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In the Domesday Book, Brighton was called Bristelmestune and a rent of 4,000 herring was established. In June 1514 Brighthelmstone was burnt to the ground by French raiders during a war between England and France.

Brighton is a town in the city of Brighton and Hove (formed from the towns of Brighton, Hove, Portslade and several other villages) in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain. For administrative purposes, Brighton and Hove is not part of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, but remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex.

The ancient settlement of Brighthelmston dates from before Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as a health resort during the 18th Century and became a destination for day-trippers after the arrival of the railway in 1841. Brighton experienced rapid population growth reaching a peak of over 160,000 by 1961. Modern Brighton forms part of a conurbation stretching along the coast, with a population of around 480,000.

Eight million tourists a year visit Brighton. The town also has a substantial business conference industry regularly hosting the Liberal Democrat, Labour Party, occasionally the Conservative Party and Trade Union annual Conferences. Brighton has two universities and a medical school.

Only part of the St Nicholas Church and the street pattern of the area now known as "The Lanes" survived. The first drawing of Brighthelmstone was made in 1545 and depicts what is believed to be the raid of 1514. During the 1740s and 1750s, Dr Richard Russell of Lewes began prescribing seawater at Brighton. By 1780, development of the Georgian terraces had started and the fishing village became the fashionable resort of Brighton. Growth of the town was further encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) after his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency. Although contracted forms of the name are attested since the 15th Century, it was not until this period that the modern form of the name came into common use.

The arrival of the railway in 1841 brought Brighton within the reach of day-trippers from London and population growth from around 7,000 in 1801 to over 120,000 by 1901. The Victorian era saw the building of many major attractions including the Grand Hotel (1864), the West Pier (1866) and the Palace Pier (1899).

After boundary changes between 1873 and 1952, the land area of Brighton increased from 1,640 acres (7 km²) in 1854 to 14,347 acres (58 km²) in 1952. New housing estates were established in the acquired areas including Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Coldean and Whitehawk. The major expansion of 1928 also incorporated the villages of Patcham, Ovingdean and Rottingdean, and much council housing was built in parts of Woodingdean after the Second World War.

More recently, gentrification of much of Brighton has seen a return of the fashionable image which characterised the growth of the Regency period. Recent housing in the North Laine, for instance, has been designed in keeping with the area.

In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000.

The Royal Pavilion is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 1800s and is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior design. The building and grounds were purchased by the town in 1849 for £53,000. Other Indo-Saracenic buildings in Brighton include the Sassoon Mausoleum, now, with the bodies reburied elsewhere, in use as a chic supper club.

Brighton Pier (originally and in full "The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier", and for long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899. It features a funfair, restaurants and arcade halls.

The West Pier was built in 1866 and has been closed since 1975 awaiting renovation, which faces continual setbacks, The West Pier is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom, but suffered two fires in 2003. Plans for a new landmark in its place - the i360, a 183 m (600 ft) observation tower designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield - were announced in June 2006. Plans were approved by the council on 11 October 2006. As of early 2009, construction had yet to begin, but the area has been cordoned off.

Created in 1883, Volk's Electric Railway runs along the inland edge of the beach from Brighton Pier to Black Rock and Brighton Marina. It is the world's oldest operating electric railway.

The 11th century St Nicholas Church is the oldest building in Brighton, commonly known as "The Mother Church". Other notable churches include the large brick-built St Bartholomew's, and St Peter's in the heart of Brighton on an island between the Lewes Road and the London Road.

There are four synagogues in the Brighton area, including the Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue (Liberal) at 6 Landsdowne Road in Hove; Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation at 66 Middle Street in Brighton (Orthodox), Hove Hebrew Congregation at 79 Holland Road in Hove (Orthodox) and Brighton & Hove Reform Synagogue on Palmeira Avenue in Hove (Reformed). Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton is an important Grade II listed building built in 1874-75, and one of the most beautiful small synagogues in Europe. It is presently in the process of being gradually restored by English Heritage. About 12% of the population of the Brighton & Hove conurbation are of Jewish ancestry, with a little less than half presently practicing some form of Judaism, according to a 2007 study by the European Jewish Press.

