51 and 53, The Drive

A pair of semi-detached houses at 51 and 53 The Drive, Hove, built in the early 1880s and later altered in the mid to late 20th century. They were constructed by William Willett and now consist of flats. The houses are built of yellow stock brick, with extensive use of moulded and incised brickwork for cornices, aprons, string courses, and lintels. The basement is rendered, and the roofs are hipped slate, covered with bitumen. The houses occupy a corner site. The principal elevation of number 53 faces The Drive, featuring a double-fronted design, and returns to Eaton Road with number 51. The main elevation is two storeys plus an attic over a basement, with a 1:3:1:3 bay arrangement. It incorporates full-height canted bays, sash windows without glazing bars within segmental-headed openings, cills carried on shaped brackets, and a hipped roof projecting into the attic storey. Dormers have rebuilt returns with glazed panels. A round-arched entrance, with ornate capitals on slender shafts in arrises, features a recessed panel door with renewed lights, fanlight, and sidelights. The left return elevation has a 2:1:1 bay arrangement with similar fenestration, a full-height canted bay on the right, and a hipped entrance bay projecting into the attic storey. Applied pilasters are present, and stairway windows cut into a moulded string. The entrance is similar to that of number 53, approached by a steep flight of steps. The buildings are part of a group of estate houses in The Drive and appear in the Hove Street Directory from 1884.