Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove (formed from the previous towns of Brighton, Hove, Portslade and several other villages) in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain. For administrative purposes, Brighton and Hove is not part of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, but remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex.
The ancient settlement of Brighthelmstone dates from before Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as a health resort featuring sea bathing during the 18th century and became a destination for day-trippers from London after the arrival of the railway in 1841. Brighton experienced rapid population growth, reaching a peak of over 160,000 by 1961. Modern Brighton forms part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation stretching along the coast, with a population of around 480,000.
Brighton has long been renowned throughout the UK and Europe as gay-friendly, and is home to a large LGBT community. Eight million tourists a year visit Brighton. The city has a substantial business conference industry regularly hosting the Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, Conservative Party and Trade Union annual conferences. Brighton has two universities and a medical school.
After boundary changes between 1873 and 1952, the land area of Brighton increased 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, Bevendean, Coldean and Whitehawk. The major expansion of 1928 also incorporated the villages of Patcham, Ovingdean and Rottingdean, and much council housing was built in parts of Woodingdean after the Second World War.
More recently, gentrification of much of Brighton has seen a return of the fashionable image which characterised the growth of the Regency period. Recent housing in the North Laine, for instance, has been designed in keeping with the area. In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000. Brighton is sometimes referred to as London-by-the-sea.
The Royal Pavilion is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 19th century, under the direction of the architect John Nash, and is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior. Other Indo-Saracenic buildings in Brighton include the Sassoon Mausoleum, 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 features a funfair, restaurants and arcade halls. The West Pier was built in 1866 and has been closed since 1975 awaiting renovation, which faces continual setbacks, The West Pier is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom, but suffered two fires in 2003. Plans for a new landmark in its place – the i360, a 183 m (600 ft) observation tower designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield – were announced in June 2006. Plans were approved by the council on 11 October 2006. As of early 2009, construction had yet to begin, but the area has been cordoned off.
The seafront has bars, restaurants, nightclubs and amusement arcades, principally between the piers. Being less than an hour from London by train has made the city a popular destination. Brighton beach has a nudist area (south of the easterly part of Kemptown). Brighton’s beach, which is a shingle beach up to the mean low tide mark, has been awarded a blue flag. The Monarch’s Way long-distance footpath heads west along the seafront above the beach. Ohso Social is a former deck chair arch that has been transformed into a bar and restaurant.
Brighton is considered to be one of the UK’s premier night-life hotspots and is also associated with many popular music artists. There are also live music venues including the Concorde2, Brighton Centre and the Brighton Dome, where ABBA received a substantial boost to their career when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. There are a large number of events and performance companies operating in the city. One of the most prominent musical events has been the irregularly recurring “Big Beach Boutique”, for which a substantial portion of the beach is controversially closed off for a concert by Fatboy Slim. There are over 300 pubs in the town, including the historic Cricketers, the Evening Star real ale pub, The Greys gastropub, The Free Butt music pub, The Heart and Hand and the Regency Tavern.
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