Belton Road
See also the Belton Road section on pages 8-13 of the proposed update for Round Hill's conservation character statement, which has some good pictures contributed by local residents including a Plan of Freehold Building Land on the Tower Mill Estate 1912.
Belton Road was built on the site of one of the tallest windmills in the country, which could be seen from many parts of Brighton. The windmill, most commonly known as Tower Mill (also, Round Hill Mill and Cutress's Mill) stood alone for many years. It was built in 1838 by John Ingledew and John Lashmar and demolished in 1913.
Sale of Freehold Building Land on 5th June 1912
[Thank you to Sally Bunkham for the plan]
Just under a year before the windmill was demolished, a sale of Freehold Building Land known as THE TOWER MILL ESTATE was held at the Old Ship Hotel in Brighton.
The plan drawn up by architect and surveyor W. H. Nash of 42 Ship Street Brighton shows what was presumably Tower Mill Cottage, above which is a stable and coach house and a single shed.
Removal of the last sweep of the windmill prior to demolition was scheduled for 1st April 1913.
The large footprint of the windmill (sixty feet high with a wide base for storage of sacks of corn) is evidenced in the number of building plots it takes up.
There appears to be a greater number of plots on this plan than the ten houses actually built. 4 houses were added on the west side and 6 on the east side of Belton Road.The mill was dismantled in 1913 and many of it's 50,000 bricks were used in the construction of 10 new houses, which remain on the site in Belton Road today.
The earliest houses in the street were nos. 1-7 dating from 1889, followed by nos. 2 to 34 dating from 1890 to 1883. Nos. 9-23 date from 1896.
The later red brick houses, nos. 25-31 and nos. 36-46, date from 1913 shortly after the demolition of the windmill. Bricks from the windmill (which had consisted of fifty thousand bricks) were used in their construction.
The windmill was purchased by Charles Cutress, the founder of Forfars Bakery, in 1880. The 1891 population census reveals that many occupants of Belton Road had employment connected with the windmill. George Woodnutt (Baker) lived at no. 3 with a lodger called Herbert Peacock, who was also a baker. Edwin Clipsham (Bread Baker) lived at no. 10. George White aged 56 (Miller) lived at no.12 whose sons Raymond and Thomas were both bakers. The occupant of Tower Mill Cottage was John Morris, a 29-year-old miller . Other occupations included house decorator, retired laundress, night watchman, railway signalman, hair dresser and wheelwright.
On the corner of Belton Road and Round Hill Road there is a building which used to be a light industrial workshop. It stood in what was once the yard of Cutress’s Baker’s shop at 1 Round Hill Road. Listed under “Belton Road”, the workshop first appears in street directories as a Yeast Merchants 1927-1933. In 1934 & 1935, it is occupied by Leather Geo & Co Electrical Engineers and more recently by C.P. Knight Joinery Manufacturer. There used to be a pulley above the hoist door on the upper floor. However, in 2020, the workshop was converted to a 2no. bedroom dwelling house with the hoist door becoming a juliet balcony. Planning permission was granted retrospectively.
When the houses were built
1889 1-7 Belton Road.
1896 9-23 Belton Road.
1890 2-12 Belton Road.
1891 14-20 Belton Road.
1892 22 & 24 Belton Road.
1893 26 - 32 Belton Road.
1893 34 Belton Road.
1913 25-31 & 36-46 Belton Road [10 houses].
1913 As above - amended plans.
There are no street trees- so private trees and shrubs are important in the street, providing greenery. There are trees visible at the north end of the street (in the rear gardens of houses facing Princes Road) and protruding from side gardens near the junction with Princes Crescent. Plant pots ticked up against the buildings add interest to the street scene. Since the implementation of the area J controlled parking zone on 1st July 2013, the west side of Belton Road has been continuously yellow-lined. Pavement parking has been largely obliterated and this narrow street is now pedestrian friendly.
There is good communication between neighbours and Belton Road is known for its impressive displays of Advent Calendar Windows - a practice which has been repeated annually since 2009 and has more recently been adopted by other Round Hill streets.
The first houses to be built in Belton Road numbers 1 to 7 date from 1889. Houses 2-12 followed in 1890, though not all were occupied by the time of the 1891 census. Unsurprisingly, several of the jobs shown in the census relate to the windmill and Cutress’s bakery. Charles Cutress had taken over the windmill in 1880.
In 1891, George Woodnutt (Baker) lived at no. 3 with a lodger called Herbert Peacock, who was also a baker. Edwin Clipsham (Bread Baker) lived at no. 10. George White aged 56 (Miller) lived at no.12 whose sons Raymond and Thomas were both bakers. The occupant of Tower Mill Cottage was John Morris, a 29-year-old miller . Other occupations included house decorator, retired laundress, night watchman, railway signalman, hair dresser and wheelwright.
Houses 9-23 date from 1896 and were built by Cuttress / Carden.
Houses 2-12 date from June 1890 and were built by architect and surveyor Alfred Carden (1850-1932) Numbers 14 to 34 were built by Cuttress & Carden. 14-20 date from 1891, 22 & 24 from 1892 and 26-34 from 1893.
Nos. 36-46 are built by Dawes and Roffey in 1913 from red brick with red tiled hanging to the bays. The buildings are reputed to be constructed from the brick from the demolished Tower Mill, which itself consisted of fifty thousand bricks. This may be the facing brick or, more likely, the darker brick to the exposed flank walls.
There is an attractive long-distance view down the street across Sylvan Hall and the Level to the sea framed by terraced cottages on either side.
Return to Main History Section.
This page was last updated by Ted on 29-May-2025