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The History of Brighton
By Tim LambertTHE BEGINNING
 Brighton began as a Saxon village. The Saxons conquered Sussex in the 5th century AD. One of them was called Beorthelm. He owned a farm (in Saxon a tun) called Beorthelm's tun which, intime grew into the town of Brighton. As well as farmers there were fishermen in the village.Brighton overlooked a cliff and the fishermen's huts were under this cliff on the foreshore. Thechurch of St Bartholomew was first mentioned in 1185. (Though it probably existed long beforethen).
THE MIDDLE AGES
 In 1313 Brighton gained a charter. This was a document granting the merchants the right to formtheir own local government and certain other privileges. A fish market was held daily on the beach. There was also a weekly pig market and a weekly corn market as well as a general marketwhere all kinds of goods were sold. Once a year there was a fair. (A fair was like a market butwas held annually and attracted buyers and sellers from all over South East England). The earliest map of Brighton shows a little town about one quarter of a mile square. There were 4streets, North Street, West Street, East Street and South Street. In the middle of the 4 streets wereallotments. The Lanes started as pathways between them. By 1500 Middle Street existed. Therewere also fishermen's huts along the shore. The 4 streets formed the boundaries of the town. Thespace between Middle Street and East Street was called the Hempshares and hemp was grownthere for fishermen's nets. (The Lanes started as little paths between gardens or allotments).Brighton suffered from the continuous erosion of the coast. In 1340 it was stated that the sea hadrecently 'swallowed' 40 acres of farmland. The first fortification at Brighton was the bulwark, which was a tower built next to the town in1497.Brighton town council consisted of 12 men chosen from 'the most respectable, wealthier anddiscreeter' inhabitants, 8 fishermen and 4 landmen. They chose one of themselves to be theConstable, responsible for law and order for one year. When one of the 12 died the other 11selected somebody to replace him. 
THE 16th CENTURY
 
 The French burned down Brighton in 1514. This was easily done as nearly all the buildings wereof wood, with thatched roofs. On the other hand, they could be easily rebuilt. In 1545 the French returned. A writer said the French commander 'Came forth into the seas andarrived on the coast of Sussex before Brighthamstead (Brighton) and set certain of his soldiers onland to burn and spoil the country, but the beacons were lit (to warn people in the surroundingcountryside and summon their aid) and the inhabitants thereabouts came down so thick, that theFrenchmen were driven to fly with loss of diverse of their numbers so that they did little hurtthere'. By 1580 there were 400 fishermen and 102 landmen living in Brighton. So it probably had a population of around 2,500. By the standards of the time Brighton was a fair sized market town.There were 80 fishing vessels. In 1558 'there was granted to the inhabitants of that town by the Lords one parcel of landcontaining in length, 30 feet long and 16 feet in breadth'. This parcel of land was used to buildthe blockhouse. The blockhouse was a circular fort, 50 feet in diameter, 16 feet in height withwalls 8 feet thick. It had 6 large guns and 10 small cannons. It stood near the Southern end of Middle Street. A wall 14 or 16 feet high, with placements for guns extended 400 feet eastwardsto East Street and westward to West Street. There were 4 gates, East gate, Porters gate, MiddleGate and West gate. 
THE 17th CENTURY
 Despite the building of the blockhouse in 1635 the local Justice of the Peace complained of thelack of defences at Brighton. In 1651, shortly after the civil war, Charles II persuaded the Scots to invade England to help himregain his crown. The attempt was foiled. The Scottish army was defeated at Worcester and theking narrowly avoided capture. He made his way, in disguise to Brighton, and was smuggledabroad.In the 17th century the fishing industry in Brighton suffered a decline. This was because of aseries of wars with the French and the Dutch. Their navies prevented fishing vessels from goingfishing, e.g. in 1694 a writer said 'Our poor town of Brighton has been this day suddenlysurprised by 4 French ships and pestered by them since 11 am. As yet they have not done usmuch harm, having positioned themselves so near to us as to shoot over the town'. Two moreFrench vessels arrived but the townsfolk armed themselves and assembled. Eventually theFrench sailed away. 
 
The modern name of the town, Brighton, first appeared in 1660. By 1810 it was the official nameof the town. In 1665 a free school opened in the town on the Hempshares. In the same year aBowling Green opened on the Old Steine. 
THE 18th CENTURY
 In 1703 England was struck by a severe storm. In Brighton it 'stripped a great many houses,turned up the lead off the church, otherthrew 2 windmills and laid them flat on the ground'. Asecond storm in 1705 demolished houses below the cliff, along the foreshore. In 1723 groinswere built. However the two storms severely damaged Brighton, which was already suffering aneconomic depression. Brighton declined in size to perhaps 1,500 people in the early 18th century.And the ocean continued to erode the seashore. First it destroyed the houses under the cliff, then, by 1760 began to undermine the cliff itself. Brightons fortifications were slowly undermined anddestroyed by the sea. In 1730 a writer said 'If some speedy care be not taken to stop the encroachments of the ocean itis probable the town will, in a few years, be utterly depopulated, the inhabitants being alreadydiminished by one third less than they were and those that remain are many of them Widows,Orphans, decrepit persons and all very poor'. Another writer described the people of Brighton asmostly very needy and wretched in their mode of living'. But Brighton's fortunes were transformed in 1750 when Dr Richard Russell, a resident of Lewes,wrote a book in which he claimed that bathing in seawater was very good for your health. Rich people began to come to Brighton hoping to be cured of some illness by bathing in seawater. Atfirst they were a trickle, but later became a flood. In 1783 the Prince of Wales and his friendsvisited Brighton which ensured its popularity. Suddenly Brighton began to revive and prosper. The first theatre in the town opened in NorthStreet in 1774. A second free school opened in Duke Street in 1779. The first grammar school inBrighton opened in 1789. By 1767 two assembly rooms were built (for dancing and playingcards) at the Old Ship Inn (Ship Street is named after it) and at the Castle Tavern (which stood onthe south side of the Market Place). In 1773 a market house was built so covered markets could be held. As well as these developments Brighton grew quickly in size. From a population of about 2,000in 1750 it grew to about 4,000 in 1783, the year of the Prince's visit. Many new streets were builtin the space between Middle Street and East Street and by 1792 many of the Lanes were built up.Between 1770 and 1795 635 new houses were built. New streets were built north and east of thetown including Battery Place, Bond Street, Broad Street, Charles Street, Church Street, KingStreet, Manchester Street, Old and New Steine and Russell Street. 
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