52 Ancestors 2026 Week 12 - An Address with a Story
108 Hythe Road
Some houses are just buildings. Others become characters in our family story — silent witnesses to births, celebrations, and the everyday rhythms of life. For my family, 108 Hythe Road is one of those places.
Affectionately known as “One‑O‑Eight,” the house homed the Wadey family for seventy‑six years, spanning two generations and creating memories for a third. It was a constant presence — a place of stability, laughter, and everyday life. But the story of 108 Hythe Road begins long before Stephen and Clara Wadey ever stepped through its doorway.
🗺️ Hythe Road Before the Wadeys: A Street is Born (1899–1904)
At the turn of the 20th century, Brighton was expanding rapidly. The once semi‑rural Preston area was being transformed into a grid of new streets to house the town’s growing working population
.
On 20 July 1899, plans were submitted for the construction of houses numbered 78–134 Hythe Road. These were not the typical two‑up, two‑down cottages found elsewhere in Brighton. The southern side of Hythe Road was built over three floors — a basement level, a street‑level ground floor, and an upper floor — with three rooms on each level.
This vertical layout made the houses surprisingly spacious for a working‑class terrace:
This design made the house adaptable — a quality that would prove essential for the large family who eventually made it their home.
👥 The First Residents of 108 Hythe Road
Ben Heath — Chimney Sweep (1911–1914)
The earliest known resident was Ben Heath, a chimney sweep. In a town heated entirely by coal, sweeps were essential tradesmen.
George Heath — Cartman (1915–1917, 1920–1924)
Ben’s brother George followed him into the house. A cartman, he delivered coal, timber, groceries, or building materials — a physically demanding job that kept Brighton running. George died in 1924, and probate confirms 108 Hythe Road as his final address.
Mrs Painter (1917)
A brief, mysterious entry — possibly a lodger or temporary tenant during the housing shortages of WWI.
Mrs Heath (1918–1925)
Likely a relative of Ben and George. She appears in directories until 1925, just before the Wadeys arrive.
🧱 1925: A New Chapter — Stephen and Clara Wadey
On 26 August 1925, Stephen Wadey purchased 108 Hythe Road. This was a significant moment: home ownership was still rare among working families in the 1920s. Buying a house meant stability, pride, and a future for their growing family.
By 1926, the street directory lists:
Mrs Heath & Stephen Wadey
This suggests Mrs Heath boarded with them until around 1931, when Stephen is listed alone as head of household.
👨👩👧👦 Life at One‑O‑Eight: The Wadey Years (1925–2001)
With three full floors and nine rooms, the house was perfectly suited to a large family. Stephen and Clara raised seven children here — four boys and three girls — and every level of the house played its part.
The basement was warm with cooking and washing. The ground floor was alive with visitors, neighbours, and noise. The upstairs rooms were packed with beds, blankets, and children sharing space.
For seventy‑six years, 108 Hythe Road was:
a home
a meeting place
a keeper of stories
a witness to births, marriages, and farewells
Few addresses stay in one family for that long. It speaks to the Wadeys’ roots, resilience, and connection, something that is still very true today.
🧡 Personal Memories of 108 Hythe Road (Late 1960s)
My own memories of One-O-Eight come from the late 1960s and 1970's, when my uncle was living there. My Grandfather died before I was born, my grandmother died when I was two, unfortunately I have no memory of her being so young. Even as a child, the house felt like a maze — full of corners, steps, and unexpected rooms.
The kitchen was at the back of the house on the basement level, overlooking a small garden. I remember going with my Mum on a Saturdays to visit, (we lived about a 20 minute walk away) and picking up cream slices from the coop on the corner of Preston Drove. Typical I remember the food! I also remember a lot of roses, my Uncle Vic had green fingers when it came to roses.
A few steps up from the kitchen brought you to the dining room, again my memories of this room are food, cooked breakfasts when we had stayed overnight! Then further forward to the front sitting room. From that room you could watch people’s legs walk by on the pavement above — a strange and magical sight when you’re small.
On the street‑level floor, at the top of the stairs and towards the back, was the bathroom. A few more steps up led to the front of the house, where there was a bedroom/workroom and a second sitting room with a record player in a wooden cabinet. That room overlooked the road and felt like a special place — quieter, more grown‑up.
Although we slept over occasionally when being babysat, I have only the faintest recollections of the bedrooms “at the top of the house,” as Mum used to call them. They were part of the mystery of One‑O‑Eight — rooms that belonged to the older generation, tucked away at the very top of the tall, narrow house.
Best time was when my Aunts and Uncles who, by this time were scattered all over the country came to visit Brighton. Because of the size of the house aunts, uncles and cousins would stay at 108 and it was an absolute treat the visit while they were all staying. This would lead to big family picnics, another wonderful memory.
Those memories — the steps, the sounds, the odd angles of the rooms — are woven into my childhood. The house was not just a house but a family home.
📰 A Curious Footnote: Mrs B. Shepherd and the Miracle Cream
A delightful oddity emerged during earlier research — a newspaper advert featuring a Mrs B. Shepherd of 108 Hythe Road endorsing a “miracle cream.”
No record shows she ever lived there.
This was common during the 1920s–30s, when advertisers often invented “local testimonials” to make products seem trustworthy. It adds a charming layer of mystery to the house’s history.
✨ Why 108 Hythe Road Matters
Because it wasn’t just a house.
It was:
a witness to Brighton’s growing expansion
a home to chimney sweeps, cartmen, widows, and working families
a place to call home for the Wadeys
a centre of family memories over generations
Comments
Post a Comment