Mediaeval and Tudor times
The manors of which the present-day city area was composed—Brighton-Michelham, Atlingworth and Brighton-Lewes—were in the possession of the lords of the manor, whose stewards convened and presided over court leets, which met periodically to review the conduct of the community, the standards of food, weights and measures, fair use of common land and the moral conduct of the people. Counties were divided into hundreds, defined as the areas each large enough to support 100 households or 100 hides. So stewards were responsible for administration and, most importantly, tax collection.
      Brighton's inhabitants presented a petition to the Privy Council in 1580, as a result of which two commissioners were appointed to investigate and regulate the practices of taxing the fishing trade. The 'Ancient Customs' thus established were overseen by a group of locals, known as a vestry. As revised in 1619, this comprised the constable, appointed annually at the court leet for the hundred, and the Twelve, appointed by the commissioners, of eight fishermen and four landsmen. The Twelve, with the constable or vicar also chose two fishermen and one landsman of substance each ya=ear to be church wardens.
      The Brighton Town Act of 1773 put local government of Brighton in the hands of the vestry and 64 town commissioners, established under the Act, to be selected from among the great and the good of the town, who had control over the streets, sea defences and markets, taxing coal and controlling nuisances. Their numbers were increased to 106 and their powers were extended under the Brighthelmston Improvement Act in 1810—follow the links for more details of those powers. Commissioners were appointed for life and replaced on death or resignation by an election among rate-payers. The local MPs, lords of the manor, vicar and high constable were ex officio commissioners.
      A further Brighthelmston Improvement and Poor Relieef Act in 1825 further increased the number of commissioners to 116 but removed the ex officio appointees. Rate-payers now appointed guargians of the poor. The commission now had authority to build a toewn hall, a markey, a prison and tollgates.

Creation of the Brighton Borough Council
Brighton was granted its first charter of incorporation in 1854 and the town commissioners were abolished as from 29 May 1855. The town was divided into six wards and the council comprised a mayor with two aldermen and six councillors from each ward. The aldermen were elected by the councillors, who in turn were elected by burgesses (persons eligible to vote—see definition below). Two members stood down each year in turn. A seventh ward, Preston, was added in 1873 as the borough expanded. On 1 April 1889 Brighton became a county borough.
      The population continued to grow—by 50 per cent between 1851 and 1881—so in 1894 the number of wards was doubled to 14, each with three councillors, who again served for three years and stood down on a rotating basis. When the newly-developing South Moulsecoomb housing estate was annexed from Patcham under the Brighton (Extension) Order 1923 it was added to Preston ward.

>Hove, Aldrington and Portslade
Prior to the Hove Commissioners Act 1873 administration in Hove rested with the Brunswick Square and Terrace [Brunswick Town] Commission, established under the Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace Improvement Act 1830 and extended in 1851. The Hove Improvement Act 1858 created the West Hove Improvement Commissioners to cover the non-Brunswick parts of the parish.
      A new board of Commissioners was established by the 1873 Act, with six wards: Adelaide and Bruswick (nine commissioners each), Medina (six), St John's, Stanford and Ventnor (three each). These wards remained the same, although the numbers of councillors from each increased as the town grew.
      The Hove Commissioners became an Urban District Council in 1894, absorbing Aldrington—which had successfully resisted annexation by Hove in 1877—and four years later the town was incorporated as a borough.
      Meanwhile, Steyning East Rural District Council was created in 1894 and included parishes across the north of the area from Portslade to Patcham. In 1898 Portslade was divided, the southern part becoming Portslade-by-Sea UDC, to which the northern part was added in 1928.

Greater Brighton and bigger Hove
The Brighton Corporation Act 1927 enlarged the town boundaries, effective from 1928, to absorb West Blatchington and the rest of Patcham from Steyning East Rural District Council, Ovingdean and Rottingdean from Newhaven RDC and Coldean from Chailey RDC. The already much-enlarged Preston ward was split into four in 1928 and two new wards were added for the areas to the north, bringing the total to 19.
      At the same time the parishes of Preston Rural and Hangleton with parts of Patcham and West Blatchington were added to Hove. Part of the parish of Stanmer and the rest of Falmer were brought into the borough of Brighton in 1952 under the Brighton Extension Act 1951.
      The Local Government Act 1972 transferred much of the town's authority and responsibilities—education, social services, libraries, planning, fire services, parks and recreation, environmental health and refuse collection—to East Sussex County Council and abolished the role of alderman, leaving a Brighton council of 59 members. The town had 21 county councillors, reduced to 16 in 1983. Brighton consequently lost its county borough status when a new charter of incorporation was granted in 1974.
      The number of members of Brighton borough council was reduced to 56 in 1979 and four years later the number of wards was reduced to 16 with 48 councillors.

Unitary authority and city status
In 1997 the boroughs of Brighton and Hove were amalgamated as a unitary authority, regaining the powers that had been taken by East Sussex and in 2001 the City of Brighton and Hove was created, divided into 21 wards, represented by 54 councillors as from 2003.
      A boundary revision in 2023 increased the number of wards to 22 but kept the number of councillors at 54.

The lists of wards as they changed over time are here.

BURGESSES.—A person shall not be deemed a burgess unless he is enrolled as a burgess, and a person shall not be entitled to be enrolled as a burgess unless he is qualified as follows:— (a) Is of full age; (b) Is on the fifteenth of July in any year, and has been during the whole of the then last preceding 12 months in occupation of any land or tenement of the clear yearly value of not less than £10, or of any house, warehouse, counting house, shop, or other building in the borough, and has during the whole of those 12 months resided in the borough, or within 7 miles thereof, and has been rated in respect of the qualifying property to all poor rates made during those 12 months for the parish wherein the property is situate, and has before the twentieth of July paid all rates, including borough rates, as have become payable by him in respect of the qualifying property up to the then last preceding fifth of January. A person is disqualified from being a burgess if he is an alien, or has within the twelve months aforesaid received parish relief other than medical relief.
—D B Friend & Co's Year Book 1897

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