Patcham

The area has good schools, making it ideal for young families. There are plenty of local shops, reliable bus services and easy access to the city centre, and the area is just off the A23 and the A27, making it a perfect base for anyone who has to travel.

Although to the newcomer Patcham looks like mid-20th century development, the suburb does have a long history.

When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, Patcham, which had a population of more than 1,000 people, was one of the largest settlements in Sussex.

And long before the Prince Regent first visited Brighton in September 1783, Patcham had its own royal visitor. King Edward I made an overnight stop in the village during September 1302, as he made his way from Beeding to Lewes.

The old village is now a conservation area centred around Church Hill and Old London Road. Many of the buildings are flint-faced, a traditional Sussex building material.

The Patcham we know today was developed mainly during the 20th century. Its boundaries are rather vague and many people include parts of Hollingbury and Withdean when referring to Patcham.

The area known as Ladies Mile was a 1930s development by George Ferguson, a man who made his money on speculative developments in London and Lancing. Mr Ferguson lived in the White House in Ladies Mile Road while the estate was built. Building plots were sold for £5 and finished houses fetched a princely sum of £550.

In 1934 a four-bedroom house with a garage would have set you back £795 cash or a £75 deposit and the remaining £720 paid off over 25 years.

The Patcham Clock Tower was built at the junction of Mackie Avenue and Vale Avenue to advertise the new estate which was built on the garden city lines of light, air, wide roads, avenues of trees, lawned gardens and shops. The homes were so popular that other developments sprang up around the Ladies Mile Estate, making Patcham a thriving community.

Hollingbury was first settled in the Iron Age and there are the remains of an ancient fort on Hollingbury Hill but it is better known for its golf course, business park and for being the largest post-war development of family homes in Brighton. Most of the roads are wide and tree-lined and the houses have good-sized gardens.

The main shops for this area are in the old village of Patcham where there is a Co-op but there are several parades of local shops throughout the area.

One of Patcham’s more unusual monuments is the Chattri, a memorial to the Indian soldiers who died at the Royal Pavilion when it was used as a hospital in the First World War.

The Peace Garden includes a Doric temple and a Tuscan pergola which were bought at the Wembley Exhibition of 1924.

Patcham Place on London Road is a Grade II listed mansion dating back to 1558. The house is now used as a youth hostel.