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Brighton History, United Kingdom

Brighton, UK - History: Know The History Of Brighton

This town has a lot of history behind it, and it really makes up an interesting read.

Brighton came into existence after the Saxons visited Sussex. There was a particular person called Beorthelm, who had a farmland in Sussex. Therefore, the farmland that was owned by Beorthelm used to be referred as Beorthelm’s tun and it is from this name that the name Brighton came into being. In Saxon dialect, a farm is called a ‘tun’. The farmland gradually grew in proportions and became the town of Brighton.

The village of Brighthelmston, as Brighton was known in those days, was attacked by the French in the year 1514. They burnt down the village and destroyed much of it. However, the village soon regained much of its lost prosperity and went on to become a great fishing village of those days. Again, the village was damaged considerably when it was stuck by storms in 1703 and 1705. Much of Brighton was damaged by 1730 and the population had dwindled by then.

Things took a turn for the better for Brighton, when in the year 1750, Dr. Richard Russell, who lived in Lewes, wrote in his book that sea water was beneficial for one’s health and bathing in it could help in fighting a lot of diseases. People began believing this claim, and it was soon noticed that several individuals started coming to Brighton, turning it into a popular health resort. Brighton’ popularity as a health resort became more popular in 1783, when the then Prince of Wales, came to visit Brighton. With his visit, Brighton became more and more popular, and gradually became a very famous town in England.

With the introduction of railway in Brighton, in the year 1841, it became easier for the people to come to the town from London, and this made the town more popular with visitors. The town slowly began growing in population, which led to the introduction of many facilities in the town.

Although Brighton prospered considerably over the years, there were many people, who were considerably poor. To remove poverty, a lot of money was spent by the government in clearing the slums in the town, once the First World War was over. Much of the town was damaged in the air raids during the Second World War. However, Brighton had been able to regain much of its lost prosperity since then.

With the emergence of the universities and schools in the 1960s, Brighton has been regarded as a center of learning, apart from being a famous tourist destination.

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