The Memorial Studio. 2nd Floor, 7 Cambridge Road, Hastings, TN34 1DJ.


The Memorial Studio. A Portrait of a studio in Hastings

A Victorian photographic studio open to make portraits.

Purpose built as a photographic portrait daylight studio in 1864, The Memorial Studio was an attraction in Hastings for 54 years until 1918 when it disappeared for over a century. It survived as, among many other things, storage for British Telecom, an insurance company office and a workshop making orthopaedic supports. Artist Beatrice Lacey took it over as her studio in 2012 removing the false ceiling that had long concealed the North skylight. Photographer Alex Brattell has researched its history and tells its story inside the building.

A RARE SURVIVAL OF THE BIRTH OF TECHNOLOGY

The Memorial Studio is a rare survival. More than a thousand photographic portrait studios were established in the UK between 1839 and 1901, only around two dozen are known to remain.
in its time the modernity of invention was cutting edge,