Viva Brighton Issue #77 July 2019

BITS AND PUBS
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PUB: THE CONNAUGHT INN
If you look at early pictures of
the Connaught Inn, you can
see that when it was built, in
1880, it was right on the edge
of the city. Aldrington was still
a twinkle in some property
developer’s eye, and the area
would have had a real rural
feel, all dirt road, and cow
sheds, and allotments.
The pub, originally a hotel,
was named after Prince Arthur,
the Duke of Connaught, whose
1879 wedding to Princess
Louise Margaret of Prussia had
caught the public imagination.
Its land included a field,
which was large enough, I’ve
been informed, to host visiting
circuses: you can see pictures,
in the James Gray collection,
of a flamboyant circus caravan
parading up Hove Street.
You still get a feel of the rural
nature of the site when you
walk through the pub’s interior
into its south-facing garden, a
two-tiered affair which – rare
for a city boozer – has a lawn,
and colourful flower beds, and
an apple tree. They’ve done
it up since I last visited a few
years back, with new tables
and little wooden huts. It looks
rather like a playground, for
beer-drinking adults.
I choose to go on June 1st, billed
to be the hottest day of the
year so far, with some friends,
for a Saturday afternoon lunch,
and a few pints. Worried
about not getting a table in
the garden, I frog-march my
wife down there by 12.15, a
full hour before the others are
due to arrive. I needn’t have
worried, it turns out, there is
ample space for everyone.
And, I must say, it’s a pleasure
just sitting there, drinking
Shipyard APA, soaking up the
sun, and totting up the relative
merits of the two dishes I’m
torn between: plaice with
capers and new potatoes, from
the specials board, or pan-fried
monkfish on a bed of mash,
from the menu.
I go for the latter, for the
record, when the others arrive,
and it’s delicious. My American
friend David, true to form, chooses
a simple burger, because
he views the chef’s handling of
the basics to be a true test of
their worth. Pleased with its
big flavour, and the no-frills
nature of its accoutrements, he
gives it a big thumbs up.
I later learn they hang their
own beef, for 28 days, on
site. Which seems apt, given
the establishment’s rural
beginnings. If you’re after a
sunny, leafy pub garden for an
escape-the-city-bustle lunch
party, look no further.
Alex Leith
48 Hove Street
Illustration by Jay Collins
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