Brighton () is a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...
and one of the two main areas of the City of
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 ...
in the county of
East Sussex, England. It is located south of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
,
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and
Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
'' (1086). The town's importance grew in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the
early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for
sea bathing
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Se ...
as a purported cure for illnesses.
In the
Georgian era, Brighton developed as a highly fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...
, who spent much time in the town and constructed 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 ...
in the
Regency era
The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 1810 and, by the Regency Act 1811, h ...
. Brighton continued to grow as a major centre of tourism following the arrival of the railways in 1841, becoming a popular destination for day-trippers from London. Many of the major attractions were built in the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, including the
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
, the
Hilton Brighton Metropole
The Hilton Brighton Metropole is a 4-star hotel and conference centre located on the seafront in Brighton, East Sussex.
The architect was Alfred Waterhouse, who also was architect of University College London and the Natural History Museum, Londo ...
, the
Palace Pier and the
West Pier. The town continued to grow into the 20th century, expanding to incorporate more areas into the town's boundaries before joining Hove to form the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of Brighton and Hove in 1997, which was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
in 2000. Today, Brighton and Hove district has a resident population of about and the wider
Brighton and Hove conurbation has a population of 474,485 (2011 census).
Brighton's location has made it a popular destination for tourists, renowned for its diverse communities, quirky shopping areas, large and vibrant cultural, music and arts scene, and
its large LGBT population, leading to its recognition as the "unofficial gay capital of the UK".
Brighton has been called the UK's "
hippest city" and "the happiest place to live in the UK".
Etymology
The earliest attestation of Brighton's name is ''Bristelmestune'', recorded in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
''. Although more than 40 variations have been documented, ''Brighthelmstone'' (or ''Brighthelmston'') was the standard rendering between the 14th and 18th centuries.
"Brighton" was originally an informal shortened form, first seen in 1660; it gradually supplanted the longer name and was in general use from the late 18th century, although ''Brighthelmstone'' remained the town's official name until 1810.
The name is of
Anglo-Saxon origin. Most scholars believe that it derives from ''Beorthelm'' + ''tūn''—the
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
of
Beorthelm, a common Old English name associated with villages elsewhere in England.
The ''tūn'' element is common in Sussex, especially on the coast, although it occurs infrequently in combination with a personal name.
An alternative etymology taken from the Old English words for "stony valley" is sometimes given but has less acceptance.
''Brighthelm'' gives its name to, among other things, a church,
a pub in Brighton,
some halls of residence at the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
.
Writing in 1950, historian Antony Dale noted that unnamed
antiquaries
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...
had suggested an Old English word "brist" or "briz", meaning "divided", could have contributed the first part of the historic name Brighthelmstone. The town was originally split in half by the Wellesbourne, a
winterbourne which was culverted and buried in the 18th century.
Brighton has several nicknames. Poet
Horace Smith called it "The Queen of Watering Places", which is still widely used,
and "Old Ocean's Bauble".
Novelist
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
referred to "Doctor Brighton", calling the town "one of the best of Physicians". "London-by-the-Sea" is well-known, reflecting Brighton's popularity with Londoners as a day-trip resort, a commuter dormitory and a desirable destination for those wanting to move out of the metropolis. "The Queen of Slaughtering Places", a pun on Smith's description, became popular when the
Brighton trunk murders
The Brighton trunk murders were two murders linked to Brighton, England, in 1934. In each, the body of a murdered woman was placed in a trunk. The murders are not believed to have any connection with each other aside from how they were carried ou ...
came to the public's attention in the 1930s.
The mid-19th-century nickname "School Town" referred to the remarkable number of boarding, charity and church schools in the town at the time.
History
The first settlement in the Brighton area was
Whitehawk Camp, a
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
encampment on
Whitehawk Hill
Whitehawk Hill is a Local Nature Reserve in Brighton, East Sussex. It is owned and managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.
At the top of the hill is Whitehawk Camp, a Neolithic causewayed enclosure which is a Scheduled Monument.
This is s ...
which has been dated to between 3500 BC and 2700 BC.
It is one of six
causewayed enclosure
A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. It is an enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing the ditches. More than 100 examples are recorded i ...
s in Sussex. Archaeologists have only partially explored it, but have found numerous
burial mounds
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
, tools and bones, suggesting it was a place of some importance.
There was also a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
settlement at
Coldean
Coldean is a suburb of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Located in the northeast corner of the urban area, it was developed by Brighton Corporation in the 1950s as one of several postwar council estates necessitated by the acute housin ...
.
Brythonic Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
arrived in Britain in the 7th century BC,
and an important Brythonic settlement existed at
Hollingbury Castle
Hollingbury Castle, also known as Hollingbury Camp and Hollingbury Hillfort, is an Iron Age hillfort on the northern edge of Brighton, in East Sussex, England. It is adjacent to Hollingbury Park Golf Course.
It is a scheduled monument.
Descripti ...
on Hollingbury Hill. This Celtic
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
encampment dates from the 3rd or 2nd century BC and is circumscribed by substantial earthwork outer walls with a diameter of .
Cissbury Ring
Cissbury Ring is an biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Worthing in West Sussex. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated a Scheduled monument for its Neolithic flint mine and Iron Age hillfort.
Cissbury Ring is ...
, roughly from Hollingbury, is suggested to have been the tribal "capital".
Later, there was a
Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
at
Preston Village, a
Roman road from London ran nearby, and much physical evidence of Roman occupation has been discovered locally.
From the 1st century AD, the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
built a number of villas in Brighton and
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
Brythonic Celts formed farming settlements in the area. After the Romans left in the early 4th century AD, the Brighton area returned to the control of the native Celts.
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
then invaded in the late 5th century AD, and the region became part of the
Kingdom of Sussex
la, Regnum Sussaxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the South Saxons
, capital =
, era = Heptarchy
, status = Vassal of Wessex (686–726, 827–860)Vassal of Mercia (771–796)
, governm ...
, founded in 477 AD by
king Ælle.
['' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (Parker MS)]
E-text)
Anthony Seldon
Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British educator and contemporary historian. As an author, he is known in part for his political biographies of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Ther ...
identified five phases of development in pre-20th century Brighton.
The village of ''Bristelmestune'' was founded by these Anglo-Saxon invaders, probably in the early Saxon period. They were attracted by the easy access for boats, sheltered areas of raised land for building and better conditions compared to the damp, cold and misty
Weald
The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
to the north.
