Brighton City Map Poster

About Brighton

The earliest recorded use of the name "Brighthelmstone" was in 1545. Although more than 40 variations have been documented, Brighthelmstone was used until 1610, when descriptions of the town began to appear as Brighton. The name is thought to be derived from a Saxon or Old English word meaning "beacon hill".The land adjoining the south coast has formed part of an area with widespread evidence of prehistoric occupation; including Bronze Age burials at Devil's Dyke and Hollingbury Hill. There are Iron Age hill forts on both Black Rock and Hurst Downs; another on Ditchling Beacon, Sussex has been almost completely obliterated by quarrying but is believed to have dated originally from around 300 BC (the late Iron Age).