The Regency Town House

23/04/2025

We're back on the Square for April's House of the Month - 47 Brunswick Square.

They say good things come in small packages, and number 47 is one of the smaller houses on the Square. It was originally number 45 but was renumbered to 47 in 1834. Its small size led to speculation that it had not formed part of the original design and was a later infill. However, our digging around in numerous legal documents describing property transactions during the late 1820s make it clear that number 47 was indeed part of the original design!

Read the full house history here to find out what we know about the people who lived at number 47 over the years, such as Admiral Dacres (pictured) who became First Naval Lord.

Researched by volunteer Teresa.

https://www.rth.org.uk/local-history/brunswick-town/bruns-square-47?mc_cid=7d57a678f7&mc_eid=908d783f1c

23/04/2025

Phone rings…
She: "How high is your ceiling?"
Me: "Nice to hear from you, too, Claire. Er… a tad over four meters, why?"
She: "Great! I'll be over on Wednesday."

Which is how a group of us, including the artist Claire Knill, came to be staring at The Willow Tree, a sculpture four metres high and two metres wide, as its coloured shapes gyrated slowly round and round and round in our drawing room.

Claire has shown her extraordinary sculptures before at the Town House, but this was a dry-run to check all was well and working before installing it at the Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead, where is can be seen from 7th to 11th May.

A mesmerising video of The Willow Tree can be seen here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JWhgKeSwykg
Website: claireknill.com
Insta:

07/04/2025

✍️ Writing History at The Regency Town House 🏛️

Calling all fiction writers, amateur historians, and anyone wanting to capture their own story - this exciting three-week course is for you!

Join writer and experienced tutor Bridget Whelan in our beautifully restored Regency kitchen as you explore creative ways to bring the past to life.

📅 Fridays: April 25, May 2 & May 9
🕚 11am – 1.30pm (with a lunch break and access to our specialist library)
💷 £45 for all three sessions
📍 The Regency Town House, Brighton

Bring your curiosity, your stories, and your lunch! 🥪

Spaces are limited - book your spot now!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writing-history-at-the-regency-town-house-tickets-1304646967199?aff=oddtdtcreator

07/04/2025

🎭 Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett opens today and runs until Saturday! 🎭

Join us for a powerful 50-minute performance following Krapp, a 69-year-old man revisiting his past through old tape recordings. A moving exploration of memory, ageing, and identity.

Starring multi-award-winning actor David Westhead, a veteran of The Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Birmingham Press described Westhead's performance as, “Intense and compelling”.

John McAndrew of the Royal Shakespeare Company praised the production as, "Just terrific...brilliant, outrageous, and heartbreaking".

Running alongside the play is a photo exhibition on the ground floor, featuring work by young photographers trained through the Wembley to Soweto Foundation. All proceeds from the exhibition will go to support the Foundation’s incredible work.

Book your tickets now:

Starring David Westhead, directed by Academy Award nominee Stockard Channing, Krapp's Last Tape is a riveting journey into the human soul.

01/04/2025

Big news - we made it onto The Telegraph's list of Britain's best attractions (that most people have not heard of).

Not to brag (okay, maybe just a little), but we're officially a must-visit 😎 if you haven't been yet, what are you waiting for? And if you have - well, clearly you have great taste 👌🏼😇

Our tour schedule for the year is now out so come see what all the fuss is about!

https://www.rth.org.uk/whats-on/tours-walks

31/03/2025

Step back in time to 1831! 🕰️

Join Regency gentleman Mr Henry Adams for a captivating journey through Brunswick Town, uncovering the stories and secrets of Brighton’s past.

The tour ends in true Regency style, with homemade cakes and tea here at The Regency Town House 🍰🫖

Tickets have just gone on sale for the 8th June but they won’t last long!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brunswick-town-regency-tour-and-tea-1831-tickets-1288226613479?aff=oddtdtcreator

28/03/2025

Purple and white crocus flowers poke their heads above the grass in Brunswick Square. In the background, the Town House and its neighbours are lit by the pale spring sunshine. Did you know, an autumn-blooming variety of crocus is the source of saffron?🪻🤍

26/03/2025

Brunswick Town at 200

Looking for something interesting to do this evening? Join us for a captivating talk by Nick Tyson, Curator of The Regency Town House, as he explores how Brunswick Town was first planned and established 200 years ago.