By the time of the
Domesday survey
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
in 1086 it was a fishing and agricultural settlement, a rent of 4,000
herring was established, and its population was about 400.
By the 14th century there was a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
, a market and rudimentary law enforcement (the first town constable was elected in 1285).
Sacked and burnt by French invaders in the early 16th century—the earliest depiction of Brighton, a painting of 1520, shows Admiral
Pregent de Bidoux's attack of June 1514—the town recovered strongly based on a thriving
mackerel-fishing industry.
The grid of streets in the Old Town (the present
Lanes
In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...
area) were well developed and the town grew quickly: the population rose from 1,500 in 1600 to 4,000 in the 1640s.
By that time Brighton was Sussex's most populous and important town.
Over the next few decades, though, events severely affected its local and national standing, such that by 1730 "it was a forlorn town decidedly down on its luck". More foreign attacks, storms (especially the devastating
Great Storm of 1703
The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships wer ...
), a declining fishing industry, and the emergence of nearby
Shoreham as a significant port caused its economy to suffer.
By 1708 other parishes in Sussex were charged rates to alleviate poverty in Brighton, and
Daniel Defoe wrote that the expected £8,000 cost of providing sea defences was "more than the whole town was worth". The population declined to 2,000 in the early 18th century.
From the 1730s, Brighton entered its second phase of development—one which brought a rapid improvement in its fortunes. The contemporary fad for drinking and bathing in seawater as
a purported cure for illnesses was enthusiastically encouraged by
Dr Richard Russell from nearby
Lewes. He sent many patients to "take the cure" in the sea at Brighton, published a popular treatise on the subject, and moved to the town soon afterwards (the
Royal Albion, one of Brighton's early hotels, occupies the site of his house).
Others were already visiting the town for recreational purposes before Russell became famous, and his actions coincided with other developments which made Brighton more attractive to visitors. From the 1760s it was a boarding point for boats travelling to France; road transport to London was improved
when the main road via
Crawley was
turnpiked in 1770;
and spas and indoor baths were opened by other entrepreneurial physicians such as
Sake Dean Mahomed
Sake Dean Mahomed (1759–1851) was an Bengali traveller, surgeon, entrepreneur, and one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World. Due to non-standard transliteration, his name is often spelled in various ways. His ...
and
Anthony Relhan
Anthony Relhan (c. 1715–1776) was a physician and fellow of the King and Queen's College of Physicians of Ireland, notable for writing a history of Brighton, and for promoting the drinking of mineral water.
Life
Born in Munster, Ireland, he was ...
(who also wrote the town's first guidebook).
![Brighton, the front and the chain pier seen in the distance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Brighton%2C_the_front_and_the_chain_pier_seen_in_the_distance.jpg)
From 1780, the development of the
Georgian terraces had started, and the fishing village developed as the fashionable resort of Brighton. The growth of the town was further encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...
) after his first visit in 1783.
He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed 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 ...
during the early part of his
Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. In this period the modern form of the name Brighton came into common use.
A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of
Preston Barracks in 1793. It was rebuilt in 1830.
![Brighton aquarium photochrom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Brighton_aquarium_photochrom.jpg)
The population increased rapidly throughout the 19th century from 7,339 in 1801 to 46,661 in 1841, and by 1901 the population had reached more than 120,000.
The arrival of the
London and Brighton Railway
The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...
in 1841 brought Brighton within the reach of day-trippers from London. Many of the major attractions were built during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, such as the
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
(1864), the
West Pier (1866), and the
Palace Pier (1899). Prior to either of these structures, the famous Chain Pier was built, to the designs of Captain Samuel Brown. It lasted from 1823 to 1896 and is featured in paintings by both
Turner
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
and
Constable.
Because of boundary changes, the land area of Brighton expanded from
1,640 acres (7 km2) in 1854 to
14,347 acres (58 km2) in 1952. New housing estates were established in the acquired areas, including
Moulsecoomb
Moulsecoomb () is a suburb of Brighton, Sussex, England, on the northeast side around Lewes Road, between Coldean and Bevendean, north of the seafront. The eastern edge adjoins Falmer Hill on the South Downs. It is often divided into smalle ...
,
Bevendean,
Coldean
Coldean is a suburb of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Located in the northeast corner of the urban area, it was developed by Brighton Corporation in the 1950s as one of several postwar council estates necessitated by the acute housin ...
and
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
. The major expansion of 1928 also incorporated the villages of
Patcham
Patcham () is an area of the city of Brighton & Hove, about north of the city centre. It is bounded by the A27 (Brighton bypass) to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west. ...
,
Ovingdean
Ovingdean is a small, formerly agricultural, village in the east of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England.
Overview
It was absorbed into the administrative borough of Brighton, East Sussex, England in 1928, and now forms part of the city of ...
and
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 ...
, and much council housing was built in parts of
Woodingdean
Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse. The name Woodingdean came from Woodendean (i.e. wooded valley) Farm which was situ ...
after the Second World War. By the 1970s, the town had acquired a reputation as a retirement destination, with an elderly population.
However, this was reversed in the 1990s, as
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
saw Brighton regain the fashionable status it held in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1997, the town of Brighton and its neighbouring town Hove were joined to form the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of
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 ...
, which was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
as part of the
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
celebrations in 2000.
Demography
, the
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 ...
district, of which Brighton is the largest area, has an estimated resident population of residents. It is
ranked the most populous district in England. Compared to the national average, Brighton has fewer children and old residents but a large proportion of adults aged 20–44.
Brighton has long had an
LGBT-friendly history. In a 2014 estimate, 11–15 per cent of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside London in 2013.
Religion
Brighton is identified as one of the least religious places in the UK, based upon analysis of the 2011 census which revealed that 42 per cent of the population profess
no religion, far higher than the national average of 25 per cent.
Brighton has been described as the UK's most "Godless" city. The largest religion is
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, with 43 per cent reporting an affiliation. The second-largest religion is
Islam, with 2.2 per cent, which is lower than the national average.
As part of the
Jedi census phenomenon
In some national population censuses which include a question on religious identity, media report numerous respondents giving their religion as Jedi (or "Jedi Knight") after the quasi-religious order in the ''Star Wars'' science fiction franch ...
in 2001, 2.6 per cent claimed their religion was 'Jedi Knight', the largest percentage in the country.
Homelessness
In December 2021, new data released by
Shelter
Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger.
Shelter may also refer to:
Places
* Port Shelter, Hong Kong
* Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations
* Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
, revealed that "one in 78 people in Brighton and Hove are homeless". The report also records the city as having the third highest rate of homelessness in England, with
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
claiming the top spot followed by
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
.
