- This article is about the English city; for other places called Brighton, see Brighton (disambiguation).
Brighton in East Sussex is one of the largest and most famous
seaside resorts in England.
Brighton and Hove form a single conurbation but Brighton's lively atmosphere is a direct contrast to its near neighbour which has quieter and
more refined character. The two boroughs were joined together to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove in
1997, which in 2000 was granted city status.
Early history
While any British history predating the first mentions by literate Romans is, by definition, consigned to an obscured
landscape known intimidatingly as 'prehistory', a few things are known about the area. Whitehawk Camp - a natural viewpoint - is
bisected by Manor Road. The centre of this early neolithic causewayed enclosure is someway toward the aerial mast on the south
side of Manor Road, opposite the grandstand. Just north of today's retail park, built over the site of the town's soccer ground
in the late 1990's, you can visit The Goldstone. There is a plaque telling us it was believed to be a used for some purpose
(ceremonial? geomantic?) around 2000BC. A standing stone circle on the same site (today's Hove Park) is documented up to 1820,
when the farmer had had one too many 'antiquarians' traipsing over his crop and buried the stones. After a considerable and
scholarly review, Paul Harwood of Birmingham's Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity noted that there are "a concentration of
Beaker burials on the fringes of the central chalklands around Brighton, and a later cluster of Early and Middle Bronze Age
‘rich graves' in the same area." Of considerable interest from the Bronze Age is the Hove Amber Cup. During nineteenth
century building work near Palmeira Square, workmen tasked with removing an earth mound inadvertently 'excavated' a significant
burial mound. A defining point on the landscape since at least 1500BC, this 20 foot high tomb yielded, amongst other treasures,
the Hove Amber Cup. Made of translucent red Baltic Amber and approximately the same size as a regular china teacup, the
impressive artifact can be seen in Hove Museum. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains the first mention of a settlement in the area at
Beorthelm's-tun (the town of Beorthelm). In the Domesday
Book, Brighton was called Bristemestune and a rent of 4000 herring was
established. In June 1514, the fishing village then known as Brighthelmstone was
burnt to the ground by the French as part of a war between the two which began as a result of the Treaty of Westminster (1511). Later on in
Henry's reign, the residents of the town petitioned the monarch for defensive cannon. Part of their 'pitch' was an illustrated
map (1545) showing the French raid of 1511. A display copy of the map can be seen in Hove Museum.
18th and 19th century
Brighton remained a small fishing village up until the 18th century.
Brighthelmstone began to change in 1753 when Dr Richard Russell of Lewes published his thesis on sea bathing, which
proclaimed the benefit to health of the salt water of Brighton. He set up house
there and before long, the rich and the sick had started to make their way to the seaside. By 1780, development of the Regency terraces had started and the town quickly became the fashionable resort of Brighton.
The growth of the town was further encouraged when, in 1786, the young Prince Regent later King George IV, rented a farmhouse in order to escape from public life. Eventually he spent much
of his leisure time in the town and constructed the exotic-looking Royal Pavilion, which is the town's best-known landmark. The Kemp Town estate (at the heart of the Kemptown district) was constructed between 1823 and 1855, and is a good example of Regency architecture.
Piers
The Palace Pier (renamed Brighton Pier in 2000) opened in May 1899 and is still popular.
It suffered a large fire on 4 February 2003 but the damage was limited and most of the pier was able to reopen the next day.
The even older West Pier, built in 1866, has been closed since 1975 awaiting renovation. The West Pier is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the UK, the other being
Clevedon Pier. Plans to renovate the pier have been opposed by some local residents
who claim that the proposed new onshore structures - which the renovators need to pay for the work on the pier - would obstruct
their view of the sea. The restoration is also opposed by the owners of the Brighton Pier, who reportedly see its subsidised
rebuilding, were it to happen, as unfair competition.
The West Pier partially collapsed on December 29, 2002 when a walkway connecting the concert hall and pavilion fell into the sea after being battered by storms.
On January 20, 2003 a further collapse
saw the destruction of the concert hall in the middle of the pier. On March 28,
2003 the pavilion at the end of the pier caught fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building from destruction because of
the precarious state of the walkway. The cause of the fire remains unknown. On May 12,
2003, another fire broke out, consuming most of what was left of the concert hall. Arson was suspected. On June 23, 2004 high winds caused the middle of the pier to completely collapse.
Despite all these setbacks, the owner of the site West Pier Trust remained adamant they would soon begin full restoration
work. Finally, in December 2004, the trust admitted defeat, after their
plans were rejected by English Heritage and the Lottery Heritage Fund.
They still hope to rebuild the pier in some form, though restoration is no longer their goal.
IRA bombing
In the early hours of October 12th 1984 an IRA bomb exploded in the Grand Hotel where leading members of the governing Conservative Party were staying. Four people were killed
in the blast (including Sir Anthony Berry), and another subsequently died
of her injuries. The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, narrowly escaped injury, although members of her Government were injured - most notably Norman
Tebbit. However, no member of the cabinet was killed.
Brighton today
In Brighton, the area occupied by the original fishing village has become The Lanes - a collection of narrow alleyways now
filled with a mixture of antique shops, restaurants, bistros and pubs. That name was derived from 'Laine', which was apparently an old unit of Anglo-Saxon
field measurement. The North Laine area still keeps the original spelling.
The city has a large gay community, mainly based in the Kemptown area of the city, and is home to two universities, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton. It is sometimes known as 'London
by the Sea' because of its lively atmosphere and cosmopolitan nature and also because of the large number of visitors from
London, although Brighton residents have been heard referring to London as 'Brighton by-the-land'. In the summer, thousands of
young students from all over Europe gather in the city to attend language courses there.
Brighton is considered a fairly radical town due to the large numbers of political
movements and activities, for instance SchNEWS, a local newsletter. It has a
reputation for being chilled-out and relaxed, although anyone braving Churchill Square on a Saturday afternoon might well dispute that claim, nevertheless, Brighton certainly
does seem to operate at a different pace to the rest of the country.
Brighton is renowned for its lively music scene, having spawned a number of successful bands in recent years, not least
Fatboy Slim, The Levellers, British Sea
Power,The Eighties
Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The Go! Team, The Love Gods, Electrelane and the Electric Soft Parade.
Brighton is also fast becoming home of a thriving hardcore punk scene with bands such as The Permenant, Johnny Truant, and The
Deepend making an impact at a national level. It boats a number of record labels, including Skint Records, LOCA Records, Kayotix, Catskills and others, and a range of celebrated clubs.
Brighton is renowned for its large number of bars - you can drink in a different bar on each day of the year. The city has
over fifty churches, so you can repent your drunken sins in a different one every week of the year.
Brighton is the home of Brighton &
Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton in literature
Brighton in film
External links
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