Brighton

Sister cities

• Cali
• Reykjanesbær
• Dieppe

History

The first settlement in the Brighton area was Whitehawk Camp, a Neolithic encampment on Whitehawk Hill which has been dated to between 3500 BC and 2700 BC. It is one of six causewayed enclosures in Sussex. Archaeologists have only partially explored it, but have found numerous burial mounds, tools and bones, suggesting it was a place of some importance. There was also a Bronze Age settlement at Coldean. Brythonic Celts arrived in Britain in the 7th century BC, Later, there was a Roman villa at Preston Village, a Roman road from London ran nearby, and much physical evidence of Roman occupation has been discovered locally. After the Romans left in the early 4th century AD, the Brighton area returned to the control of the native Celts. Anglo-Saxons then invaded in the late 5th century AD, and the region became part of the Kingdom of Sussex, founded in 477 AD by king Ælle. Anthony Seldon 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 to the north. By the time of the Domesday survey in 1086 it was a fishing and agricultural settlement, a rent of 4,000 herring was established, and its population was about 400. 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. Over the next few decades, though, events severely affected its local and national standing, such that by 1730 "it was a forlorn town…

Geography

Brighton lies between the South Downs and the English Channel to the north and south, respectively. The Sussex coast forms a wide, shallow bay between the headlands of Selsey Bill and Beachy Head; Brighton developed near the centre of this bay around a seasonal river, the Wellesbourne (or Whalesbone), which flowed from the South Downs above Patcham. 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. {|class="wikitable" |+Average sea temperature |- !Jan !Feb !Mar !Apr !May !Jun !Jul !Aug !Sep !Oct !Nov !Dec !Year |- |style="background:#9ff; color:black;"| |style="background:#9ff; color:black;"| |style="background:#9ff; color:black;"| |style="background:#9ff; color:black;"| |style="background:#9fc; color:black;"| |style="background:#cf9; color:black;"| |style="background:#ff9; color:black;"| |style="background:#ff9; color:black;"| |style="background:#ff6; color:black;"| |style="background:#ff9; color:black;"| |style="background:#cf9; color:black;"| |style="background:#9fc; color:black;"| |style="background:#9fc; color:black;"| |} {|class="wikitable" align=right |- ! Date from ! Parish area |- | 11th century | |- |31 October 1873 | |- |1 October 1923 | |- |1 April 1928 | |- |1 April 1952 | |- |31 March 1972 | |- |1 April 1993 | |- |1 April 1997{{NoteTag|Area of the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove In its original form, Brighton parish covered about between the English Channel, Hove, Preston, Ovingdean and Rottingdean. 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…

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  7,378
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,158
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,928
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  6,417
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,947
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,846
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,527
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,735

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2015-01-27
  1 km ENE of Winchester, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2011-07-14
  62 km SSE of Ventnor, United Kingdom