In a previous charity report issued in November 2016, three areas in Brighton & Hove, East Brighton, Queen's Park, and Moulsecoomb & Bevendean ranked in the top ten per cent nationally for deprivation.
![Brighton 2019, Castle Square - homelessness, tents](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Brighton_2019%2C_Castle_Square_-_homelessness%2C_tents.jpg)
Although deprivation in Brighton is distributed across the city, it is more concentrated in some areas. The highest concentration is in the Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb, and Hollingbury areas but is also found around the St. James's Street and Eastern Road areas. A 2015 government statistic showed that the area around Brighton's Palace Pier roundabout and to the east towards St James's Street in
Kemptown is the seventh-worst
living environment in England. On 19 January 2017, Brighton council announced they were looking at certain initiatives to try to alleviate some of the increasing homelessness seen on Brighton's streets and were hoping to open the first in-house temporary housing for homeless people in the city.
Homelessness figures released by
Crisis
A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
in December 2018 reported a record high in the UK, with figures in
Sussex, including Brighton and Hove, reported as being "high".
At a meeting of the full B&H Council on 25 March 2021, Brighton and Hove became the first UK City to adopt the
Homeless Bill of Rights.
The bill was passed by 31 votes to 11, with 7 abstentions.
Geography
![A23 closed by floods, November 2000 - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/A23_closed_by_floods%2C_November_2000_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1656937.jpg)
Brighton lies between the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
and the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
to the north and south, respectively. The Sussex coast forms a wide, shallow bay between the
headlands of
Selsey Bill
Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex.
The southernmost town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Manhood Peninsula and ''Selsey Bill'' is situated on the town's so ...
and
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters.
Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formi ...
; Brighton developed near the centre of this bay around a
seasonal river, the Wellesbourne (or Whalesbone), which flowed from the South Downs above
Patcham
Patcham () is an area of the city of Brighton & Hove, about north of the city centre. It is bounded by the A27 (Brighton bypass) to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west. ...
.
This emptied into the English Channel at the beach near the East Cliff, forming "the natural drainage point for Brighton".
Behind the estuary was a stagnant pond called the Pool or Poole, so named since the medieval era. This was built over with houses and shops from 1793, when the Wellesbourne was
culverted to prevent flooding,
and only the name of the road (Pool Valley, originally Pool Lane)
marks its site.
One original house survives from the time of the pool's enclosure.
Behind Pool Valley is
Old Steine
The Old Steine () is a thoroughfare in central Brighton, East Sussex, and is the southern terminus of the A23. The southern end leads to Marine Parade, the Brighton seafront and the Palace Pier. The Old Steine is also the site of a number of Cit ...
(historically ''The Steyne''), originally a flat and marshy area where fishermen dried their nets. The Wellesbourne occasionally reappears during times of prolonged heavy rain; author
Mark Antony Lower
Mark Antony Lower F.S.A. M.A. (1813–1876) was a Sussex historian and schoolteacher who founded the Sussex Archaeological Society. An anti-Catholic propagandist Lower is believed to have started the "cult of the Sussex Martyrs", although he wa ...
referred to an early 19th-century drawing of 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 ...
showing "quite a pool of water across the Steyne".
Despite 16th-century writer
Andrew Boorde
Andrew Boorde (or Borde) (''c.'' 1490April 1549) was an English traveller, physician and writer.
Life
Born at Boords Hill, Holms Dale, Sussex, he was educated at the University of Oxford, and was admitted a member of the Carthusian order whil ...
's claim that "Bryght-Hempston
samong the noble ports and havens of the realm",
Brighton never developed as a significant port: rather, it was considered as part of
Shoreham. Nevertheless, the descriptions "Port of Brighthelmston" or "Port of Brighton" were sometimes used between the 14th and 19th centuries, as for example in 1766 when its notional limits were defined for customs purposes.
The East Cliff runs for several miles from Pool Valley towards
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 ...
and
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 ...
, reaching above sea level. The soil beneath it, a mixture of
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
and clay with some flint and chalk
rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...
, has experienced erosion for many years.
The cliff itself, like the rest of Brighton's soil, is chalk.
Below this are thin layers of
Upper and
Lower Greensand
The Lower Greensand Group is a geological unit present across large areas of Southern England. It was deposited during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It predominantly consists of sandstone and unconsolidated sand that were ...
separated by a thicker band of
Gault clay
The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in ...
.
The land slopes upwards gradually from south to north towards the top of the Downs.
Main transport links developed along the floor of the Wellesbourne valley, from which the land climbs steeply—particularly on the east side. The earliest settlement was by the beach at the bottom of the valley,
which was partly protected from erosion by an underwater
shale-bar. Changes in sea level affected the foreshore several times: disappeared in the first half of the 14th century,
and the
Great Storm of 1703
The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships wer ...
caused widespread destruction. The first sea defences were erected in 1723,
and a century later a long sea wall was built.
Climate
Brighton has a
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
climate: its
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
is ''Cfb''. It is characterised by cool summers and cool winters with frequent cloudy and rainy periods.
Average rainfall levels increase as the land rises: the 1958–1990 mean was on the seafront and about at the top of the South Downs above Brighton.
Storms caused serious damage in
1703
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Thursday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 9 – The Jamaican town of Port Royal, a center of trade ...
, 1806, 1824, 1836, 1848, 1850, 1896, 1910 and
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
. Heavy snow is rare, but particularly severe falls were recorded in 1881 and 1967.
Boundaries and areas
At the time of the
Domesday survey
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
in 1086, Brighton was in the
Rape of Lewes and the
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
of Welesmere. The new Hundred of Whalesbone, which covered the parishes of Brighton,
West Blatchington
West Blatchington is an area in Hove, East Sussex, England.
The area grew rapidly in the inter-war period, but unlike nearby Hangleton it had more infrastructure, with St Peter's Church, a working farm, a windmill and an industrial area gro ...
,
Preston and
Hove
Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...
, was formed in 1296. Parishes moved in and out several times, and by 1801 only Brighton and
West Blatchington
West Blatchington is an area in Hove, East Sussex, England.
The area grew rapidly in the inter-war period, but unlike nearby Hangleton it had more infrastructure, with St Peter's Church, a working farm, a windmill and an industrial area gro ...
were included in the Hundred.
