by myself. My website will always be a work in progress, so please pop back and see what has been added.

If you wish to see more local history photos, or if you have any you would like to share, then please come and join my Facebook Group, Brighton Past.

Thanks for visiting my website, I hope you enjoy it.

Carol Homewood.