East Brighton Park is located on the eastern edge 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Bounded by Wilson Avenue and East Brighton golf course, the park extends into Sheepcote Valley and covers around 60 acres. Within the park, there are pitches for football and cricket, tennis courts, a café and a children's playground, beyond it is the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...

. It was created in 1925.

Location

The park lies between Wilson Avenue and East Brighton golf course, on the eastern side of Brighton, just north of

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 ...

. Adjacent to it and served by the same access road are Whitehawk F.C., Brighton Caravan Club and a sports ground used by

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

. Further up the hill are the

, Stanley Deason leisure centre and the municipal dump.

History

Brighton Corporation bought the land which would later become the park in September 1913. It purchased over 1000 acres of what was then land in the parish of

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 ...

. The 60 acres of parkland were landscaped in 1925 to provide football pitches and tennis courts. Brighton College had leased 25 acres in 1923, but after experiencing financial problems had to return some land to the Corporation, which then created the Enclosed Football Ground in 1947 (now the site of Whitehawk F.C.). The playground was set up in 1987. The caravan park to the north of the park was opened in 1938 and was the first municipal camping ground in England, formed by redeveloping the former Newhouse Farm. In 1968, scenes in the film ''

Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British comedy musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Ol ...

'' were shot in the park, which was used to replicate the trenches of the Battle of the Somme.

Uses

The council provides a cricket ground, football pitches, tennis courts and a children's playground. Sheep are grazed on the sides of the valley. The park is also used by the

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also co ...

to land helicopters when bringing emergency cases to the

Royal Sussex Hospital The Royal Sussex County Hospital is an acute teaching hospital in Brighton, England. Together with the Princess Royal Hospital, it is administered by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. The services provided at the hospital inc ...

. In 2016,

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...

flew in by helicopter on his way to visit a local school. A café operates from within the cricket pavilion. Starting in 2018, Wild Chalk is a one day family friendly event organised by South Downs National Park and the council in order to raise awareness of the unique and rare chalk grassland habitat of places like Sheepcote Valley. The Land Beyond dance festival was due to take place in the park in June 2019, but the first day was cancelled as a result of high winds. The second day of the 5,000 person event went ahead as planned. In winter 2019, there were homeless encampments in the park alongside many other places in the city.

References

{{Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove Parks and open spaces in East Sussex