In its original form, Brighton parish covered about between the English Channel, Hove, Preston,
Ovingdean
Ovingdean is a small, formerly agricultural, village in the east of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England.
Overview
It was absorbed into the administrative borough of Brighton, East Sussex, England in 1928, and now forms part of the city of ...
and
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 ...
. The borough (but not the civil parish) was first extended from 31 October 1873, when was annexed from Preston civil parish. In 1894 the part outside the borough became Preston Rural civil parish and Preston civil parish continued in the borough. On 1 April 1889 Brighton became a county borough.
On 1 October 1923, were added to Brighton borough and to Preston civil parish from Patcham parish: Brighton Corporation was developing the
Moulsecoomb
Moulsecoomb () is a suburb of Brighton, Sussex, England, on the northeast side around Lewes Road, between Coldean and Bevendean, north of the seafront. The eastern edge adjoins Falmer Hill on the South Downs. It is often divided into smalle ...
estate there at the time. On 1 April 1928, Brighton civil parish was extended to include Preston civil parish. On the same date the borough grew by nearly five times by adding Ovingdean and Rottingdean parishes in their entirety and 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 ...
, Patcham and West Blatchington; it also exchanged small parts with Hove municipal borough. All the areas added to the borough became part of Brighton civil parish.
From 1 April 1952, more of Falmer and part of the adjacent
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 ...
parish were added; 20 years later, land and marine territory associated with the new
Brighton Marina
Brighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place bet ...
development also became part of Brighton. Except for a small addition of rural land in 1993 (from
Pyecombe
Pyecombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The name 'Pyecombe' may derive from the Saxons, Saxon "pic" meaning point or pike, in which case it may mean "valley marked by a projecting hill".
Pyeco ...
parish), Brighton Borough's boundaries remained the same until it was joined to Hove Borough in 1997 to form the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of Brighton and Hove.
The old boundary between Brighton and Hove is most clearly seen on the seafront, where the King Edward Peace Statue (1912) straddles the border, and in a
twitten
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), ...
called Boundary Passage which runs northwards from Western Road to Montpelier Road.
There is a
Grade II-listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
parish boundary marker stone in this passageway.
Between Western Road and the seafront, the boundary runs up Little Western Street (pavement on eastern side, in Brighton), but it is not visible.
Northwards from Western Road, it runs to the west of Norfolk Road, Norfolk Terrace, Windlesham Road and Windlesham Gardens in the
Montpelier area, then along the south side of Davigdor Road to
Seven Dials. From there it runs along the west side of Dyke Road as far as Withdean Road in
Withdean
Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.
Overview
The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...
, at which point it crosses Dyke Road so that the section north of that is part of Hove parish. The boundary continues to follow Dyke Road towards
Devil's Dyke on the South Downs.
Governance and politics
![Caroline Lucas 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Caroline_Lucas_2010.jpg)
Brighton is covered by two constituencies in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
:
Brighton Kemptown
Brighton Kemptown, often referred to as Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven by local political parties, is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a Labour Co-op MP.
The constit ...
and
Brighton 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, Prin ...
. Both are
marginal constituencies which were held by
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
from 1997 to 2010. In the
2017 general election, Brighton Kemptown elected the Labour MP
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Lloyd Cameron Russell-Moyle (born 14 September 1986) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He retained his seat in the 20 ...
, replacing a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MP; he was re-elected in the
2019 general election. In the
2010 general election Brighton Pavilion elected
Caroline Lucas, the first and only
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
MP; she was re-elected in
2015, 2017 and again at the 2019 general election.
There are 21 wards in the city of Brighton and Hove, of which 12 are in Brighton. Regency, St Peter's & North Laine, Preston Park, Withdean, Patcham, Hollingdean & Stanmer and Hanover & Elm Grove are part of the Brighton Pavilion constituency; Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queen's Park, East Brighton, Woodingdean and Rottingdean Coastal are covered by the Brighton Kemptown constituency.
The newly created Borough of Brighton consisted of six wards in 1854: St Nicholas, St Peter, Pier, Park, Pavilion and West. When the territory was extended to include part of
Preston parish in 1873, the new area became a seventh ward named Preston. The seven were split into 14 in 1894: Hanover, Kemp Town (renamed King's Cliff in 1908), Lewes Road, Montpelier, Pavilion, Pier, Preston, Preston Park, Queen's Park, Regency, St John, St Nicholas, St Peter, and West. Preston ward was extended in 1923 to incorporate the area taken into the borough from Patcham parish in 1923 for the construction of the Moulsecoomb estate, and in 1928 the ward was divided into four: Hollingbury, Moulsecoomb, Preston and Preston Park. Elm Grove and Patcham wards were created at the same time, bringing the total to 19. There were further changes in 1952, 1955 and 1983, at which time there were 16 wards.
This situation continued until 1 April 1997, when Hove and its wards became part of the new
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of
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 ...
.
Brighton Town Hall occupies a large site in
the Lanes
The Lanes are a collection of narrow lanes in Brighton, in the city of Brighton and Hove famous for their small shops (including several antique shops) and narrow alleyways.
The Lanes are commonly taken to be bounded by North Street to the no ...
. Medieval Brighthelmston had a town hall, although it was called the Townhouse and functioned more like a market hall. A later building (1727) known as the Town Hall was principally used as a
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
. Work on the first purpose-built town hall began in 1830;
Thomas Read Kemp
Thomas Read Kemp (23 December 1782 – 20 December 1844) was an English property developer and politician.
Life
He was the son of Sussex landowner and Member of Parliament Thomas Kemp, and his wife Anne, daughter of Henry Read of Brookland ...
laid the first stone, and Thomas Cooper designed it on behalf of the Brighton Town Commissioners (of which he was a member). Brighton Corporation spent £40,000 to extend it in 1897–99 to the
Classical design of Brighton Borough Surveyor Francis May. Despite this, the building was too small for municipal requirements by the mid-20th century, and extra council buildings were built in locations throughout Brighton Borough Council's existence: the most recent, Bartholomew House and Priory House next to the town hall, were finished in 1987.
The town hall ceased to be responsible solely for Brighton's affairs when Brighton and Hove were united in 1997, but it is still used by Brighton & Hove City Council—particularly for weddings and civil ceremonies.
