PLACES
The tragedy of Brighton's lost theatres
Once the south-coast centre of culture and entertainment, Brighton has allowed its dominance to slip away.
Hove's never-never theatres
An account of the schemes to build theatres in Hove, not one of which materialised.
The plaque placed on the house in 1951 was an act of hubris that failed.
The Westdene estate
The history of the creation of the Withdean Estate West, now known as Westdene.
Pierless Hove
An account of the schemes to build piers in Hove, not one of which materialised.
Twittens
The history and etymology of the local (and not-so-local) word for a ginnel or snicket.
PEOPLE
Meet Brighton's most prolific builder
George Burstow & Sons was the most proflic building firm in the city at a time of terrace building.
Identification of 20 Middle Street with William Friese-Greene is stretched too far.
CIVICS
Change and decay; or, Let it bleed
The city's track record of leaving town-centre buildings and building sites to rot for years
Disease and Brighton's slums
The campaign to control the spread of disease in the slums to the east of Brighton's town centre in the late 19th century.
Smallpox and isolation
A brief history of infectious diseases in Brighton, their treatment, control and eradication, with the history of the isolation hospitals.
TRANSPORT
Abandoned railway projects
As well as the famous Brighton line, a number of other projects to build railways were authorised by parliament before being abandoned
Bus services
The beginnings of an account of the operators of the city's bus services
COMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications
The history of telecommunications in Brighton & Hove from 1326 to almost the present day
FILM
20 Middle Street: hardly Friese-Greene
The celebration of 20 Middle Street as the place where cinematography was born is seriously misleading.
The first Brighton feature film
Despite Hove being one of the centres of film-making in the earliest days of cinema, audiences had to wait until 1939 for the first genuine glimpse of Brighton in a feature films.
The lost studio of Whitehawk
How the British National Film Studio never happened.
Page updated 27 April 2023