Regency splendour. Picture: darren cool — dcoolimages.co.uk
One of the most exclusive addresses on the south coast has opened up its doors as a deluxe wedding and events venue.
Angel House, 1 Brunswick Terrace, is the seafront property opposite the iconic Angel Peace Statue with one wall in Brighton and another in Hove.
Built in the 1820s, it was one of the first properties built by Regency architect Charles Busby as part of the Brunswick estate development.
After a storied history owner Phill Haiselden took on the property as a labour of love, spending three years restoring it in all its Regency splendour.
Phill said: “The original planned time scale for the works was 18 months and of course we all know how that story goes. Three years later richer in wisdom and poorer in pocket we have completion.
“Like any love affair it has been up and down and sometimes I have wanted to run away screaming from the intricate challenges that such a project throws up but we have been blessed with the support of some very skilled people along the way who have stuck with the project and the vision.
“The house uncannily always seems to draw good things to it and time and again we have had good fortune that seems to have gone beyond simple luck.”
The Brunswick development capitalised on the royal connections with Brighton and the fashion for swimming in the sea. It became known as the Belgravia of the South Coast.
In the 1930s and 40s the buildings were under threat of demolition – but in 1964 the area was Grade I-listed.
After being a family house for many years, a dentist’s surgery in the ‘50s and ‘60s, in 1964 it was converted into nine bedsits.
In the mid-70s it was converted back to a whole house again and occupied by a well-known actress who would let rooms to artists and writers.
It is in a minority of Regency addresses not split up into flats.
The 1980s anecdotal book Breakfast in Brighton was written in Angel House and John Lennon and other rock stars are thought to have visited.
In the mid-1990s the house was rented out and became quite run down.
It was taken over by Phill Haiselden in early 2005.
He shared it with four other likeminded artists as a creative community space.
After this time it became clear that the main house needed major structural attention and the decision was made to close the house and to begin the painstaking process of complete restoration.
The building can accommodate up to 60 seated guests and a further 15 for non-seated events and boasts a Regency suite for newlyweds or civil partners.