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BRIDGE STREET - C1960

Southdown Bus

By Laurie Stonehouse

This fantastic photograph taken in Bridge Street many years ago shows the No 12 Southdown bus destined for Eastbourne. Outside the old Southdown ticket office there are many special offers on display. I remember these premises being a record shop through the 1970's, and you can now have yourself tattooed here! The proprietors of the record shop emigrated to Australia, I wonder if they are reading these pages posted on this site.

The green bus appears to be boarding passengers, someone with a white top is followed by a gentleman with a newspaper under his arm, whilst another man sits upstairs at the front probably looking down at the photographer.

Out of view behind the bus were some of the original historic buildings of Newhaven, these included the Drill Hall and the Co-Op store, whilst in view beyond the double decker bus is the Old Mill Cafe. This tall structure was painted a very pale blue in the 1960's, sadly these buildings were demolished in 1987 to make way for Bridge Court. The next picture shows Bridge Street from the other direction about ten years later, the Labour Club is in view followed by the tall old mill building then the Co-Op finishing with the Drill Hall.

I've included interesting sections of this photograph because it's such a great picture.

Southdown Bus in Bridge Street - C1960

Private collection of M George

Southdown Bus stop and ticket office - C1960

Edited from the top photo

Southdown Advertisment - c1950

Old Mill Cafe - C1960

Edited from the top photo

Passenger on the bus - C1960

Edited from the top photo

Bridge Street - C1970

Ken Lynch

Old Southdown Ticket office - 2008

Laurie Stonehouse

This page was added by Laurie Stonehouse on 06/05/2009.

Comments about this page

Nice photos. I notice that the bus was "on hire to Southdown". There is a company crest on the side of the bus, possibly Eastbourne buses? The Mill cafe were doing a very nice roast chicken dinner for 3/6d which would go down well now for that price.

By Richard Beckett
On 08/05/2009

Great photos, full of interest.

DA is the suffix for a Wolverhampton number plate, so this bus may be a long way from home! Can't make out the crest clearly but it's not Eastbourne Corporation.

I can clearly remember the record shop, as I bought some of my first singles and LPs there! However I'd forgotten about it being the Southdown office until now.

By Andy Gilbert
On 08/05/2009

It is indeed a great picture of Bridge St, in the good old days. The bus is in fact a new model on loan to Southdown to try out. In this era Southdown were buying Leylands. Other manufacturers such as "GUY" in this instance would loan a new model out to the company to try to break into Leylands monopoly with Southdown. If my memory serves me right this particular one was either Yellow or Orange. I spent a few happy years with Southdown around this time up until 1967 when I emigrated to Australia

By Jim Still
On 08/05/2009

The bus is actually not a Southdown owned bus though it is running on a Southdown route (12). This is a Guy Wulfrunian built in 1961 and owned by County Motors in the West Riding of Yorkshire! You can see a sticker in the windscreen of the blown up section indicating that it is on hire to Southdown. County Motors was a BET owned company apparently, as was Southdown at that time but Southdown mostly used Leyland buses.

By John Quinton
On 08/05/2009

I have found out from Wikipedia that the bus was actually built in June 1960 as a demonstrator and apparently was painted in the colours of Wolverhampton Wanderers, yellow and black - Guy Motors was located in Wolverhampton. It must have then been sold to County Motors in the following year. It was scrapped for parts in 1963 so had a very short life.

By John Quinton
On 10/05/2009

This bus is actually a demonstrator that was loaned to several operators for evaluation and was as previously noted Orange? Yellow and Black. It never ran for County Motors in Yorkshire. County Motors actually operated two Guy Wulfrunians registrations UCX 275 and UCX 276. However they were sold on to West Riding Automobile Co of Wakefield (who partly owned County Motors so it could be argued they were transferred not sold) after a couple of years. UCX 275 survives today in preservation in the Green and White livery of West Riding. A second West Riding Wulfrunian is also under restoration at Dewsbuury Bus Museum in Yorkshire. West Riding also acquired the bus in this photograph and used it for spares so it never actually ran in West Riding service before being scrapped.

By Markyb
On 08/10/2010