Kemp Town Enclosures, Brighton, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Early in the 19th century, Thomas Read Kemp, MP (1781-1844), developed his property, Black Rock Farm and adjacent land, into a fashionable high quality residential estate which he called Kemp Town. Despite early financial difficulties and some alterations to the original plan, the land was laid out in 1823, by the architects Amon Wilds and Charles Busby to a unified plan. As architects they were responsible for the layout of many of the new Regency suburbs of Brighton. Areas of this urban scheme were also developed by Thomas Cubitt for Kemp, working together with Henry Kendall, a surveyor and pupil of John Nash. Cubitt and Kendall also collaborated together over the development of Belgrave Square, London. Kemp's ventures in town planning and speculative development eventually led to a loss of £500,000 and he died in comparative poverty in Paris, in 1844.

The gardens set centrally as the focus of the new housing development, were at first enclosed by railings at Kemp's own expense in 1821. In 1828 Henry Phillips (1779-1840), a botanist, landscape gardener and the author of Sylva Florifera (published 1823), drew up the plan for the gardens which was presented to the first meeting of the Kemp Town Enclosures Committee. At this meeting, Thomas Cubitt, who built 37 of the 106 houses and himself lived at 13 Lewes Crescent, was appointed 'to superintend the general works and improvements'. Phillips' planned scheme for which he was paid £371.10s.8d included shrubberies with untrimmed shrubs giving an informal appearance, mounded to provide privacy and protection for the plants. This followed the style of shrubbery planting as outlined in his book Sylva Florifera. 20,000 plants were subsequently ordered and planted under Phillips' supervision, including semi-mature trees, shrubs and flowering plants, and gravel walks were put down.

An aquatint of about 1826 depicts the gardens merely as architect's infill, giving a vague impression of gardens, whereas maps of 1828 show the implementation of Phillips' plan as presented. However, this design required almost immediate adaptation when the decision was made, later in 1828, to close the road round the crescent, making two instead of three garden enclosures.

The first meeting of the Kemp Town Enclosures Committee also agreed to the development of formal walks at the south end of the crescent. These were reached through a subterranean passage under Marine Parade which led out onto the Esplanade with formal terraces and grassy slopes along the sea front and the seashore itself. This effectively provided the residents of Kemp Town's 106 houses with their own private sea side walks extending over 1 kilometre along the beach. This part of the scheme was built from 1830-1835 by Henry Kendall.

The development of the sea-terraces has been attributed to Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865). In 1828, William George Spencer Cavendish, sixth Earl of Devonshire, bought the two houses at the corner of Lewes Crescent and Chichester Terrace, overlooking the sea and gardens, and for many years he resided in Kemp Town. Paxton is known to have made several visits to the Duke's house and was interested in Phillips' plans for a great conservatory at Brighton, to which the Duke had contributed plants. Paxton's other works for the Duke include his great scheme at Chatsworth and a smaller scheme at Buxton Pavilion Gardens. At Kemp Town the long hill from the beach, some 30 metres below, is known as the Duke's Mound.

The gardens were maintained by subscriptions, each proprietor contributing an equal proportion per house he possessed, to works, improvements and maintenance. The gardens remain private for the housing estate and many of the many of the houses have now been converted into flats.