BACKGROUND Historic England has been asked to consider the King Alfred Leisure Centre, Kingsway, Hove, for listing.

Brighton and Hove City Council has received a prior approval application to demolish part of the building, and there are reports of stripping-out work currently being undertaken within the basement level.

The building was previously assessed and turned down for listing in 2016 (application reference 1433626). It is not in a conservation area and is not included on a local heritage list.

HISTORY AND DETAILS The King Alfred Leisure Centre, originally known as the Hove Marina, was first proposed in 1935. It was designed in 1937 by Tom Humble, Hove Borough Surveyor, and constructed between 1938 and 1939. The complex was constructed of reinforced concrete and brick.

The original layout comprised: a main saltwater swimming pool, 110ft long by 42ft wide, with a diving platform at the western end (in common with many facilities this date, the pool was capable of being floored over in the winter to serve as a dance/sports hall); a minor saltwater pool, 75ft long by 30ft wide, in the eastern wing; a restaurant in the western wing with maple and sycamore panelling and French windows opening out onto a sun terrace overlooking the sea; private baths located in the north part of the building comprising 24 second-class baths on the ground floor and 28 first-class baths on the first floor; and an underground car park with room for 450 cars, and which included underground bowling greens.

On 3 September 1939, in advance of its planned public opening in 1940, the building was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for the training of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers and renamed HMS King Alfred. It has been estimated that between 22,500 to 23,000 officers from the United Kingdom and Allied nations were trained here. HMS King Alfred closed in June 1946, and the building reopened to the public as the King Alfred Leisure Centre in August of the same year.

In 1960, a 10-pin bowling alley, the King Alfred Lanes, was installed within part of the basement car park. It is understood to be the first civilian bowling centre to be established outside London and the third in Britain. The bowling centre closed in 1989.

In the 1980s, it was found that the seawater baths and swimming pools were suffering from corrosion. Between 1980 and 1982, a new pool was constructed in a large extension on the south (sea-facing) side of the building, designed by Scott, Brownrigg and Turner of Guildford. The original pools were converted into sports halls, and the indoor bowls area was extended. In 1985 and 1986, water slides were added to the new pool. These were removed in 2009.

The original building to the north of the site comprises a two-storey range fronting onto Kingsway with a central three-storey entrance block, behind which is the range originally containing the main pool. This is flanked by lower side ranges containing the restaurant and, originally, the minor pool. The building is constructed of reinforced concrete and faced in brick with ashlar detailing. Some of the original windows have been replaced with multi-casements with thicker frames, including the large windows and doors within the side elevation opening into the former restaurant. Other windows have been blocked up, including most of those within the former seafront elevation. There are some sets of geometric railings. The lower portion of the seafront elevation is largely obscured by the 1980s extensions, which were built over the sun terraces and seating areas. The building’s design displays influences of Art Deco and Moderne styles, although it has also been suggested that features such as the massing and rejection of ornamentation demonstrate the influence of European Modernism. The 1980s extension is faced in brick with rounded corners and includes groups of tall rendered rounded niches. It includes a leisure-pool complex with a spectators’ gallery and changing facilities. It is topped by a double-curved glazed roof supported by eleven 100ft-wide steel trusses.

Some recent internal images have been provided. They show the survival of original 1930s internal fabric, including at least one set of timber doors with brass door furniture, some stepped architraves and plaster ceilings, elements of lift machinery, and original boiler and associated pool plant infrastructure. There are also staircases, including at least one which retains a terrazzo floor and plain concrete balustrading. The building also retains the former restaurant at the west end; it may retain some original timber panelling. There is a balcony over the north end of the hall, and a stage has been inserted on one side. The two former swimming pools have been converted to sports halls; the tile walls have been painted over, and the former pool tanks have been covered over with later flooring. The main swimming pool retains its wide-span reinforced concrete roof; however, the original triangular roof lanterns have been replaced with rounded lanterns. There is a plaque which commemorates the use of the building as the HMS Alfred during the Second World War.

ASSESSMENT With reference to the Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings (the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, November 2018), which set out the criteria by which buildings are selected for listing, and the Historic England’s Listing Selection Guide for Sports and Recreation Buildings (December 2017), and based on the information currently available, the King Alfred Leisure Centre, Kingsway, Hove, is not recommended for listing, for the following principal reasons:

Degree of Architectural and Historic interest:

* the building’s design is influenced by architectural styles which had come into increasing popularity for municipal buildings by the latter half of the 1930s. In terms of its detail, composition, and planning, the King Alfred Leisure Centre is a relatively modest example of its type and date; * the building has been subject to significant external alterations, including the replacement and blocking of windows; the addition of a 1980s extension, which has obscured much of the original seafront elevation, one of the original building’s principal external aspects; with significant modifications, including the loss of most windows and the sun terraces; * the two interior original swimming pools have been floored over and the private baths removed; * while photographs show the retention of original internal detailing, including floor and wall finishes and the pool tanks, as well as plant, these features are typical of this date and not of sufficient quality or rarity to compensate for the overall level of architectural interest; * the temporary role the building played in the Second World War was not part of the original purpose. While there likely were temporary adaptations during this time, this use is not strongly reflected in the current building fabric. The requisition of the building is of local rather than national historic interest; * reinforced concrete became increasingly used during the early and into the mid-C20, including within swimming-pool construction; the application within this building does not demonstrate notable levels of structural interest; * with regard to the significance of building’s multi-functional use, by the interwar period, it was not uncommon for swimming pools to be part of a complex with multiple facilities; * the large underground car park undercroft, incorporating indoor bowling greens, within a swimming pool complex, is a more unusual provision; however, part of the car park has been infilled with later facilities, and the inclusion of these features is not of sufficient planning or functional interest to compensate for the overall lack of architectural interest and level of alteration; * the bowling alley inserted in the 1960s is reported to be the first ten-pin bowling facility to be created outside London; however, it was not a purpose-built facility but rather located within part of the former underground car park. It does not provide sufficient design interest in a national context to raise the building’s level of architectural or historic interest; * the early-1980s extension by Scott, Brownrigg and Turner of Guildford falls within the period when careful consideration is needed for listing, with particular attention given to factors such as engineering and architectural ambition. This later extension does not have special interest and does not enhance the architectural interest of the overall complex; * it is acknowledged that the building has been well used by the local and wider community as a social and sporting venue. This is of local rather than national interest and is in common with many long-standing leisure and community facilities.

CONCLUSION Based on the evidence provided, the King Alfred Leisure Centre, Kingsway, Hove, does not have special architectural and historic interest in the national context.

SELECTED SOURCES Information on the King Alfred Site, Hove from Hove in the Past website, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://hovehistory.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-king-alfred-site-hove.html Information on the King Alfred Baths from Finding Lidos website, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://www.lostlidos.co.uk/2001/06/12/hove-king-alfred-baths/ Information on the King Alfred Lanes from UK Tenpin website, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://uktenpinhalloffame.co.uk/2018/06/29/history-of-tenpin-bowling-in-the-uk-part-3-king-alfred-lanes-hove-west-sussex