......Stamped to the interior silk of the case, Lawson & Son give the address of
their retail premises as, ‘16 Old Steine, and 131, Kings Road, Brighton.’ This address has most interesting historical and social connections.
......Originally the Old Steine was an open green area with a stream running through. It was the place where the fishermen traditionally laid out and dried their nets. In the late 18th century it was built upon and became the fashionable centre of the town.
......131, Old Kings Road was one of the Regency houses built in Brighton between 1818-1828. It seems that the jewellery shop of Lawson & Son was established at street level in 1828 while the major part of the establishment became the home of none other than the remarkable Harriot Mellon, Duchess of St. Albans.
......For those who are not familiar with this, ‘Rags to Riches Story’:- From humble beginnings, as the illegitimate child of travelling actors, Harriot Mellon became the wealthiest woman in England.
......As a beautiful young actress, she attracted the attention of the elderly banker
Mr. Thomas Coutts whom she later married when Mr. Coutts was 80 yeas old. Because Coutts had frequently obliged the Prince Regent with loans the couple were accepted into Regency Society in Brighton.
.......On the death of her husband Harriot inherited £900,000 from Thomas, along with the bank Coutts & Co. As a widow she spent lavishly and generously on socializing and parties, at her house 131, Kings Road, Brighton, which became a centre for the fashionable elite of society. However she scandalized everyone with marriage to the Duke of St. Albans who was twenty years younger than herself.
.......After her death her home became a hotel, and with Lawson's jewellery shop remained until 1930, when the hotel was renamed The Beach Hotel and the jewellery shop became the popular Regency Restaurant which continues in the same premises to this day.