Colourful progress at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Colourful progress at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

I am currently documenting the 200-year-old Brighton Dome Corn Exchange where a major refurbishment is under way. I make regular visits with my camera, photographing both the building process and the people working there. It is always a pleasure to find interesting colours on site.

In fact, construction areas are often filled with unexpected colour. It made my day to spot this geometric pattern of yellow, pink, red, blue, brown and grey. More photos from this project can be found here.

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Southover Grange is open

Southover Grange is open

The renovation of Southover Grange is complete and awaiting its first event. It looks beautiful and glamorous and I envy the couples who will be using it to celebrate their weddings. I began documenting the restoration of this Tudor manor in the centre of Lewes as the builders were moving in and returned to the site several times over the following 12 months. It is a rambling house with an interesting history and an important role in the fabric of the town. This was the registry office for many years (and is now again) so it was a place of weddings and the recording of births and deaths.

One of the most significant aspects of this project for me was how my photographs triggered memories that people felt compelled to share. I heard from numerous residents about their personal connections to the house, including several whose parents were caretakers and for whom the upstairs flat was home. A couple of registrars also came forward with anecdotes about years of working at the Grange and the countless weddings they performed. I like that a building can hold so many positive associations for a community and that my photographs have the potential to bring them to life. My exhibit of this project is still showing at Pelham House in Lewes until the 23 May. All my Southover Grange photographs can be found here.

Raking shadows at the Depot

Raking shadows at the Depot

So often my visits to the Depot Cinema are in brilliant sunshine and this week’s shoot was no exception. The warm spring sun was streaming into the building, casting raking shadows across the floor of the new cinema restaurant. What with the blue protective film still on the windows, the large Xs marked in tape, the rectangular blocks of floor

covering and the one lone builder, the scene was awash with angular shadows and light. More photos from this shoot can be found here. For almost two years I have been documenting the refurbishment of this old brewery depot in the centre of Lewes as it becomes a new community cinema. My client uses the photos to build on the excitement of the local residents and film buffs.

Southover Grange exhibit

Southover Grange exhibit

This is one of a selection of my Southover Grange photographs currently on display at Pelham House. I have been documenting the Tudor manor in the centre of Lewes over the past nine months as it undergoes renovations. The owners, East Sussex County Council, use these photographs to promote their work on the building. For years this was the registry office and the site of many local celebrations. After the current refurbishment it will re-open as a wedding venue once again.

The house was built in the 1570s using stones taken from the ruins of the nearby Lewes Priory, destroyed under Cromwell 35 years earlier (see my blog post here). When I took this photo the plaster had been temporarily stripped away to reveal large pieces of Priory limestone, and even sections of circular columns.

A few weeks after this shot was taken, the wall was covered with plaster and paint, hiding once again the building blocks of the house. This is why I like my job. These glimpses of a building’s past are often fleeting. I feel lucky to catch them when I can.

Ancient window

Ancient window

I am back in the saddle again after my summer break. This week’s shot comes from Southover Grange, where I am documenting the renovation of an Elizabethan Manor with a fascinating history, situated in the centre of Lewes. One past incarnation for the building was that of registry office and at the end of this restoration it will rise again as a wonderful wedding venue.

Southover Grange is owned by the East Sussex County Council. They have hired me to document the renovations of this well-loved building, using my photographs to promote the project and keep residents informed about the progress that is being made.

If you have a workplace, building project or event that you are thinking of photographing, please get in touch.

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