This is Camden Terrace, one of the twittens in Brighton. 'Twitten' is an old dialect word, used in both East and West Sussex, for a path or alleyway, which is still in common use. There are a number of twittens in Brighton and in the festival time (May) you can go on a historical walk exploring them.
Most of the houses in Camden Terrace were built around 1830/1840ish for the workers on the railway. The properties are all higgledy-piggledy: a variety of plot sizes, different orientation, some detached and some not.
Very unique and very attractive.
Elsewhere in the UK, such alleyways are termed twitchells (north-west Essex, east Hertfordshire and Nottingham), chares (north-east England), ginnels (northern England), opes (Plymouth), jiggers (Liverpool) and snickelways (York).
In the Netherlands tussen has a similar meaning.
Thanks to Wiki for the info!
Those twittens look really cosy. Will remember that next time in the UK.
ReplyDeleteI think snickelways has to be my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI like this very much. I bet the houses are each worth a mint, nowadays. I love all these words from various areas. Here in Australia, all we use is alleyway.
ReplyDeleteCommunity twitten maps for the Preston and Patcham areas of Brighton are being planned at the moment - if you would be interested in a map - please register your interest on email: twitten-proejct@resourcefutures.co.uk
ReplyDelete