Bohemia Brisco
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    • Briscos of Crofton
    • Court cases & wealth. >
      • The Citizen (Carlisle) 1829
      • Davis v Brisco 1830 Dec
      • King v Lady Brisco 1833 June
      • Head v Brisco 1833 June
      • Mary Taylor V Wastel Brisco
    • Briscos of Sussex >
      • Hylton Ralph Brisco >
        • Sawyer v Brisco Hylton R
      • Arthur Brisco
      • Wastel Brisco of Southcote >
        • William Hickie- Assault young boy.
        • Patrick O Connor- Assault of Tenant
        • Harriet May- Assault Age 12yrs
        • William Parker- Assault Writ Server
        • Baille Hamilton v Brisco
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        • Roman Bath The Folly of HBC
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  • Henry Ward
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    • PROW HAS145 Holmhurst.
Bohemia Roman Bath
On the 18th March 2022 the Hastings Planners announced that the applicant HBC had withdrawn HS/LB/20/00805 see  Roman Bath.​


​Bohemia Estate - Where open space threatened by housing developments.

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I
n 2015 proposals supported by Hastings Borough Council will further erode the open space of the Bohemia Estate forever. See the Travelodge & Register offices pages for the latest informaion in a town where development is more important than open space. A planning application has already been approved for new homes at Horntye cricket. The Hastings Borough Plan published for consultation in January 2020 now confirms that Horntye Cricket Ground,Summerfields Wood off Bohemia Road and the Oval are all chosen for housing developments. 

Bohemia Estate & Summerfields Woods.

Bohemia Mansion,Summerfields House
Bohemia Mansion viewed from the south.
Hastings was the country home of some of the Brisco family for most of the 19th century. As well as houses in London they also had homes by the seaside. Musgrave Brisco one time MP for Sussex had a large estate at Coghurst to the East of Hastings and Wastel Brisco was at Bohemia House in an elevated situation above the town at Bohemia.


These pages give information on the activities of the Brisco family and the structures they built as part of improvements to their estates including the final use of Bohemia  House as a Hastings branch of the Summerfields school based in Oxford.

After Wastel Brisco occupied Bohemia Mansion he embarked on a number of improvements to the estate including the construction of an Ice House across the drive from the kitchen of the house.  Within the grounds up from the ornamental ponds a natural spring was incorporated into a Roman Bath.  The south drive with gate house passed in front of  the Walled Garden. The North Gate House was situated just south of the ESFRS (Fire Station).

A Walled Garden with a 12' high wall surrounding it was created and excavated material from the garden created a mound that was landscaped and laid out with paths that would have offered an elevated viewing area now obscured by trees.  After many years of neglect this area was recently cleared of undergrowth to reveal long lost paths and  local artist in wood Joc Hare was engaged to create wooden seats and railings and this feature is now known as Prospect Mound.


At the end of the 19th century when the Bohemia estate ceased to be used by the Brisco family it was leased as a branch of  Summerfields School from Oxford who used it up to the 1960s. For a short while it was used as a part of Woodlands School.

Hastings Borough Council acquired the Bohemia Estate in order to develop one of their grand regeneration plans developed by Arthur Swift  (Chartered Architects and Planning Consultants) and  in 1972 chose to demolish the mansion and when their over optimistic plans failed to materialise and decided to place single floor buildings on the footprint of the old house for  over over forty years now recently demolished and replaced by Bohemy Fields housing.


Summerfields wood as the area is now known has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and the Victorian Roman Bath, Ice House and Walled Garden remain as features of the area that has a Friends of Summerfields Wood (FOSW) volunteer group who work  with the Hastings Borough Council Rangers on periodic maintenance.

On this website there are also pages that consider the masterplan commissioned by Hastings Borough Council produced by Arthur Swift & Partners as well as more recent planning permissions for homes at Horntye and proposals to build homes on the site of the Register office and to demolish and rebuild the Travelodge Hotel and build upon existing open space that falls outside the Local Nature Reserve.

With the Borough Council who are unable to spend any money to care for the the former Brisco Estate and continuing pressures for the Council to sell their assets to balance the books this site will also explore what the future holds for  the Brisco Estate  and  Local Nature Reserve.

Type 1 Ice House , Ice House Dome  door open.
The Bohemia Type 1 Ice House on a Heritage Open Day
Wooden art feature with water
The Hendley Bequest in Summerfields Woods
Picture
Leaping Fish Sculpture at Summerfields pond By Leigh Dyer
Victorian Mock Roman Bath with pool
The Victorian Roman Bath,created as part of Brisco improvements. NOW WITH METAL FENCES & BARRIERS DUE TO THE H&S CONCERNS BY HBC.
Wooden seating at top of the hill.
Top of Prospect Mound Summerfields Wood NOW DESTROYED BY HBC DUE TO THEIR HEALTH & SAFETY CONCERNS.
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