The Pictorial History of Brighton & The Royal Pavilion [antikvár]

THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF BRIGHTON AND THE ROYAL PAVILION BY CLIFFORD MUSGRAVE, O.B.E. Director of the Brighton Public Libraries and Museums WHAT is the spirit that makes Brighton unique among holiday resorts? Perhaps it is partly the essence of all its natural endowments; its heady, salt-tanged air, the sunshine and the glittering sea. The atmosphere of Brighton has been compared to that of Naples or Seville, and certainly it possesses a brightness and a bhtheness that fill one with a sense of liberation and the promise of delight. Inevitably when we think of Brighton we think ofthe Regency, and it is true that the vitality, the robustness, the sense of freedom and pleasure which give this period its fascination are part of the genius of the town. We owe to the Regency Brighton's beautiful architecture; the nobility and dignity of the grand squares and terraces of Kemp Town and Brunswick Town, the gleaming smarmess of Royal Crescent, the gaiety and charm of innumerable little bow-fronted villas in the smaller squares. But the Regency's especial gift to Brighton is the Prince Regent's own fantastic oriental palace, which in itself sums up the town's spirit of gaiety and elegance. As a pleasure resort Brighton is largely modern: its early history is but that of a small fishing town. Even the name of Brighton did not come into general use until the late 18th century, although it was indeed mentioned in this way in the time of Henry IV. In early days the town was mostly called Brighthelmstone, and in different ages there have been such variants as Bright-helmston, Brithampton, Bristel-mestune and even Brighamsted. The name has been romantically supposed to derive from the shining crest of an imaginary Saxon chieftain. Bright Helm, but it is more prosaically believed to come from the Saxon Beortheim's Page 1 THE LANES The picturesque Lanes lie in the heart of Brighton between the three streets that were the town boundaries in ancient times, North Street, West Street and East Street. The houses have been rebuilt many times, and mostly do not date from earlier than the eighteenth centupi, but they preserve in their narrow ways the ori-ginal plan of medieval Brighton. Here the houses are so close together that neighbours can speak to each other and touch from their upper windows, but in parts The Lanes open out into litde courts with sheltered gardens, one of which contains a large fig tree. In the maze of alleys are gathered many antique and curiosity shops, where treasures are still to be found, and one can wander for a long time far from the bustle of traffic. Page 2 EARLY HISTORY Tun or Brithelm's Tun, the farm of Beorthebn or Brithelm. However, the bright helm remains as the crest of the Borough arms. Prehistoric men built hill forts at Whitehawk and Hollingbury. Gold bracelets and a rare amber cup of the Bronze Age are in the Brighton iVluseum. Romans and Saxons had their settlements here. The earUest records are of the time of Ethelred the Unready. King Harold raised levies from Brigh-thelmston to repel the Normans, but with the Conquest William granted the town to Wilham de Warenne, husband of Gundrada, who is believed to have been the Conqueror's daughter. The Domesday Book tells us that Bristelmestune paid a rent of 4,000 herrings a year, and it was valued at twelve pounds. In the Middle Ages most of the town lay below the cliffs, but the encroachment of the sea forced people to build above, and an Upper and Lower Town came to exist. The fishermen mostly Uved below, the landsmen above, and there were bitter feuds between them. In 1545 Admiral Pregent de Bidoux, known to the English as "Prior John," with over 200 ships landed a force of men and burned the whole of the town except for the walls of the 14th-century church of St. Nicholas. After the French attack a blockhouse with a battery of guns was built in 1558 near the bottom of West Street. It was erected "in warhke manner by the fishermen with the profiles of the quarter-share" from fishing, but in 1579 the fishermen petitioned for some relief from the cost of defence. Accordingly they were ordered by a Commission to "sette down in writynge their auncient customs and orders." The Commission also set up a new body for the government of the town. This was known as "The Society of Twelve" as it consisted of the "auncientest, gravest, wisest inhabitants, eight Fishermen and fower landemen for assistants to the Conestable." At this time the town possessed 80 fishing boats, 400 able mariners and 10,000 nets. Brighton's later fame was to come through the patronage of a monarch, but even in its 17th-century obscurity the town was to play a part in the hfe of a king, and be lit for a moment by the torch of history. This was the occasion when Charles 11 stayed the night at an inn in Brighton, before escaping to France after his Continued on page 4