ghost-of projects presents: The Kemp Town Railway

Cox’s Pill Factory.


This beautiful building stood on part of the Sainsburys site and was demolished in the early 1980’s when the horrible Vogue Gyratory was built. The clock in the centre of the facade is now part of the Sainsburys frontage and can be seen on the tower at the left hand end of the building in the present day.


 


Arthur Hawker Cox & Company started life in small premises at 32 Ship Street, Brighton. Arthur was best known for patenting a 'pearl' coating for the pills that he made and patented the idea in 1854, but was, surprisingly, less well known as a prominent entrepreneur and councillor for Brighton, serving a term as mayor for a short time, during which he officially opened Preston Park.



 By 1871, the company had divided into two distinct divisions: retail and production. The production premises were initially located at 10A St. Martin's Place and by 1903 had become incorporated as Arthur H Cox & Company Limited, following Arthur's passing that year. 


The company relocated to the large factory premises seen throughout this page in 1910, alongside offices in D'aubigny Road in 1933 and continued trading from the Upper Lewes Road site until 1971, when the business was moved wholesale to Barnstaple in Devon and the Brighton Factory was sadly demolished. This was because it was seen as being beneficial that it would obtain grants from the government due to Barnstaple being a deprived area at the time! 


Cox Continental, as it became in 1966, was bought by Alpharma Inc. in 1998, but continues to exist up to the present day.


It may help you to figure out where this building was, by having a modern day view of the location available.
Clicking on the button seen above will allow you to bring up a modern view of this location
in a new window within your browser.

 


 

ABOVE: This photo shows Cox's Pill Factory in 1971. This is a particularly interesting photo as it shows (and confirms) the original layout of the junction of Lewes and Upper Lewes Road, prior to the construction of the Vogue Gyratory. In my opinion the way the road here is laid out in is its ideal scenario. I am not a fan of the Vogue Gyratory; it is needlessly over-complicated and in rush hour traffic, can be quite dangerous.

Note that the chimneys have been removed at some stage of the proceedings, although thus far I have not been able to determine when. Note also that between this and the next photo, there are changes to the masonry above the top windows denoting the building's purpose. In the 1971 view, the masonry is plain.


 

ABOVE: This photo shows Coxes Pill Factory in 1894. Note the fabulous wall at the frontage of the site's perimeter. The pavement is very narrow in this picture which is probably why the wall was removed. Like the chimneys, I cannot date the wall's removal. This photo is owned by the Regency Society and is part of the James Gray Collection.

 

ABOVE: Cox’s Pill factory stood on part of the Sainsburys site and was demolished in the early 80’s. The clock in the centre of the facade is now part of the Sainsburys frontage. Photo by Mr. Chris Horlock.

  

ABOVE: Fish eye view of Cox’s Pill Factory and the Lewes Road Viaduct looking toward D’Aubigny and Princes Roads.







ABOVE: This photo shows Cox's Pill Factory on the day of its closure which was on 15th July 1979. This photo is owned by the inimitable Leslie Whitcomb.





ABOVE: This photo shows Cox's Pill Factory, possibly in 1976. The edge of the building can be seen on the right of the photo, taken from the Lewes Road Station end of the Viaduct (or the top of the Sainsburys escalators in the present day). This photo is from the collection of Steve French, with kind permission.







ABOVE: A slightly different angle, this photo shows the offices at the rear of the Cox's site next to D'Aubigny Road. The entire premises were gradually run down over the course of the 1970's following the company's relocation to Barnstaple in 1971, and the site was finally demolished to make way for Lewes Road Sainsburys in around 1983. This photo is owned by the Sainsbury Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE





ABOVE: This fantastic photo shows the view looking back along the roof of Cox's, looking towards what is now The Vogue Gyratory in the present day. The green building which is framed by the arch of The Lewes Road Viaduct (which can be seen in the course of demolition here) in the distance is the rear of No 93 Upper Lewes Road, which is opposite the entrances and bus stops of Lewes Road Sainsburys. No 93 still stands today and serves as a useful waypoint for figuring out the angles of old photos in relation to the present day. I can only imagine how it must have been to have this in the back garden! As with the photo seen above, this image is owned by the Sainsbury Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE







ABOVE: This lovely photo was sent to me by Julie Harding and shows her late father, Bill Hawkes, standing on The Viaduct with Cox's facade in the background to his left. This is quite an unusual angle as, being elevated, it shows a lot of the site of Cox's that would not have been visible from street level. It is a huge site and it is quite easy to get lost in the Sainsburys which stands on this spot in the present day along with a large car park. The curve of the northern end of Roundhill Crescent can just about be seen, top left of the photo.

Bill would be standing at the entrance to the travellators which lead up to the store in the present day, as the facade of Cox's was set back beyond what is the frontage of Sainsburys car park by approximately 30ft.

I am deeply honoured that Bill's daughter Julie sent me this picture and I am very pleased to be able to add a personal element to this page. Julie also informs me that Bill was a prolific darts player and was a regular for the Hove  Civil Service Darts Team.





ABOVE: This photo shows a wider aspect of the frontage of the factory at the junction of Lewes Road and Upper Lewes Road joining on the left of the photo. The western pier of the main arch over Lewes Road is seen here on the right of the photo: number 93 Lewes Road (which still exists today at the southern end of the Vogue Gyratory) would stand to the right of the pier in this photo, which is part of the Sainsburys Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE .
















ABOVE: This photo shows a close shot of the frontage of the factory. This photo shows the frontage looking due south-west, parallel with Upper Lewes Road looking towards the junction with Roundhill Crescent, which would be just off the right of the photo. It is part of the Sainsburys Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE .
















ABOVE: This photo shows a close shot of the frontage of the factory. This photo shows the frontage looking due north-east, towards what is now the Vogue Gyratory and Sainsburys, which would be just off the right of the photo. It is part of the Sainsburys Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE .






ABOVE: This photo shows a very sad view of the frontage of the factory in the course of demolition some time in 1982 or 1983, as seen from the western end of the Lewes Road Viaduct. This photo shows the frontage looking due south-west, along Upper Lewes Road. It is part of the Sainsburys Archive and can be seen in its original context HERE .
 
free templates