The presence of a British subsidiary of the United States arms company
EDO Corporation
EDO Corporation was an American company which was acquired by ITT Corporation in 2007. EDO designed and manufactured products for defense, intelligence, and commercial markets, and provided related engineering and professional services. It emp ...
on the Home Farm Industrial Estate in
Moulsecoomb
Moulsecoomb () is a suburb of Brighton, Sussex, England, on the northeast side around Lewes Road, between Coldean and Bevendean, north of the seafront. The eastern edge adjoins Falmer Hill on the South Downs. It is often divided into smalle ...
has been the cause of protests since 2004. The premises were significantly damaged in January 2009 when protesters broke in.
Economy
In 1985, the Borough Council described three "myths" about Brighton's economy. Common beliefs were that most of the working population commuted to London every day; that tourism provided most of Brighton's jobs and income; or that the borough's residents were "composed entirely of wealthy theatricals and retired business people" rather than workers.
Brighton has been an important centre for commerce and employment since the 18th century. It is home to several major companies, some of which employ thousands of people locally; as a retail centre it is of regional importance; creative, digital and new media businesses are increasingly significant; and, although Brighton was never a major industrial centre, its
railway works contributed to Britain's rail industry in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the manufacture of steam locomotives.
Since the amalgamation of Brighton and Hove, economic and retail data has been produced at a citywide level only. Examples of statistics include: Brighton and Hove's tourism industry contributes £380m to the economy and employs 20,000 people directly or indirectly; the city has 9,600 registered companies; and a 2001 report identified it as one of five "supercities for the future".
In the past couple of years tourists to Brighton and Hove have fallen in numbers. Over 2016, day visitors to Brighton and Hove dropped by an average of 2,400 per day. In August 2017, new figures for the year showed Brighton's tourism had fallen by a further 1 per cent on the previous year.
Commerce and industry
Brighton's largest
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
employer is
American Express, whose European headquarters are at John Street. As of 2012, about 3,000 people work there.
Planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...
to demolish the old Amex offices and build a replacement was granted in 2009, and work started in March 2010. Other major employers include
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
,
Legal & General
Legal & General Group plc, commonly known as Legal & General, is a British multinational financial services and asset management company headquartered in London, England. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortg ...
,
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
(which has hypermarkets at
Hollingbury
Hollingbury is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. The area sits high on a hillside across the north of the city, east of Patcham which lies in a valley to the west, Coldean in a valley to the east, and the A27 bypass forming ...
and
Brighton Marina
Brighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place bet ...
),
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company and call-centre operator Inkfish.
In 2012, it was reported that about 1,500 of
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
's 21,000 workers lived in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Brighton is a popular destination for conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs, and has had a purpose-built conference centre—the
Brighton Centre—since 1977. Direct income from the Brighton Centre's 160 events per year is £8 million, and a further £50 million is generated indirectly by visitors spending money during their stay. Events range from political party conferences to concerts.
The Hollingbury Industrial Estate is one of the largest such facilities in Brighton; in its early days about 6,000 people were employed, principally in industrial jobs, but in the late 20th and early 21st centuries its focus has switched to commercial and retail development,
limiting Brighton's potential for industrial growth. Brighton Corporation laid out the estate on of land around Crowhurst Road in 1950. By 1956, large-scale employment was provided at a bakery, a typewriter factory and a machine tools manufacturer among others. Most of the large factories closed during the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s, employment fell to 1,000, and structural changes started in the mid-1980s with a move towards small-scale industrial units (the Enterprise Estate was finished in October 1985) and then retail warehouses.
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
's superstore opened in November 1987,
MFI followed two years later, and other retail units were built in the 1990s.
Two large headquarters buildings were vacated in quick succession when British Bookshops left in March 2011
and ''The Argus'' newspaper moved out of its headquarters in 2012—although the
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company signed a contract to move its 1,250 employees into the latter building.
Brighton has a high density of businesses involved in the media sector, particularly digital or "
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
", and since the 1990s has been referred to as "Silicon Beach".
By 2007, over 250
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
business had been founded in Brighton.
Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a social media suite company owned by Cision. Brandwatch sells two different solutions: Consumer Intelligence and Social Media Management.
Consumer Intelligence is made up of three different products: Consumer Research and add-ons Vi ...
is a
social media monitoring company based in offices near Brighton station. Computer game design company
Black Rock Studio was founded in 1998 and was taken over by
Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interac ...
,
who closed it down in 2011.
The Gamer Network, whose portfolio of websites relating to computer gaming (including
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
) and creative industries was founded in 1999, is based in Brighton.
By the early 21st century, the market for office accommodation in the city was characterised by fluctuating demand and a lack of supply of high-quality buildings. As an example, the Trafalgar Place development ( 1990), "now considered a prime office location", stood partly empty for a decade.
Exion 27 (built in 2001), a high-tech, energy-efficient office development at
Hollingbury
Hollingbury is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. The area sits high on a hillside across the north of the city, east of Patcham which lies in a valley to the west, Coldean in a valley to the east, and the A27 bypass forming ...
, remained empty for several years and is still not in commercial use: it houses some administrative departments of the
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...
. It was Brighton's first ultramodern commercial property and was intended for mixed commercial and industrial use, but its completion coincided with a slump in demand for high-tech premises.
Retail and shopping
Brighton is well known for the great shopping, with a high number of independent shops, which add to the character of the city.
Walking from Brighton station towards the seafront, first, is the
North Laine
North Laine is a shopping and residential district of Brighton, on the English south coast. Once a slum area, it is now seen as Brighton's bohemian and cultural quarter, with many pubs, cafés, theatres and museums.
History
"Laine" is a ...
area, stretching from Trafalgar Street, Kensington Gardens, Sydney Street, Gardner Street and Bond Street and is mostly pedestrianised. The
North Laine
North Laine is a shopping and residential district of Brighton, on the English south coast. Once a slum area, it is now seen as Brighton's bohemian and cultural quarter, with many pubs, cafés, theatres and museums.
History
"Laine" is a ...
area is a retail, leisure and the residential area immediately north of the Lanes. Its name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Laine" meaning "fields", although the misnomer "North Lanes" is often used to describe the area. The North Laine contains a mix of businesses dominated by cafés, bars, theatres, and over 400 shops independent and avant-garde shops including an erotic shop and indoor flea markets.
The Lanes
The Lanes are a collection of narrow lanes in Brighton, in the city of Brighton and Hove famous for their small shops (including several antique shops) and narrow alleyways.
The Lanes are commonly taken to be bounded by North Street to the no ...
which is characterised by a labyrinth of narrow alleyways form a retail, leisure and residential area near the seafront, following the street pattern of the original fishing village. The Lanes contain predominantly clothing stores, jewellers, antique shops, restaurants and pubs.