📅 Wednesday, 26th March
🕖 7:00pm – 9:00pm
📍 Ralli Hall, 81 Denmark Villas, Hove BN3 3TH
🎟 Free admission – no booking required!

This event is open to all and is hosted by Hove Civic Society and the Regency Society. Don’t miss this chance to explore the fascinating development of one of Brighton & Hove’s most iconic areas!

Find out more here:

How Brunswick Town's administrative infrastructure grew along with the houses.

12/03/2025

Our three week course Writing History started on Monday and students were greeted by a butler. Perhaps all creative writing courses should have one in attendance...

(Thanks Thomas Aird for shining your shoe buckles and giving students a quick tour of The Town House)

05/03/2025

House of the Month – 42 Waterloo Street 🏡

Located at the north-eastern end of Waterloo Street, No. 42 has hosted a range of trades over the years, from a dressmaker and chemist to a saddler. But what we love most is its time as a home to bakers, biscuit makers, and confectioners and imagining the street filled with the mouth-watering scents of fresh bread and sweet treats 🍰🍭🍪

A true gem of Brunswick Town with plenty of stories to tell. Want to explore more? Dive into the full history of No. 42 here - https://www.rth.org.uk/local-history/brunswick-town/Waterloo-street-42?mc_cid=2e42628141&mc_eid=908d783f1c

26/02/2025

"From Anywhere to Everywhere", take a Britax! 🚗

We've been digging in our archive again and found this lovely 1936 advert for Britax.

Just dial 6561 and a modern British vehicle will be at your door almost as soon as you replace the telephone, ready to take you everywhere for just 8d. per mile.

Read more by subscribing to our newsletter: https://www.rth.org.uk/subscribe?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabkEPuVPApW62M1VLnD_fwDAt-0QJ92BX-WMS1TNC3B78aZlWW_s-5yzEg_aem_gBIhsgmYJTQ-p1t9E642DA ❤️

24/02/2025

Calling all wedding lovers 💍 👰🎩

We’re on the hunt for wedding dresses, wedding pictures, wedding paraphernalia, wedding shoes, wedding stories, wedding faux pas (etc etc) for a special summer exhibition all about weddings here at The Regency Town House.

✨ Did you keep your wedding outfit?
✨ Do you have your mother’s or grandmother’s dress?
✨ Was it wild and wacky or elegant and demure?

We’re also planning a wedding-themed afternoon tea in our beautiful house, and might even put on a fashion show featuring some of the outfits!

If you’d like to be involved, send us a photo of your dress (if you still have it) and share your story with us.

📧 Email: [email protected]

14/02/2025

We are running an unique three week WRITING HISTORY course in March
Designed for beginners, emerging writers and authors wanting to explore a new field, you will be working in our glorious renovated Regency kitchen and have access to our specialist library.

Every penny will go towards RTH projects.

Find out more here https://bit.ly/40Jju0n

PLEASE SHARE

Dive into the past & start creating your own historical narrative in an affordable THREE WEEK COURSE

07/01/2025

December was so busy we forgot to post our House of the Month - we blame the mince pies and mulled wine! But better late than never, because 44 Brunswick Place has a history worth sharing.

What do a royal wine merchant, a time capsule mystery, a Victorian girls' school, and a Prime Minister's cousin all have in common? They're all part of the fascinating story of this grand house!

From serving British and European royalty to educating the daughters of gentlemen, 44 Brunswick Place has seen it all-empire legacies, loyal servants, and even a link to Prime Minister Gladstone.

Researched and written by volunteer Rachel
Pope, you'll find the full article on our website here - https://www.rth.org.uk/local-history/brunswick-town/bruns-place-44

What's your favourite part of its history? Let us know!

03/01/2025

This next story is full of holes...

This is a very, very old wooden flour sieve that we found while sifting through the house's kitchenware. It might not look like much, but we (or at least one of us) found it very impressive indeed.

The harsh reality of The Regency Town House newsroom is that there is too much hard-hitting news for every story to make it into print. Every month, your two editors have a conversation that goes something like this:

Him (the Grinch): I'm not sure we've got enough for this month's edition.

Me (the sieve enthusiast): We could write about the sieve?

Him: No one will care about an old wooden sieve, I mean, what can we say about it?

Me (dejected): Fine... it's just so wholly different from sieves that people use today, I think readers will find it interesting.