Our Garden Squares

At the heart of the Regency Square conservation area are the three garden squares: Clarence, Russell and Regency. Today, the gardens are public spaces, owned and maintained by the city council.  But, prior to World War 2, all three gardens were locked enclosures.  Only people who lived in a square were allowed into its garden.  How else have the gardens changed?

In the pages that follow local author and historian Gill Wales takes us on a journey through the history of our three magnificent gardens.

In the beginning…

Regency and Russell squares are Georgian, built in the first quarter of the 19th century.  Central gardens were integral to the developments and formed part of the covenants to the houses.  Residents were allowed a key to one of the garden gates if they paid towards the cost of garden maintenance.  In each square, a …

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The gardens in war time

At the outbreak of World War 2, the War Office requisitioned the gardens in many of Brighton’s squares for civil defence purposes.  Our three gardens were no exception.  The railings were removed and the gardens dug up to build air raid shelters.  Clarence, Russell and Regency squares each had two air raid shelters in their …

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Peace in our gardens

Restoring the gardens after the war prompted a change in use.  In December 1948, the borough council resolved to take over the maintenance of Russell Square’s garden and make it a public park.  The managing committee of residents was wound up in May 1949. In the autumn of 1952, the freehold of the garden in …

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More re-landscaping!

In 1967, the Regency Square garden was dug up to create the underground car park.  A new lawn was laid out, in three sections, on the car park roof.  It could have been worse.  The original proposal had been to replace the garden with a surface level car park! The Parks and Gardens department initially …

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