Thousands of years before the resort
Whitehawk’s Neolithic causewayed enclosure records communities here around 5,500 years ago.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)LOCAL HISTORY · A city built in layers
Before the city, many different stories.
The history of Brighton & Hove
Brighton & Hove grew from early settlements, fishing communities, villages and farmland into a seaside resort and a city of distinct neighbourhoods. Follow the timeline, then explore the area stories.
Explore the story ↓
From early settlement to today: a timeline.
Fishing town to seaside destination
Brighton’s Fishing Museum tells the story of a fishing community transformed into a fashionable resort.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)1780s–early 1800s · Royal Brighton
Royal patronage helped reshape the town. Regency development extended east into Kemp Town and west into Brunswick.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)Victorian era · More visitors, more town
The London–Brighton railway helped bring mass tourism; Hove developed as a Victorian town alongside Brighton.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)1920s onward · Homes beyond the centre
Council housebuilding expanded at Moulsecoomb and around Queen’s Park / Pankhurst Avenue in the early 1920s.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)1930s–1950s · Hangleton grows
Housing spread around Hangleton’s older landmarks. Schools, shops and services followed the growing population.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)1997 and 2000 · A shared city
Brighton & Hove’s unitary authority formed in 1997 and gained city status in 2000.
Read the official source ↗ (opens in a new tab)A city that did not begin in just one place
The familiar seafront is only one chapter. Hangleton has a medieval church; Hove’s museum holds Roman finds from West Blatchington; Whitehawk has a much earlier archaeological landscape. Later streets and housing estates grew around older places rather than replacing an empty map. The linked stories below let you move between these layers, from surviving buildings to traces of a lost railway.
Plan your visit.
Choose an area story below, or visit the local history galleries at Brighton and Hove museums. Photographs show surviving places at their credited dates, rather than reconstructions of the past.
Sources & further reading
- Brighton & Hove Museums: archaeology and collections ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Brighton Fishing Museum ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Royal Pavilion: town and resort development ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Council: housing history ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Council: Hangleton urban study ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Council: civic history in statement of accounts ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Hove Museum: local history ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Checked 21 October 2026. Programmes, access and opening times can change. This is Via’s independent guide; listings do not imply a partnership. Photographs show real places at their credited dates, not film or television stills. Images are resized and cropped for display.