 Wednesday, 24th Apr 2013 19:41 Without as much as a passing, casual homophobic reference, I hereby give you our lowdown on Brighton. An ancient settlement called Brighthelmstone was mentioned in the Doomsday book (1086). The town eventually became known for its bathing qualities, indeed if you were a patient of a Dr Richard Russell of Lewes around 1740 then the good doctor may well have prescribed you some Brighton seawater -beats leeches one supposes. The Prince Regent (later King George IV) visited in 1783 and constructed the iconic Indio-Saracenic Royal Pavillion, spending much of his leisure time in the increasingly fashionable resort. Brighton became popular with London day trippers and the arrival of the railway in 1841 brought even more visitors to the town who marvelled at many of its famous landmarks built during the reign of Queen Victoria including the Grand Hotel and West and Palace piers. The Grand Hotel was rebuilt following the IRA bombing in 1984 in an attempt to assassinate then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The West Pier ran into financial difficulties and closed in 1975, a trust bought it for a nominal sum but it was all but destroyed by what the trust described as "professional arsonists" in 2003. The Pier is expected to reopen in 2015 with a 183 metre observation tower called the i360. The Palace Pier still exists but is more commonly known as Brighton Pier, maybe just as well given the football teams rivalry with a certain south London club! In popular culture, a well known fable about a man called Brown who is prone to regular, unprovoked and unacceptable acts of violence heralds from the city (granted its status as part of the Millennium celebrations). No, I'm not on about our very own Michael but Pinkie Brown, the gangster portrayed by Richard Attenborough in the 1947 adaptation of Graham Greene's novel. It was remade in 2010 starring Sam Riley as the lead character and the story had jumped forward to the 1960's era of Mods and Rockers. However that era is probably more associated with the 1979 flick Quadrophenia starring Phil Daniels, Lesley Ash (wife of Leeds legend Lee Chapman) and Sting. Famous folk from Brighton (other than Fat Boy Slim) include comedian Chesney Allen (one half of Flanaghan and Allen), actors Ray Brooks, Brian Hall and Samatha Womack (nee Janus), Olympic gold medalist Steve Ovett and musicians Leo Sayer, David Van Day and Sara Mendes da Costa who has provided the voice of BT's Speaking Clock since 02/04/2007 becoming only the fourth permanent holder of this prestigious job. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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