1514 Brighton Burnt to the Ground.

During the reign of Henry VIII. The French landed at the Coast off Brighton and burnt the entire Town to the ground.

The only building to survived the attack, was the Church on the Hill, Saint Nicholas's Church. Leaving only the Street patterns as outline of the Town. A drawing recording the attack by the French fleet on Brighton is preserved in the Hove Museum.

Another raid at Portsmouth in 1545, in which the great English ship the Mary Rose capsized and sank.

1559 Brighton became a Garrison Town

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 .

1580 Brighton Largest Fishing Fleet in the South Coast of England

Brighton's fishing fleet grew very rapidly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 and 1603).

By 1580, Brighton fleet consisted of 80 boats, 400 fishermen and 10,000 fishing nets, by 1665 much of the lower town of Brighton was destroyed by the sea, ending the fishing trade.

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