Churchill Square is a shopping centre with a floor space of and over 80 shops, several restaurants and 1,600 car-parking spaces. It was built in the 1960s as an open-air, multi-level pedestrianised shopping centre, but was rebuilt and enlarged in 1998 and is no longer open-air. Further retail areas include Western Road and London Road, the latter of which is undergoing extensive regeneration in the form of new housing and commercial properties.
There are two weekly flea market / bootfairs in Brighton on Sunday mornings, one at Brighton Marina on the top open-air level of the carpark, and another at
Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse is an English horse racing venue located a mile to the northeast of the centre of Brighton, Sussex, owned by the Arena Racing Company.
Location and layout
It is situated on Whitehawk Hill, on the edge of the South Downs, ab ...
.
Landmarks
![Brighton Pier at dusk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Brighton_Pier_at_dusk.jpg)
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 ...
, a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, is a former royal palace built as a home for the
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
during the early 19th century, under the direction of the architect
John Nash. It is notable for its
Indo-Saracenic
Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...
architecture and Oriental interior. Other Indo-Saracenic buildings in Brighton include the
Sassoon Mausoleum
The Sassoon Mausoleum is the former grave of Sir Albert Sassoon and other members of his family, including Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet, of Kensington Gore. It stands at 83 St. George's Road in Brighton, England. The single-storey building ...
, now, with the bodies reburied elsewhere, in use as a chic supper club.
Brighton Marine Palace and Pier (long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899, it was meant to be a replacement for the Royal Suspension Chain Pier, but became a pleasure pier instead. It features a
funfair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
, restaurants and arcade halls. The
West Pier was built in 1866 and is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom; it has been closed since 1975. For some time it was under consideration for restoration, but two fires in 2003, and other setbacks, led to these plans being abandoned. Nevertheless, publicity material presented in question-and-answer form during the building of the
British Airways i360
Brighton i360 is a moving observation tower on the seafront of Brighton, East Sussex, England at the landward end of the remains of the West Pier. The tower opened on 4 August 2016. From the fully enclosed viewing pod, visitors experience 360-d ...
observation tower (see below) maintained that the building of the tower would not prove prejudicial to the eventual restoration of the pier. The first of Brighton's 3 piers was the
Royal Suspension Chain Pier, which was destroyed in a storm in 1896. All that remains of the pier are small lumps of wood and stone, which are only visible at low tide. It was primarily intended as a landing stage for
packet boat
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
s to
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
, France, but it also featured a small number of attractions including a
camera obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole.
''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...
.
The
i360, an observation tower located at the shore end of the West Pier, opened on 4 August 2016. At high, and with an observation pod rising to , it is Britain's highest observation tower outside London – taller even than the
London Eye. With a diameter of , it is also the thinnest tower in the world, with a height-to-width ratio of 41.15 to one.
Brighton Clock Tower, built in 1888 for
Queen Victoria's jubilee, stands at the intersection of Brighton's busiest thoroughfares.
Volk's Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, and is the old ...
runs along the inland edge of the beach from Palace Pier to
Black Rock and
Brighton Marina
Brighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place bet ...
. It was created in 1883 and is the world's oldest operating
electric railway
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to Rail transport, railway trains and trams without an on-board Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling pa ...
.
The
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
was built in 1864. The
Brighton hotel bombing
A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against members of the British government took place on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. A long-delay time bomb was plan ...
occurred there. Its nighttime blue lighting is particularly prominent along the foreshore.
Churches and other places of worship
St Nicholas Church may be the oldest building in Brighton (the Domesday Book records the presence of an Anglo-Saxon church, valued at
£12)
and is commonly known as "The Mother Church". Other notable Anglican churches include the very tall (the highest church interior in Britain) brick-built
St Bartholomew's (1874) designed by the architect Edmund Scott;
St Peter's (1828); and
St Martin's (1875), noted for its ornate interior. Brighton's
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
run the
Friends Meeting House
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held.
Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Steeples, spires, and ...
in the Lanes. There is an active
Unitarian community based in a Grade II listed building in New Road. Brighton has six listed Roman Catholic churches;
St John the Baptist's Church (1835) in Kemptown is the earliest surviving Roman Catholic church in the city.
Brighton and Hove has five synagogues: New Church Road Synagogue; Holland Road Synagogue;
Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue
Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, also known as Adat Shalom Verei’ut (Congregation of Peace and Friendship), is a Liberal synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It was established in 1935 and now has more than 300 members.
Elizabeth Ti ...
;
Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue
Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue is a synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It has 500 adult members.
History and affiliation
The community was founded in 1955 with temporary accommodation and the synagogue was dedicated in 1967 to serve a ...
; and
Middle Street Synagogue. The Middle Street Synagogue is a Grade II listed building built in 1874–75; it is being gradually restored by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. There are also several mosques and
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
centres.
Beaches
Brighton has a expanse of
shingle beach,
part of the unbroken section within the city limits. Neighbouring Hove is known for its hundreds of painted timber beach huts, but brick-walled chalets are also available on Brighton seafront, especially towards
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Especially east of the Palace Pier, a flat sandy foreshore is exposed at low tide.
The Palace Pier section of the beach has been awarded
blue flag status.
Part of the beach adjoining Madeira Drive, to the east of the city centre, has been redeveloped into a sports complex and opened to the public in March 2007, with courts for pursuits such as beach volleyball and
ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
among others.
The city council owns all the beaches, which are divided into named sections by
groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...
s—the first of which were completed in 1724. Eastwards from the Hove boundary, the names are Boundary, Norfolk, Bedford, Metropole, Grand (referring to the four hotels with those names), Centre, King's, Old Ship, Volk's, Albion, Palace Pier, Aquarium, Athina (where the
MS ''Athina B'' ran aground), Paston, Banjo, Duke's, Cliff, Crescent and Black Rock. Cliff Beach is a
nudist beach
A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to ...
.
Beyond Black Rock, the cliffs (part of the
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest) rise to more than and there are three small beaches at Ovingdean Gap, Rottingdean Gap and Saltdean Gap. All are connected by the Undercliff Walk,
which has been affected by several cliff falls since 2000.
Since the demolition in 1978 of the Black Rock open-air
lido
Lido may refer to:
Geography Africa
* Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco
Asia
* Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing
* Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok
* Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...
at the eastern end of Brighton's seafront, the area has been developed and now features one of Europe's largest
marinas
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ship ...
