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GILBERT FAMILY PROPERTIES & INVESTMENTS

When David Gilbert (1825-1916) moved to Eastbourne with his new wife Charlotte in 1855 to start a bakery business in Bourne Street, there is no suggestion that they had much money between them. Possibly he and his brother William had inherited some benefit from the sale of the family farm at Waldron and Little London around 1847, but we have no evidence of that. However David had established the business at the perfect time, when Eastbourne was undergoing massive growth, and by the time the bakery building was completely rebuilt and expanded in 1892-93, the family had done very well indeed.

David senior retired around that time and handed over the bakery to his son David Gilbert (1861-1902). Sadly David junior died in 1902 and his father had to come out of retirement to help run the bakery temporarily again, but it was during that period at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th, that the family assembled a substantial portfolio of properties and other investments, some of which were to keep providing an income for more than 50 years. So this is a list of the various assets (acquired as investments and, apart from the bakery itself, excluding properties that the family lived in), using whatever sources still remain in family records, arranged in approximate order of acquisition.

PROPERTIES OWNED (AS INVESTMENTS) BY THE GILBERT FAMILY

GILBERT'S BAKERY, 52 SEASIDE ROAD, EASTBOURNE; leased by David Gilbert (1825-1916) in 1855, and bought outright by him in 1880. Demolished and completely rebuilt as "Seaside Buildings" in 1892 (see below).

Gilbert's Bakery, Eastbourne

2, 4 & 6 SEA SIDE, EASTBOURNE; adjoining Gilbert's Bakery. Bought by David Gilbert (1825-1916) by auction in 1880, described as follows.
No.2 Sea Side; Convenient shop and dwelling house. Let to Mr Gosling (but partly in the occupation of Mr Coomber) at £16 per year.
No.4 Sea Side; The accommodation included; on the top floor - two attics, on the first floor - two rooms, on the ground floor - shop and kitchen. Let to Mrs Cox at £16 per year.
No.6 Sea Side; The same accommodation as No.4. Let to Mr Coomber (but in the occupation of Mrs Cox) at £16 per year.
No.2 appears to have been sold by the late 1890s but Nos.4 and 6 were still providing an income in 1897.
However when the Bakery was rebuilt in 1892-93 Nos.4 and 6 Seaside seem to have rebuilt with it so, although 6 Seaside was still earning rent for the family in 1947, it's not clear whether it was the same building that David had bought by auction in 1880.

52-68 CEYLON PLACE, EASTBOURNE; nine 3-storey terraced houses in Ceylon Place. David Gilbert senior acquired the land in 1886 and had the houses built thereafter. Three of them had been sold by 1899, but the remaining six were certainly still owned by David in 1915. The houses are still standing.

Houses in Ceylon Place and Pevensey Road, Eastbourne

91-101 PEVENSEY ROAD, EASTBOURNE; six 3-storey semi-detached houses backing onto the 9 terraced houses in Ceylon Place (see above) and built at the same time in 1886. All of the houses are mentioned in David's 1906 will (and 1915 codicil) as being properties still owned by him, and were still standing in 2022.

Houses in Ceylon Place and Pevensey Road, Eastbourne

SEASIDE BUILDINGS, EASTBOURNE; this was the name given to the large building built in 1892-93 to incorporate the expanded Gilbert's Bakery. It consisted of 51 & 52 Seaside Road, occupied by the bakery, No.53 (a separate shop), 4 and 6 Seaside (presumably not the same 4 & 6 Seaside that existed before). David's notes record that the building cost £3750 (bakery), £1800 (53 Seaside), £1500 (4 Seaside) and £1500 (6 Seaside), making a total of £8550.
In 1903 the goodwill of the business was acquired from David Gilbert junior's widow (Ellen) by Gilbert Benjamin Soddy (David Gilbert junior's nephew) with money borrowed from his mother Mary (David junior's sister), and the building was leased by Soddy. The business failed in the 1930s and the building remained empty. It was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1943 and was demolished in 1948.

1, 2, 3 & 4 MOUNTFIELD PLACE, EASTBOURNE; a large 3-storey property occupying the northern corner of the crossroads between Ceylon Place and Bourne Street, Eastbourne, later known as Mountfield House, 38 Ceylon Place, and now named Apple Lodge.
Acquired by David Gilbert (1825-1916) probably around 1896, and mentioned in his will of 1906 (and a codicil of 1915) to be left to Mary Soddy (nee Gilbert) (1857-1942), his daughter, which is where presumably it went when he died in 1916.

