11 Dyke Road, Brighton

Brighton's rapid growth from small fishing village to high-class seaside resort was set in motion in the late 18th century by factors such as royal patronage, the popularity (especially among the upper classes) of local doctor Richard Russell's "seawater cure" and better transport links. The population rose from about 2,000 in 1751, at the start of this growth period, to 65,569 in 1851, by which time it was the 15th largest town in England and Wales. By 1871, another 25,000 people had moved to the town. The speed of development caused problems: many people lived in poverty, and access to schools was inadequate. Poor people from across the mostly rural county of Sussex moved to Brighton, by…

The distinctive style of 11 Dyke Road has been described as French, or German Gothic Revival. Somers Clarke's "freely inventive" interpretation of that design was executed in brown brick with some red brickwork and stone dressings (now painted white). The steeply pitched roof is mostly tiled. The building has two storeys and two bays facing east towards Dyke Road. The southern (entrance) bay is narrower, shorter and has a very steep hipped roof; a drawing in the architects' journal Building News in 1873 showed a tall flèche on top of this roof. The door is set into an ogee-headed white-painted arch; the tympanum formed by the space between the arch and the door is decorated with carved…