. However, the site of the pool itself remains empty except for a skate park and graffiti wall. Since 2003 a series of developments have been proposed but have come to nothing, including housing, a
five-star hotel
Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...
with a
winter garden
A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime.
History
The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...
, and an 11,000-seat sports arena.
The seafront is also home to many restaurants, sports facilities, amusement arcades, nightclubs and bars.
Liz Williams Butterfly Haven
![Small_Blue_butterfly_in_the_Liz_Williams_Butterfly_Haven](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Small_Blue_butterfly_in_the_Liz_Williams_Butterfly_Haven.jpg)
The Liz Williams Butterfly haven () is a purpose-built area that has been created to attract and provide a habitat for butterflies. It is situated between
Dorothy Stringer and
Varndean College, north of Stringer Way. It was the brainchild of Dr Dan Danahar with funding from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, through the Breathing Places scheme.
This site was created between 2006 and 2007, and by September 2008 the late Liz Williams, botanist, had recorded 97 wildflower species and 10 species of grass. This was an order of magnitude increase in the floral diversity of the site within one year. As a tribute to her work, the site will be renamed the Liz Williams Butterfly Haven during 2011.
Since its creation to 2021 an amazing twenty seven species of butterfly have been recorded here including
.
Woodvale () is actually five linked cemeteries that cover the western side of Race Hill. The cemeteries are east of Lewes Road and either side of Bear Road. Their cultural significance and importance to wildlife to the city were described evocatively by the Sussex field naturalist,
(p. 303).
Brighton is characterised by small dining establishments and independent coffeehouses. Brighton has about 250 restaurants.
.
. It is the country's oldest purpose-built cinema and was Brighton's first Electric
. The Duke of York's Picturehouse expanded in 2012, adding two additional screens in a different location. The company now occupies the upstairs of
, situated on Gardner Street, central Brighton. There are two
s, the Odeon on North Street and Cineworld in the Marina.
Each May the city hosts the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe, the second largest arts festival in the UK (after
). This includes processions such as the Children's Parade, outdoor spectaculars often involving pyrotechnics, and theatre, music and visual arts in venues throughout the city, some brought into this use exclusively for the festival. The earliest feature of the festival,
, are homes of artists and craftspeople opened to the public as galleries, and usually selling the work of the occupants. Since 2002, these have been organised independently of the official Festival and Fringe.
runs alongside Brighton Festival, and has grown to be one of the largest fringe festivals in the world. Together with the street performers from Brighton Festival's "Streets of Brighton" events, and the
-esque outdoor performances that make up "Fringe City", outdoor spectacles and events more than double during May.
In 1974, the city was host to the 19th
.
Other festivals include The Great Escape, featuring three nights of live music in venues across the city; the Soundwaves Festival in June, which shows classical music composed in the 21st Century, and involves both amateur and professional performers; Paddle Round the Pier; Brighton Live which each September stages a week of free gigs in pubs to show local bands;
, a winter solstice celebration; Brighton Digital Festival, annually exploring digital technology and culture; and
, the first of its kind in the UK, which attracts 450,000 to the city over the Pride weekend.
promotes acceptance and visibility for area residents who are disabled.
The
area similarly has a "Hanover Day".
has put on three "Big Beach Boutique" shows, in 2002, 2006 and 2008. An inaugural White Nights (
) all-night arts festival took place in October 2008 and continued for 4 years until it was postponed in 2012 due to a lack of European funding. 2009 saw the first Brighton Zine Fest celebrating
Brighton is the terminus of a number of London-to-Brighton rides and runs, such as the
run and bike ride. Transport rallies are also hosted on the seafront. Groups of
and motorbikes to the city, but their gatherings are now much more sedate than the violent 1960s confrontations depicted in ''
''.
Food and drink related festivals include the traditional Blessing of the Fisheries, where barbecued
Festival. There is also a twice-yearly general food festival. The main Sussex beer festival is held in nearby
, and there is a smaller beer festival in the Hanover area.
Brighton is the home of the UK's first Walk of Fame which celebrates the many rich and famous people associated with the city.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community in Brighton is one of the largest and most prominent in the UK, and Brighton has been named the "gay capital of the UK".
There is record of LGBT history in the city dating to the 19th century. Many LGBT pubs, clubs, bars and shops are located around Brighton and in particular around St James's Street in
. Several LGBT charities, publishers, social and support groups are also based in the city.
is usually celebrated at the start of August.
, which includes artefacts from the West Pier. The
. Live music venues include the Concorde2,
. Many events and performance companies operate in the city. Brighton also has the most
music festival every May. Brighton has produced several successful bands and music artists including
. Brighton is also home to several independent record labels. The second half of 1973 rock opera
takes place at Brighton Beach.
which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007. The Attenborough Centre for the Creative arts is nearby, part of the University of Sussex campus. There are also smaller theatres such as the
, the New Venture, and the Brighton Little Theatre. The city has the purpose built
in May 2015.
. The largest urban park in the city is
was recently developed. Other parks include
.
has been part of the city of Brighton & Hove since 1859, starting as a school of art in the kitchens of the Royal Pavilion. It was granted university status in 1992, and now has a student population of around 18,000 of which 79 per cent are undergraduates. The university is based on four campuses - City campus in the heart of Brighton; Falmer campus set in the South Downs; Moulsecoomb campus on Lewes Road and Eastbourne campus.
The
, four miles (6 km) from the city centre. The university is home to the
, amongst over 40 other established research centres, and has been ranked first in the world for Development studies by the World University Rankings. Served by trains (to
) and 24-hour buses, it has a student population of around 20,000 students of which about a quarter are postgraduates. The university has been ranked 41st in the UK by the Complete University Guide in its 2022 rankings and 246th in the world by the World University Rankings of 2021.
In 2001 the music college BIMM (
) opened in Brighton under the name The Brighton Institute of Modern Music. The college has approximately 1500 students across Brighton, its degree courses at BIMM are validated by the
. Notable alumni have included
. Since the college opened it has expanded to become Europe's largest music college with 6500 students studying at eight campuses across Europe including
.
In 2003, the universities of Brighton and Sussex formed a medical school, known as
. The school was one of four new medical schools to be created as part of a government programme to increase the number of
doctors. The school is based at the University of Sussex campus and works closely with the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Brighton & Hove City Council is responsible for 80 schools, of which 54 are in Brighton.
