Queens Road connects Brighton station to the seafront. The busy commercial thoroughfare was constructed through Hanover Chapel churchyard in 1845 to accommodate the North Laine's economic boom which arrived in 1841 with the railway.

By 1846 horse drawn buses passed number 104 where the Moon family lived next to the Brighton & Sussex Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye, the latest work of local architect Thomas Cooper. The nearby Eagle Foundry in Gloucester Road had recently cast the Victoria Fountain dedicated in Old Steine. And Jireh Chapel had opened its doors in Robert Street.

Moon's embossed alphabet had not won the support of his school committee despite impressive demonstrations with students who attended his classes in the Central National School in Church Street. His only equipment remained a wooden hand press for single sheet printing until an unnamed benefactor subscribed £25.00 start-up funds.

Moon's house at 104 Queens Road

In 1847 he founded The Moon Society and issued his first booklet, "The Last Days of Polycarp" from his home. Moon's top priority now was to emboss biblical texts.

In 1856 with the financial support of his friend Sir Charles Lowther, Moon constructed a small workroom to house The Moon Society's printing works. The business grew with the support of The British and Foreign Bible Society which shared Moon's evangelical ambitions and missionary zeal. In December 1858, the culmination of 10 years work, a Moon Bible was published in 60 volumes.

By the 1890s Moon enjoyed the quiet of a country residence, The Croft in nearby Fulking. His level garden was equipped with hand rails to guide him during solitary strolls.

Queens Road today no longer has a memorial of William Moon's life and work. The commemorative plaque set into the modern Queensbury House in 1962 was broken and discarded on January 29th 1998. But, two local sights capture the esprit of Moon's Liberqal Victorian Brighton. Visitors should stop to admire Sun Dial House on the corner of North Road. It carries two messages on its southern facade: "Our days on earth are as a shadow and there is none abiding." and, in Latin, "As the hours pass so does life fade away"

A few steps down on the south side of North Road look out for the biblical miracle which decorates The Brighthelm Centre. "The Loaves and Fishes" carved by sculptor John Skelton, with the capable assistance of his daughter, Helen Mary.

The plaque which was broken and removed on January 29th read:

"Dr.William Moon LLD (1818-1894) pioneer of blind welfare carried out his life's work in Brighton."

Dr. Moon's Embossed Alphabet for the Blind is used nationally by the RNIB. Photos of the Moon Printing Works are included in the 'My Brighton' exhibit. William Moon Lodge in Hollingdean, headquarters of the Brighton Society for the Blind, is named in honour of the society's founder. Moon and his family are buried in Brighton Extra-Mural Cemetery.

It is recorded in the booklet on the right:

Brief Lives Brighton's Blue Plaques and Other Commemorative Tablets
A Walker's Guide by Maire McQueeney
Published by Brighton Borough Council 1996