Nevertheless, Brighton has become known as one of the least religious places in the UK, based upon analysis of the 2001 census which revealed that 66,955 people (27 per cent of the population) profess no religion, almost double the national average of 15 per cent. As part of the Jedi census phenomenon, 2.6 per cent claimed their religion was Jedi Knight.

Brighton's Kemp Town beach in summerThe seafront has bars, restaurants, nightclubs and amusement arcades, principally between the piers. Being less than an hour from London by train has made the city a popular destination. Brighton beach has a nudist area (south of the easterly part of Kemptown). Brighton's beach, which is a sand-free shingle beach, although it is sand when going into the sea, has been awarded a blue flag. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath heads west along the seafront above the beach.

Since the 1978 demolition of the open-air lido at Black Rock, the most easterly part of Brighton's seafront, the area has been developed and now features one of Europe's largest marinas. However, the site of the pool itself remains empty except for a skate park and graffiti wall, and further development is planned including a high-rise hotel which has aroused debate, mirroring proposals for the King Alfred leisure centre in Hove. In addition, part of the eastern side of the beach has been redeveloped into a sports complex, which has courts for anything from beach volleyball to ultimate Frisbee, and opened to the public in March 2007.

The art community in Brighton is extensive and is showcased once a year by the artists open house event during the Brighton festival. Directly on the beach, between the two piers is the famous Brighton Artists Quarter. Working in a row of Victorian fisherman workshops, and converted into small gallery and studio spaces, are a collection of artists using a variety of mediums and styles to produce good quality artworks that can be viewed or purchased by the general public throughout the year.

Brighton is considered to be one of the UK's premier night-life hotspots and is also associated with many popular music artists. There are also live music venues including the Concorde 2, Brighton Centre and the Brighton Dome, where ABBA received a substantial boost to their career when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.

One of the most prominent musical events has been the irregularly recurring "Big Beach Boutique", for which a substantial portion of the beach is controversially closed off for a concert by Fatboy Slim.

There are over 300 pubs in the town, including the historic Cricketers, the Evening Star real ale pub, The Greys gastropub, The Free Butt music pub and the extravagantly decorated Regency Tavern.

Each May the city hosts the Brighton Festival, the largest arts festival in the UK after Edinburgh's. This includes processions such as the Children's Parade, outdoor spectaculars often involving pyrotechnics, and theatre, music and visual arts in venues throughout the city, some brought into this use exclusively for the festival. The earliest feature of the festival, the Artists' Open Houses, are homes of artists and craftspeople opened to the public as galleries, and usually selling the work of the occupants. Since 2002, these have been organized independently of the official Festival and Fringe.

Brighton Festival Fringe runs alongside Brighton Festival, and has grown to be the second largest fringe festival in the world. Together with the street performers from Brighton Festival's "Streets of Brighton" events, and the Royal Mile-esque outdoor performances that make up "Fringe City", outdoor spectacles and events more than double during May.

Other festivals include The Great Escape in May, featuring three nights of live music in venues across the city; the Soundwaves Festival in June, which shows classical music composed in the 21st Century, and involves both amateur and professional performers; Brighton Live which each September stages a week of free gigs in pubs to show local bands; Burning the Clocks, a winter solstice celebration; and Brighton Pride (see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, below). The Kemptown area has its own small annual street festival, the Kemptown Carnival, and the Hanover area similarly has a "Hanover Day". Beachdown Festival, started in 2008 has recently ceased operations due to financial difficluties.

An inaugural White Nights (Nuit Blanche) all-night arts festival took place in October 2008. 2009 saw the first Brighton Zine Fest celebrating zine and D.I.Y. culture within the city.

On 1 September 2007, competitors from the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and other countries convened for the World Beard and Moustache Championship. Hosted by The Handlebar Club, categories include Dali moustache, goatee and full beard freestyle. Additionally, Brighton is permanent home to notable moustache advocate Michael "Atters" Attree.

Brighton is the home of the UK's first Walk of Fame which celebrates the many rich and famous people associated with the city.

Brighton museums include Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Booth Museum of Natural History, Brighton Toy and Model Museum, and Brighton Fishing Museum, which includes artefacts from the West Pier. The Royal Pavilion is also open to the public, serving as a museum to the British Regency.