Brighton

• 1. Origins And Early Settlements

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  Archaeologists have dated the first settlement in the Brighton area to Whitehawk Camp, a Neolithic encampment on Whitehawk Hill. This site dates between 3500 BC and 2700 BC and stands as one of six causewayed enclosures in Sussex. Excavations there revealed numerous burial mounds, tools, and bones, suggesting it was a place of some importance for early communities. Brythonic Celts arrived in Britain during the 7th century BC and established an important Iron Age settlement at Hollingbury Castle. This Celtic encampment dates from the 3rd or 2nd century BC and is circumscribed by substantial earthwork outer walls with a diameter of roughly 180 meters. Cissbury Ring, located roughly 4 kilometers from Hollingbury, is suggested to have been the tribal capital of the region. Later, Roman occupation left physical evidence including villas at Preston Village and a road running nearby from London. After the Romans departed in the early 4th century AD, the area returned to native Celtic control before Anglo-Saxon invaders arrived in the late 5th century AD. The region became part of the Kingdom of Sussex, founded in 477 AD by King Aelle. The village of Bristelmestune was likely founded by these Anglo-Saxon invaders during the early Saxon period. They were attracted by easy access for boats, sheltered areas of raised land for building, and better conditions compared to the damp Weald to the north. By the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, it had become a fishing and agricultural settlement where a rent of 4,000 herring was established. Its population stood at about 400 people at that time.

• 2. Georgian Rise And Royal Patronage

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  From the 1730s, Brighton entered its second phase of development which brought rapid improvement to its fortunes. Richard Russell from nearby Lewes enthusiastically encouraged the contemporary fad for drinking and bathing in seawater as a purported cure for illnesses. He sent many patients to take the cure in the sea at Brighton and published a popular treatise on the subject. Russell moved to the town soon afterwards, and the Royal Albion hotel now occupies the site of his house. Others were already visiting the town for recreational purposes before Russell became famous. From the 1760s, it served as a boarding point for boats travelling to France while road transport improved when the main road via Crawley was turnpiked in 1770. Spas and indoor baths opened by entrepreneurial physicians such as Sake Dean Mahomed and Anthony Relhan further attracted visitors. The growth of the town accelerated after the patronage of the Prince Regent following his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency. Development of Georgian terraces began around 1780, transforming the fishing village into a fashionable resort. A permanent military presence was established with the completion of Preston Barracks in 1793, which was later rebuilt in 1830.

• 3. Victorian Expansion And Infrastructure

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  The population increased rapidly throughout the 19th century from 7,339 in 1801 to 46,661 in 1841. By 1901, the population had reached more than 120,000 people. The arrival of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841 brought Brighton within reach of day-trippers from London. Many major attractions were built during the Victorian era including the Grand Hotel in 1864 and the West Pier in 1866. The Palace Pier opened in 1899 as a replacement for the Chain Pier but became a pleasure pier instead. Prior to these structures, the famous Royal Suspension Chain Pier was built to designs by Captain Samuel Brown. It lasted from 1823 until it was destroyed in a storm in 1896. All that remains are small lumps of wood and stone visible only at low tide. The land area expanded significantly from 1,640 acres in 1854 to 14,347 acres in 1952 due to boundary changes. New housing estates were established in acquired areas including Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Coldean, and Whitehawk. The major expansion of 1928 incorporated villages like Patcham, Ovingdean, and Rottingdean. Much council housing was built in parts of Woodingdean after the Second World War. By the 1970s, the town had acquired a reputation as a retirement destination with an elderly population before regaining fashionable status in the 1990s.

• 4. Modern Demographics And Identity

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  As of the 2021 census, 10.7% of the population over age 18 identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual. This represents the highest percentage in the entire UK compared to national and regional averages of 3%. 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 held the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside London in 2013. Brighton has been described as the UK's most Godless city based on analysis of the 2011 census which revealed that 42 per cent of the population profess no religion. This figure is far higher than the national average of 25 per cent. Christianity remains the largest religion with 43 per cent reporting an affiliation while Islam accounts for 2.2 per cent. As part of the Jedi census phenomenon in 2001, 2.6 per cent claimed their religion was Jedi Knight, the largest percentage in the country. In December 2021, new data released by Shelter revealed that one in 78 people in Brighton and Hove are homeless. The report records the city as having the third highest rate of homelessness in England.

• 5. Cultural Vibrancy And Festivals

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  Each May the city hosts the Brighton Festival, the second largest arts festival in the UK after Edinburgh. It includes processions such as the Children's Parade and outdoor spectaculars often involving pyrotechnics. Theatre, music and visual arts fill venues throughout the city, some brought into this use exclusively for the festival. The earliest feature of the festival, the Artists' Open Houses, are homes of artists and craftspeople opened to the public as galleries. Since 2002, these have been organised independently of the official Festival and Fringe. Brighton Pride is celebrated annually, attracting 450,000 visitors to the city over the Pride weekend in 2018. Since 2013, the city has also celebrated Brighton Trans Pride, the first and largest of its kind in the UK. On the 6th of April 1974, Brighton hosted the 19th Eurovision Song Contest where ABBA won with their song Waterloo at the Brighton Dome. The DJ Fatboy Slim held several concerts on Brighton beach including Big Beach Boutique II in 2002 which was attended by 250,000 people. This event stands as the largest outdoor party ever held in the UK.

• 6. Economic Shifts And Industry

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  Brighton has been an important centre for commerce and employment since the 18th century. It is home to several major companies, some employing thousands locally. As a retail centre it is of regional importance while creative, digital and new media businesses are increasingly significant. The Hollingbury Industrial Estate was one of the largest such facilities in Brighton where about 6,000 people were employed in early days. Most large factories closed during recessions of the 1980s and 1990s causing employment to fall to 1,000. Structural changes started in the mid-1980s with a move towards small-scale industrial units. By 2007, over 250 new media businesses had been founded in Brighton. Computer game design company Black Rock Studio was founded in 1998 but was taken over by Disney Interactive Studios who closed it down in 2011. The Gamer Network whose portfolio includes Eurogamer was founded in 1999 and remains based in Brighton. Tourism contributes £380m to the economy and employs 20,000 people directly or indirectly. The city has 9,600 registered companies and was identified as one of five supercities for the future in a 2001 report.