18 December: Brighton and Hove

On this date in 2000 Brighton and Hove was made a city as part of the millennium and the Queen’s 50th jubilee celebrations. Here are 10 things you might not know about Brighton:

1. At the time of the Domesday Book, the settlement was called Bristelmestune, with the shortened form of Brighton first appearing in 1660. Brighthelmstone was the town's official name until 1810. Brighton has several nicknames, including The Queen of Watering Places (and a pun on this one, The Queen of Slaughtering Places, relating to the 1930s Brighton trunk murders), Old Ocean's Bauble, Doctor Brighton, London-by-the-Sea and School Town, due to the large numbers of schools in the area. Winston Churchill attended one of them.
2. Brighton is the 45^th most populous district in England; the fourth happiest city in the UK (after Birmingham, Liverpool and Norwich) and the second most haunted city (after York). The population of around 290,885 people includes less children and old people than the national average, but more people in the 20-44 age range. Part of the reason for that might be that the city has a long LGBT-friendly history. It’s estimated that 11–15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is lesbian, gay or bisexual. Brighton has also been described as the UK's most "Godless" city, because in the 2011 census, a massive 42% of the residents said they had no religion.
3. There are more restaurants per person in Brighton than anywhere else in the country – one per 250 people. There are almost as many pubs – one per 320 people. Bearing in mind that 8,000,000 million people visit Brighton every year, with 6,500,000 of those being day trippers, there’s unlikely to be a shortage of customers.
4. It has also made a contribution to the world of film. The Duke of York’s cinema is the oldest cinema in continuous use. Hove was home to William Friese-Greene, a pioneer in cinematography, and George Albert Smith, who was responsible for the first colour film process. These people, and the Brighton School of Filmmakers mean it’s hardly surprising that Hove was the location of one of the earliest movies. Brighton’s cinematic history even extends to porn – the oldest surviving “blue” movie was filmed in a garden in Hove in 1896. More modern films to use Brighton as a location include Carry on at Your Convenience, Quadrophenia, The End of the Affair, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, The Young Victoria, and needless to say, Brighton Rock.
5. The city has some musical claims to fame, too. The Brighton Dome concert hall saw the first performance of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and was the venue for the Eurovision song contest in 1974, the year Abba won with Waterloo.
6. There are over 3,360 listed buildings and structures in Brighton & Hove. They include St Bartholomew’s Church, the tallest brick church in Europe which is built to the same dimensions as Noah's Ark in the book of Genesis.
7. Another is Brighton Pavilion. Brighton became a fashionable resort in Georgian times and was a favourite holiday spot for the Prince Regent, later King George IV. It was he who had the Royal Pavilion built, and also tunnels from there to the museum and the Dome so he could move around the town unseen. It’s said this was so he could hide how fat he’d become. Later, the building was used as a military hospital for Indian soldiers during World War I, and had the Germans won World War II, Hitler planned to make it his holiday home, and instructed the Luftwaffe not to bomb it for this reason.
8. Brighton Pier is another listed structure, built in the Victorian era. It is nearly two kilometres long with 85 miles of planking. 60,000 light bulbs are needed to keep it lit.
9. The Brighton Sea Life Centre is the world's oldest aquarium, dating back to 1872. It also has the longest underwater observation tunnel in England. More Brighton firsts include England’s first nudist beach, which opened in 1980 and the first recorded commercial flight, which left from Shoreham Airport and landed on Hove Lawns delivering light bulbs (for the pier, perhaps?) in 1910.
10. Brighton Marina is the largest man made marina in the country, covering 127 acres and with moorings for about two thousand boats.

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