The lord of the manor made over to the inhabitants of Brighton a piece of land on the shore for the building of a Block House or Small Fort. It was erected at the Southern End of Middle Street, eventually destroy by two great storms of 1703 and 1705, which finally washed away beneath the cliff and were completely destroyed. Later in 1779, still fear of further attack, new defense were erected, a battery of eight guns at the bottom of East Street, two on the East Cliff, and thirty six on the other side of East Cliff .