insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 22 - December 2016 | Page 103

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

S P OT L I G H T

O N

BRIGHTON & HOVE

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Brighton and Hove: the two names go together like cheese and pickle, like bacon and eggs, like
strawberries and cream…and, combined, Brighton and Hove is a city that has it all – including two
names, something that came about in 1997, when the two areas were formally joined together
as one. Fantastic links to London via both train and road, and an enviable coastal position make
Brighton and Hove a very desirable place to be; it was once proclaimed the happiest place in the
UK, and is often praised for its cool credentials. ‘Live and let live’ is the ethos subscribed to by the
city’s wonderfully diverse population, and its streets are buzzing with things to do.

History in Brief
Brighton and Hove first came to prominence
in around 3500 BC when Bronze Age settlers
chose the area for its position and its fertile land.
Ever since then, the area has been populated,
despite the fact that what makes it so useful
- its open position on the coast - also made it
supremely vulnerable. Brighton and Hove was
constantly under attack by new invaders hoping
to oust the settlers who were already there, and
the town has had to be rebuilt numerous times.
This got so bad that by 1730, Brighton and
Hove was just a shell, and only 2,000 people
lived there. Most people avoided it.
Thankfully, this dire situation did not last for
long – by 1770, thanks to the fad for sea
bathing as a cure for tuberculosis, Brighton
was once more the place to be and be seen.

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