Brighton was a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...

with borough status of East Sussex, England covering the town of Brighton. Formed in 1854 as a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, in 1889 it became a

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

independent of the newly formed

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts. Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes; Wealden; and Rother). ...

, and from 1974 until its dissolution in 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district within the county of East Sussex. In 1961, the district had a population of 163,159.

History

Both Charles II, in 1684, and the Prince Regent (Prince of Wales), in 1806, favoured the incorporation of Brighton as a borough, but both of these suggestions came to nothing – the latter because it was likely to cost too much. In 1773 an Act of Parliament resulted in the formation of the Brighton Town Commissioners, 64 men who had control of certain municipal and administrative affairs and who were elected by the townspeople. Their powers were extended in 1810. More attempts to incorporate as a borough were made in 1848 and 1852 without success, but another petition to the Privy Council and subsequent inquiry in August 1853 found favour, and on 19 January 1854 the Municipal Borough of Brighton was awarded a charter. The borough was then officially incorporated on 1 April 1854 under the terms of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. At that time the borough had six wards, each returning six councillors; the first elections were held on 30 May 1854. The Town Commissioners were dissolved the following year and all "property, powers, privileges and liabilities" were passed over to the Borough Council, including Brighton Town Hall and the

Royal Pavilion The Royal Pavilion, and surrounding gardens, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Princ ...

. Following the passing of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, Brighton became a

independent of the newly formed

with effect from 1 April 1889. On 1 April 1952 the district gained parts of

Falmer Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also the site of Brighton & Hove Albion's Falmer ...

and

Stanmer Stanmer is a small village on the eastern outskirts of Brighton, in East Sussex, England. History The etymological root of the name is "Stony Mere", Old English for "stone pond", referring to the sarsen stones around Stanmer village pond. The ...

parishes from Chailey Rural District, having previously been expanded in 1873 with territory taken from the parish of Preston. Changes to the composition of, and additions to the number of, wards took place at various times, not just when the borough boundaries expanded: the original six wards became seven in 1873 with the creation of a new Preston ward, then these seven were divided into 14 in 1894; from 1928 there were 19, and this number remained until 1983 despite changes to ward boundaries in 1952 and 1955. The changes of 1983 resulted in there being 16 wards in the borough. On 1 April 1974 the district was reconstituted a non-metropolitan district within the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

of East Sussex, thus being governed by East Sussex County Council for the first time. At this point the county council took responsibility for refuse disposal, libraries, education, social services and fire protection; the borough council remained responsible for collecting refuse, planning services, housing, environmental health, parks and highways. On 1 April 1997, the district was abolished and merged with the Borough of Hove to form "

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

", a non-metropolitan district with its own council, meaning Brighton was again not governed by East Sussex County Council.

Coat of arms

The borough was granted a coat of arms on 14 April 1897. A simplified version was used from 1974. The formal description is "

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

, two dolphins

naiant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...

sable, a

bordure In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary. A bordure encl ...

azure, charged with six

martlet A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expre ...

s or. And for the crest, on a wreath of the colours, two dolphins in

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

, heads downwards, sable, between as many branches of coral gules".

Freedom of the Borough

The honorary Freedom of the Borough of Brighton was, during the borough's existence, awarded by the council to these "persons of distinction, and persons who have, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent service to the borough": *

Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, We ...

(1898) * John French, 1st Earl of Ypres (1903) *

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 unt ...

(1920) *

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadro ...

(1922) *

Charles Thomas-Stanford Sir Charles Thomas-Stanford, 1st Baronet (3 April 1858 – 7 March 1932), born Charles Thomas, was a British Conservative Party politician from Brighton. He sat in the House of Commons from 1914 to 1922. Early life and family The son of Davi ...

of Preston Manor (1925) *Ellen Thomas-Stanford of Preston Manor (1925) * Herbert Carden, alderman and former Mayor (1926) *Benjamin James Saunders (1937) *The

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

(1944) *

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

(1947) *Hugh Milner Black, alderman and former Mayor (1948) *Dorothy Stringer, alderman and former Mayor (1968) *William Dodd (1972), town clerk

Parishes

Until 1974 the district included the parish of Brighton and until 1928 it also included the parish of Preston, both were urban parishes thus didn't have their own parish council or meeting. In 1974 the district became an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

, on 14 December 1995 the parish of

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

was formed from part of Brighton unparished area which split

Saltdean Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately east of central Brighton, west of Newhaven, and south of Lewes. It is ...

from the rest of the unparished area.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brighton, Borough of Former non-metropolitan districts of East Sussex Former boroughs in England 1997 disestablishments in England 1854 establishments in England Borough of