15, 17 & 19 BOURNE STREET, EASTBOURNE; adjoining 1, 2, 3 & 4 Mountfield Place (see above). Acquired by David Gilbert (1825-1916) probably around 1896, and (like Mountfield Place above) mentioned in his will of 1906 (and a codicil of 1915) to be left to Mary Soddy (nee Gilbert) (1857-1942), his daughter, which is where presumably it went when he died in 1916.

92 & 94 LATIMER ROAD, EASTBOURNE; owned by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 (had been bought for £855) and still owned by him in 1902.
92 & 94 Latimer Road were still earning rent in 1947 and possibly as late as 1955.

1 & 3 JUBILEE TERRACE, EASTBOURNE; Jubilee Terrace was the original name given to a row of six terraced 3-storey houses on the south side of Seaside between Redoubt Road and Hanover Road, and virtually opposite the present Kings Arms pub. In fact they were built on the site of a former Kings Arms Inn which was relocated to the other side of the road. The terrace (now unnamed but numbered 149 to 159 Seaside, odd numbers only) still stands.
In 1897 the occupant of No.1 was Sergeant Carrow, Medical Staff Corps, and in No.3 was Thomas Chesson, former superintendent of the Advent Christian Mission. My thanks to Gavin Whippy and Alan Smith for the historic information above.
Owned by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 (with a value of £1133 in 1897) and still owned by him in 1902. 1 & 3 Jubilee Terrace were still earning rent for the family in 1947.

1, 3 & 5 BOURNE STREET, EASTBOURNE; Owned by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 (with a recorded value of £2930) and still owned by him in 1902.
1 Bourne Street was still owned by the family in 1948. 5 Bourne Street was being referred to as "5 Bourne Street Gardens" by 1946, but was owned by the family. There is no mention of 3 Bourne Street by that time.

3 BEAMSLEY ROAD, EASTBOURNE; Owned by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 (had been bought for £425) but sold by him around April 1901.

41 & 43 WILTON ROAD, BEXHILL; Owned by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still owned by him in 1902. Named "Blairgowrie" and "Tramore" respectively.
41 & 43 Wilton Road were still earning rent for the family in 1947 and possibly as late as 1955.

"PORTSMOUTH PROPERTY"; This appears in the ledger of David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) as "Portsmouth property (legacy)" in 1900. David's brother William (1823-1874) had moved to the Portsmouth area around 1850 to work on the railway there. William married Ellen and they lived at 39 Green Road, Landport, Portsea, Hampshire. William died in 1874 and his widow died in 1899. They had no children. So I am pretty sure that the "Portsmouth Property" was 39 Green Road, Portsea that David had inherited from his brother's estate, as the date matches perfectly. David was still in possession of the property in 1902, recorded with a value of £364.

HARECOMBE ESTATE, WHITE HILL ROAD, CROWBOROUGH; In 1979 the title deeds to a plot of land in Crowborough turned up in family records. The covering documents explained that a Mr & Mrs Harman had deposited the deeds with the family solicitor in 1903 in exchange for a loan of £2,250 - i.e. a mortgage. There is no evidence that the Harmans ever repaid anything that was due, and by 1912 the family still therefore certainly owned the land (although Harman was by then a tenant on it). No records beyond 1912 have been found, but the fact that the family still held the deeds in 1993 would suggest that the Gilbert family presumably still owned the plot! By that time about 50 houses had been built on it. This was a mystery worth solving. Follow the link below for more details.

The Harecombe housing estate in Crowborough

SHARES OWNED BY THE GILBERT FAMILY

CASTLE HOTEL, HASTINGS; £300 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

EASTBOURNE GAS COMPANY; £535 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and this seems to have risen to £1712 by 1902.

EASTBOURNE SANITARY STEAM LAUNDRY; £300 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

METROPOLITAN RAILWAY, LONDON; £46 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

CRESCENS ROBINSON & Co, ATLAS PAPER WORKS, LONDON (Stationers); £450 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

HENRY DENNY & Co., WATERFORD (Meat producer, still in business); £240 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

BOVRIL; £100 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

THOMAS TILLING LTD, LONDON (transport company); £500 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897. Had risen to £691 by 1902.

COLONIAL RUBBER COMPANY, WEST AFRICA; £250 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897. Had reduced to £245 by 1902.

ROWNTREE & Co, YORK (confectioner); £250 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1897 and still current in 1902.

EASTBOURNE ARTISANS DWELLINGS Co.; £93 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1898 and still current in 1902.

SOUTHWARK & VAUXHALL WATER Co.; £5086 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1899. Had reduced to £4066 by 1902.

COAL YARD, EASTBOURNE; £70 held by David Gilbert junior (1861-1902) by 1899. Had risen to £756 by 1900, to £817 by 1901 and to £765 in 1902.