The Westgate suburb contains not just the main street but a collection of side streets that lead off the main road. This is part two of a series designed to present each of these in their own right. You can read about Mount Lane here. We do re-use material from elsewhere that risks being missed since it is scattered through other articles.
The Brewery
Henty Gardens occupies the eastern end of the Henty Brewery site on the north side of Westgate. This is where the original maltings were built in the 1780s, in the Squittery Fields, with the brewery itself more to the west.
As can be seen on this extract from Loader’s 1812 town plan. Which shows the easterly end of Westgate with the brewery on the north side and the tannery, Shippam’s grocer’s stretch and Mount Lane opposite.
The big house of 1751, on the lower left, is now the offices of Mercers. Their other buildings, built behind, were once the brewery site – and why the current roofs are designed in brewery or malting style.
What was once the entrance to the brewery is now the entrance to Henty Gardens and The Maltings. This rare image of Westgate (not West Street!) is from 1914, and a photo of that same stretch of road looking east from the industrial zone of The Brewery and Shippams. (To orient yourself: find Richmond House, the tallest building in the distance.)
The photographer has positioned him or herself to the west of the S in St Bartholomew’s on the above map, and is looking east to take the photo. Somewhat significant perhaps to have to observe that the traffic that day was just one bicycle?
This contemporary image looking south east, is taken from the opening of Henty Gardens, that is the old exit from the Brewery referred to above. The buildings to the right are what was the Shippam home and its attached warehouse (modern day nos 27 and 29). The trees in the church burial ground are just beyond, and the entrance to Mount Lane lies in between.
Developments
When the architect Edward Prior was in residence at no.29, he turned the warehouse into his home – just coming into view on the right. Compare this with the 1914 image when he would already been residence. He will later put on a Regency door and reorganise the windows, such as adding more dormers. This considerably enhanced the streetscape for us and why no. 29 is called Prior House these days.
Traffic levels along this road increased and by 1938 the Chichester bypass was opened to enable traffic to avoid Westgate and the narrow city streets.
In 1955 the Henty and Constable brewery closed. Brewing ceased at Westgate, but the site was used by Friary Meux (who had acquired Henty and Constable) as a distribution depot, with some of the former buildings being let to other businesses.
In the 1970s the large site was still vacant, and in December 1979 the brewery buildings were again destroyed by fire. A particularly spectacular one this time – but fortunately Westgate House itself was saved.
Plans were put forward to develop this as a commercial site. The first incarnation of the Westgate Residents Association (WGRA) was formed to oppose this and support a plan for housing, Westgate by now being a popular residential road. It is interesting that, despite the bypass, there were still considerable complaints at that time about the level and type of traffic using the road.
The tottering remains of the brewery buildings were demolished and the site redeveloped. Behind Westgate House, offices were built in the form of the fake – and rather out-of-scale – malthouses we see today, whilst to the east a small housing estate was created. So the Association was partly successful, and ‘Henty Gardens’ and ‘The Maltings’ are the result – known as such to serve as tokens of past commercial glories; though there may well have been some who longed wistfully for the heady aroma of roasting malt to waft once again along Westgate.
Having achieved its primary objective that manifestation of the WGRA lost momentum and closed.