The building then proceeded; was formally opened on the 26th of June, 1854; and its opening was shortly after celebrated with a public banquet, at which the Mayor of Brighton, Lieut.-Colonel Fawcett, presided. The total cost of the ground, building, fittings, furniture, &c., was £3,000. Four Lodges of the Order hold their meetings weekly in the Hall, and endeavours are being made to establish Schools upon the premises for the education, at a reasonable cost, of the children and orphans of members. Five other Lodges meet in various parts of Brighton and Hove. The first Lodge, 118, one of the oldest belonging to the Unity, was established in Brighton, in 1822. The Widows and Orphans’ Fund, in connexion with the District, has been in existence twenty-one years, having been established in 1841, and its members, with very few exceptions, include the whole of the members in the Brighton District. It has an accumulated capital of over £6,000, chiefly invested in debentures on the rates of the town.
Lodges of the Brighton, London, and Nottingham Unities of Odd Fellows, are held in various parts of the Borough, as are also Lodges and Courts of the several Orders of Druids and Foresters.
The Free and Accepted Masons hold the Royal Clarence Lodge, No. 394; the Royal Brunswick Lodge, 1,034; the Lennox Chapter Lodge, No. 338; and the Royal Sussex Chapter Lodge, No. 1,034, at the Old Ship Hotel, where also the Lodge of Instruction is held.
The Brighthelmston Dispensary, now known as the Brighton and Hove Dispensary, from a branch being established in the latter parish, was founded under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, November 27th, 1809. The Institution was opened on January 1st, 1810, on premises in Nile Street, contiguous to the Old Vicarage, or, as it was then called, the Parsonage House. In July 1811, it was removed to North Street, at the corner of Salmon Court, opposite Ship Street, where in November, 1812, was added the Sussex General Infirmary. Early in 1819, the joint establishments were removed into Middle Street, the premises now occupied by the Young Men’s Christian Association, the purchase of which property was completed the following year. The present noble building of the Institution,—which is entirely supported by voluntary contributions,—was built by Messrs. Cheesman,—Mr. Herbert Williams, architect,—and was completed and occupied in 1849, a committee of gentlemen, amongst whom Mr. Gavin E. Pocock, surgeon, was most zealous, having with untiring energy raised the means of entirely freeing the edifice from any debt.
At a meeting of the Governors and Subscribers of the Dispensary, at the Old Ship Tavern, on the 10th of February, 1813, it having been announced that the Right Honourable the Earl of Egremont, the Vice-President, had offered to contribute £1,000 towards the erection of a County Hospital, the building of that Institution for the reception of sixty patients was determined upon, and contributions from other noblemen and gentlemen to the extent of another £1,000 were at once made. It was not, however, till the 11th of December, 1824, that the erection of the building was fully determined upon; and then the subscription of the noble Earl amounted to £2,000—afterwards increased to £3,000,—and that of Thomas Read Kemp, Esq., £1,000 and the ground whereon the building stands. The foundation stone of the main building was laid on the 16th of March, 1826, by the Earl of Egremont, Sir Charles Barry being the architect. The Adelaide wing, to the east, Mr. Herbert Williams, architect, and the Victoria wing to the west, Mr. William Hallett, architect, have since been added. The Institution is supported by legacies, benefactions, dividends of stocks, and general voluntary contributions.
The Sussex and Brighton Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye was formed at a public meeting of the inhabitants of Brighton and the vicinity, held at the Bedford Hotel, August 27th, 1832, Dr. Jenks being the physician, and Mr. (now Dr.) Pickford and Mr. Seabrook, the surgeons. On the 12th of January, 1837, a resolution was passed by the Governors of the Institution that severe cases and those for operation should have admission into the house, then in Boyce’s Street.
The first stone of the present building, in the Queen’s Road, was laid on the 29th of June, 1846, by the Right Reverend Father in God, Ashurst Turner, Lord Bishop of Chichester, from a design after the temple of Theseus, from plans and specifications prepared by Mr. Thomas Cooper, architect, the builders being Messrs. Wisden and Anscombe. The cost of the site was £480, and of the structure £1,273 7s., and the business of the Institution was transferred from Boyce’s Street to the new building on the 10th of November, 1846. At the annual meeting of the Governors, on the 14th of January, 1847, resolutions were passed:—
That the Silver Trowel, with which was laid, 29th June, 1846, by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, the first stone of the building, erected for the purposes of the Charity, be presented to
James H. Pickford. Esq., M.D., M.R.I.A.
In acknowledgment of his successful efforts as the original promoter of the Charity, of his unceasing exertions for the general interests of the Institution, and in testimony of his talent and ability as a Medical Officer.
That the foregoing resolution be engraved on the trowel.
Dr. Pickford was, on the resignation of Dr. Jenks, appointed physician, April 4th, 1853, and Mr. George Lowdell was then elected surgeon. Upon the resignation of Dr. Pickford and Mr. Seabrook, January 27th, 1859, the former was elected a Vice-President, and the latter was appointed Consulting-Surgeon to the Institution, which is supported by voluntary contributions.
The Blind Asylum at Brighton had its origin in 1839, when Mr. Moon the eminent teacher and printer for the Blind, becoming deprived of his sight, devoted his attention to the learning of embossed reading; and such was his progress that he soon, with the benevolent assistance of a lady, advanced sufficiently to assist others in learning also, first at their own homes, and then in a small class at his residence. At length, the number becoming large, it was considered advisable to establish a daily public school for the Blind in Brighton; and the use of a portion of St. James’s Sunday School-room was obtained for that purpose. This School, in which were also a few Deaf and Dumb children, was opened on the 22nd of October, 1839. In the following Summer, a Committee of Ladies made an effort to raise the means for opening an Asylum to receive as many of the Blind and Deaf and Dumb of the number thus brought together, as were desirous of partaking of the benefits which such an Institution might afford. In the Summer of 1841, it was deemed expedient to separate the Blind from the Deaf and Dumb, which latter were retained in the Institution, but the Blind pupils were re-formed into a daily school.