Three Centuries Tour

A Bygones contribution to the My Brighton local history website

By Sue Craig

This tour was created from a collection of photos belonging to Albert (known as Bert) Clayton, a photographer with the Sussex Daily News.

Albert George Clayton was born in 1894. His grandfather made bricks in Hove, near the site of today's Embassy Court - hence the name Clayton. He was in the Royal Flying Corps during World War One, and later became a photographer.

It is believed that the 20th century photos in this tour were taken by Bert Clayton between the 1920s and the 1950s. The photos are matched to older Victorian photos, mainly in the collection of Brighton Museum. Some of the photographs also appear in the Regency Society's James Gray collection. Bert may have published a book based on the photos.

Bert Clayton's collection of pictures was inherited by Tricia Leonard, his great-niece, who now lives in Saltdean.

Together with a friend, Sue Craig, she followed in Bert Clayton's footsteps and took a third, contemporary photo to add to his original 'then and now' set. These new photos were taken in 2003-4. Sue Craig is a  My Brighton and Hove volunteer.

Tricia and Sue Craig are both members of the East Brighton Bygones local history society. The tour was designed for the web by Jack Latimer, another My Brighton and Hove volunteer. You can 'take the tour' by visiting the My Brighton and Hove website here: Three Centuries Tour.