Public transport came in all shapes and sizes a century ago in Brighton and Hove. There were still many buses pulled along by horses but their dominance during the late 19th century was now under threat.

Since 1901, there had been electric trams, run by Brighton Corporation, providing a good service along most of the resort’s main streets.

There was also a competitive rail network from Brighton Station serving places east, north and west on lines first started in 1840.

Brighton also boasted innovative hybrid petrol and electric buses which ran successfully for a few years and a growing number of motor buses.

The main bus company was Brighton, Hove and Preston United Omnibus Co Ltd, formed in 1884 from many horse bus operators and not afraid to try new technology.

But the outbreak of war in 1914 meant that 12 of its newest chassis were requisitioned and the company ran into financial trouble.

This prompted Thomas Tilling, one of the main London operators, to start services in Brighton and in 1916, the old company sold out to them.

Founded by Thomas Tilling in 1847, the company continued to prosper after his death in 1893, when operated by other members of his family.

It was involved in cutthroat competition in the capital until the main operators came to a deal, known as the pool, under which routes were shared out.

Tilling looked to the provinces for expansion and Brighton, the largest resort in Britain, lay invitingly to the south.

It was successful right from the start, providing a good frequent service and modernising all the time. Glass windscreens had been fitted to the vehicles by 1925 to protect the drivers. A much bigger task, which took longer, was to replace solid tyres with pneumatic ones.

Covered tops were very much welcomed by passengers when they started to appear in the 1920s. The buses were also bigger and much more reliable.

There was fierce competition in the provincial bus industry but Tilling fared well in Brighton and Hove, seeing off a rival firm called Sussex Motors.

In the 1930s there were moves to co-ordinate public transport all over the country. Tilling, which had largely run its Brighton operation from London, decided to set up a separate company with more local input.

This bus company, known as Brighton, Hove and District, still runs the majority of services in the city today, although the Tilling name has long since disappeared.

The Brighton trams went in 1939 and trolleybuses in 1961. Buses were run under a shared agreement from this time but it ended with privatisation more than 20 years later. The history of this operation is being compiled in several volumes by The Southdown Enthusiasts Club.

Their first volume, covering the Tilling years from 1914 to 1921, gives a complete fleet history. It is by John Roberts and Chris Warren.

It can be bought at City Books in Western Road, Hove for £7 or direct from the Club (at S.E.C. Postal Sales, 6 Valebridge Drive, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0RW, with 85p postage per copy).

  • The photograph above is of the very first motor passenger vehicle used locally by Thomas Tilling. This was a 22-seat charabanc which arrived in the town in May 1914 and replaced a horse-drawn vehicle. Shown at the bottom of Grand Avenue in Hove a few years later, the vehicle is carrying Indian troops. These passengers were presumably convalescing after having been treated for their injuries at the Royal Pavilion, Grammar School and other local buildings during the conflict.