Gloucester Road, pictured above, is in the picturesque North Laine area at the northern end of the fashionable paved shopping street Kensington Gardens.
Brighton's first royal visitor (apart from Charles II who only stayed one night in the town while escaping to France in 1651) was the Duke of Gloucester, who arrived on 11th July 1765, just six years after Dr Richard Russell's death. Today, many young people enjoy their evenings at The Gloucester (night club and discotheque) situated at the junction of Gloucester Street and Gloucester Place, just south of St Peter's Church.
People who have visited the King & Queen Pub near the Royal Pavilion will know Marlborough Place, below:
The fourth Duke of Marlborough's first Brighton house was built for Sam Shergold in 1769, owner of the Castle Inn (noted for its magnificent ballroom and card room). The house, which is located in Old Steine next to Maria Fitzherbert's house (built later), is nearer Castle Square than Marlborough Place. It has remained Marlborough House since it was bought by the Duke of Marlborough in 1771. The Duke employed Robert Adam to upgrade the house and it became one of the finest houses in Brighton. It was used in the twentieth century for many years as Brighton's Tourist Information Office, which is now located near Brighton Town Hall in the Lanes.
The third duke to arrive in Brighton was the Duke of York. Directly opposite St Peter's church between Gloucester Place and the London Road is the street named York Place. Brighton is also home to York Avenue, York Avenue, York Grove, York Hill, York Road, York Villas and the Duke of York's Picture House (in Preston Circus), one of the oldest independent cinemas in the country.
>The next duke who became a regular visitor to Brighton from 1771, was the Prince Regent's favourite uncle, the disreputable Duke of Cumberland. The Duke of Cumberland must have been interested in Brighton's sea-cure, because he rented the house where Dr Richard Russell lived on the site of the Royal Albion Hotel. Dr Russell's bathing machines remained on Brighton beach well into the 1850s, so the town continued to establish itself as a popular resort for "taking the waters".
The next royal visitor to Brighton was the 21-year-old Prince of Wales, himself. He arrived in 1783. He was accommodated by the Duke of Cumberland (King George III's bad brother!) who by this time had moved into Grove House to the north of the Old Steine - a large residence erected in the 1770s.
The Duke of Cumberland had a bad reputation because, in 1771, he had married an Irish widow, against the wishes of his brother, the king. His marriage to a Catholic, who had been married before, led to the "1772 Royal Marriage Act", which required royal marriages to be approved by the king and Parliament. The prince, himself, had fallen in love with a devout Catholic, who had been married twice before.
The Duke of Cumberland was also known for his interest in gambling and betting. He, the Marquess of Queensberry and the Earl of Egremont, were the organisers of the first Brighton Horse Races run on White Hawk Down (now known as Race Hill) on 26th & 27th July 1983. King George III disapproved of the example that his brother was setting the 21-year-old prince.
Only two streets - Cumberland Road and Cumberland Drive - were named after the bad brother. These streets are located well away from the centre of Brighton out towards Preston Park Station and the village of Patcham!
The Duke of Marlborough has two more streets named after him in a newer area of Brighton near Churchill Square. Just to the north of Western Road, one street to the west of Regent Hill (where people today pay their tax or claim their social security), you will find Marlborough Street and Marlborough Mews.
Memories of the Prince, himself, dominate the map of Brighton. My own street is called Princes Road and I often receive mistakenly delivered letters addressed to Princes Street or Princes Crescent. It is thanks to people like the Prince Regent that we are now encouraged to use the post code!
.