A range of non-university courses for students over 16, mainly in
(previously City College). More academic subjects can be studied by 16–18-year-olds at
(BHASVIC) in the Seven Dials area.
in North Brighton occupies a commanding position. The 1920s building is celebrated for its façade and internal quads. The college offers academic
, The International Baccalaureate and vocational courses.
As Brighton is home to public universities and colleges, it also home to private colleges such as
, the college was established in 1977 and offers higher educational courses such as vocational, certificate, professional, diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications and has a close partnership with the
. Notable state schools include
School. As with the state schools, some independents are faith-based; Torah Academy, the last Jewish primary school, became a Pre-K/Nursery School at the end of the 2007. The
, a fully accredited music college, opened in 2001 and has since expanded to five locations throughout Britain.
Brighton has been ranked a top 10 student city in the UK, by QS rankings.
is the city's professional association football team. After playing at the
. At the start of the 2011–12 season the club moved permanently to Falmer Stadium, a Premier League level stadium colloquially known as
. Notable achievements include winning promotion to the
in 1979 and staying there for 4 seasons. They reached the
before losing in the replay 5 days later. The
.
South East having won promotion three times in the space four years between 2009 and 2013, before getting relegated twice in quick succession in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 season. Games are played at
.
Brighton Football Club (RFU) is one of the oldest Rugby Clubs in England founded in 1868 before the RFU. They currently play in the Premier division of London and South-East RFU League.
Brighton was chosen as one of the 13
. (Although it was named the "Brighton Community Stadium" throughout the tournament for sponsorship reasons.) One of the two games played was one of the biggest shocks in the history of Rugby Union, with
34 points to 32, with a try in the dying minutes of the game. The other game was between
. The men's 1XI gained promotion in 2013 to the
play at Eaton Road in Hove.
Motoring events take place on Madeira Drive, a piece of roadway on Brighton's seafront, throughout the year. It was originally constructed to host what is commonly held to be the world's oldest motor race, the
, which has been running since 1905. The event is organised by the
and normally takes place on the second Saturday in September each year.
Brighton has a
, with the unusual feature that when the full length of the course is to be used, some of the grass turf of the track has to be laid over the tar at the top of Wilson Avenue, a public road, which therefore has to be closed for the races. A
Club runs an annual triples, doubles and singles competition, informal KOs, winter and summer league, plus Open competitions with other clubs. The club is affiliated to Sussex Pétanque, the local region of the English Pétanque Association, so they can also play at a Regional and National level. The Peace Statue terrain is the official
terrain situated on the seafront near the West Pier.
Brighton has two competitive swimming clubs: Brighton SC formed in 1860 claims to be the oldest swimming club in England; and Brighton Dolphin SC was formed in 1891 as Brighton Ladies Swimming. Casual sea swimming is also a popular activity in Brighton, rising in popularity since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amateur track cycling is held at the
, the oldest velodrome in the UK, built in 1877.
There are three recognised surfing breaks close to Brighton, including East of the Marina, by the West Pier and at Shoreham harbour.
Brighton has several railway stations, many bus routes, coach services and taxis. A Rapid Transport System has been under consideration for some years.
services have operated in the past.
. The A23 joins the
.
The A27 originally ran through the urban area along Old Shoreham Road and Lewes Road, but it now follows the route of the Brighton Bypass (final section opened in 1992) and the old alignment has become the A270. A bypass was first proposed in 1932, six routes were submitted for approval in 1973, and the
published its recommended route in 1980. Public inquiries took place in 1983 and 1987, construction started in 1989 and the first section—between London Road at
—opened in summer 1991.
By 1985, there were about 5,000 parking spaces in central Brighton. The largest car parks are at London Road, King Street and the Churchill Square/Regency Road/Russell Road complex.
.
. Many Brighton residents commute to work in London
. Most trains serve
. The fastest service from London Victoria takes 51 minutes.
en route and providing "a dramatic high-level view" of Brighton.
A wider range of long-distance destinations was served until 2007–08 when rationalisation caused the ending of
.
and Great Malvern are operated by Great Western Railway (train operating company), Great Western Railway via the West Coastway Line.
Until Bus deregulation in Great Britain, deregulation in 1986, bus services in Brighton were provided by Southdown Motor Services and Brighton Borough Transport under a joint arrangement called ''Brighton Area Transport Services''. Southdown were part of the nationalised National Bus Company (UK), NBC group and were based at Freshfield Road in the
area; Brighton Borough Transport were owned by the council and used the former tram depot at Lewes Road as their headquarters. Joint tickets were available and revenue was shared.
The Brighton & Hove (bus company), Brighton & Hove Bus Company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group since 1993, now runs most bus services in Brighton. It has a fleet of about 280 buses.
Compass Travel, The Big Lemon, Metrobus (South East England), Metrobus, Stagecoach South operate services to central Brighton. The city had 1,184 bus stops in 2012, 456 of which had a shelter.
Real-time data, Real-time travel information displays are provided at many stops.
. It does not offer a dedicated shuttle bus service: intending passengers must join the Brighton & Hove Bus Company's route 27 service to
—which travels via Brighton railway station, the Clock Tower, Brighton, Clock Tower and
—and pay standard fares.
The 20-year City Plan released in January 2013 ruled out an official park-and-ride facility, stating it would be an "inefficient use of public money, particularly in an era of declining car use". Councillors and residents in
have claimed that streets and car parks in those areas have become unofficial park-and-ride sites: drivers park for free and take buses into the city centre.
Shoreham Airport, which offers chartered and scheduled flights using light aircraft,
is west of Brighton near the town of Shoreham-by-Sea. In 1971, the borough councils of Worthing, Hove and Brighton bought it and operated it jointly as a municipal airport,
but since 2006 it has been privately owned.
Gatwick Airport, one of Britain's major international airports, is north on the A23; regular coach and rail services operate from Brighton.
* List of people from Brighton and Hove
* The Argus (Brighton), ''The Argus'' (Brighton)
* :Musicians from Brighton and Hove, Musicians from Brighton and Hove
* Brighton Borough Council elections for the political history of the former borough council which governed the town from 1974 to 1997.
; Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
; General references
*
*
*The Daniel Wakeford song "It's a wonderful city" is filmed in the center of Brighton City, and often mentions Brighton with the phrase 'I'm in the Brighton'.
*
*
{{Authority control
Brighton,
Towns in East Sussex
Former non-metropolitan districts of East Sussex
Market towns in East Sussex
Populated coastal places in East Sussex
Seaside resorts in England
Beaches of East Sussex
Unparished areas in East Sussex
Brighton and Hove
Former boroughs in England