Delve into the Black History of Brighton & Hove through our timeline and discover key events and the story of our city since the Roman times.

Timeline

The Earliest Times

Pre Historic Brighton and Hove

Pre-history is divided into periods, The Stone Age, The Bronze Age, and The Iron Age. Pre-history means before written history, so what we know about our ancestors is through the…
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The Stone Age

It has been generally believed that some of our Neolithic predecessors were dark in complexion, as well as short. The Neolithic people lived on high grounds on Whitehawk Hill near…
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The Bronze Age

Knowledge of the bronze period is derived form the graves contents and bronze implements that are discovered, and the lack of flint implements found. During the Bronze Age the custom…
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The ‘Brighton Loop’

Found in a merchant’s hoard at Black Rock Brighton. together with a blade, and a finger ring, and two oval bronze bracelets. Two more pairs of loops were found in…
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The Iron Age

The Iron Age begins with the popularisation of the use of iron from the Middle East, about 500 B.C. by another wave of immigrants form the Continent, bringing with them…
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The Romans in 43 A.D.

In 43 A.D. The Emperor Claudius of Rome sent an army to invade Britain. Roman Britain had begun. When the Romans invaded Britain they had to defend it against constant…
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9th Century

The Saxons
King Harold, the Saxons

During the later part of the Roman rule in Sussex, frequent raids were carried out by the Saxons, who eventually overthrow the Romans , thus large numbers of new settlers…
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1086: ’Bristelmestune’

Ralph holds Brighton from William. Brictric held it by gift of Earl Godwin. Before 1066 and now it answered for 5 1/2 hides.> Land for 3 ploughs. In Lordship ½…
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1086: Doomsday Book
Domesday Book

Brighton was known as ‘Bristelmestune’ as recorded in the Doomsday book, the first census? in England. The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded…
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14th Century

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…
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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…
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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,…
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17th Century

1616: Blakers of Portslade Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms, Arms of the Sussex Families

The Arms of the Blakers of Portslade, granted in 1616, depicts the side-facing heads of three Blackamoors – Negroes with African Hair. The family are mentioned in connection with Old…
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1651: Prince Charles’s Black Helper

In 1651 when Charles’s invasion ended in defeat, the young Charles II stayed overnight in Brighton, at the Kings Head public house in West Street. According to the Sussex Archaeology…
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18th Century

Young slaves were in demand as household servants

Young slaves were in demand as household servants. They were popular with officers from the slave ships and with West Indian planters and merchants who returned from the colonies. Little…
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1778: George Bridgewater, The Nine Year Old African Prodigy
George Bridgewater, The Nine Year Old African Prodigy

The talented 9 year old African violin prodigy George Polgreen Bridgetower was born in 1778, and died in London on February 29 1860. His father was an African prince who…
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The Slave Trade and the Growth of the British Black Population

During the 18th century the slave trade dominated the British economy. It supplied fashionable society with sugar, chocolate, coffee and tea to consume, American cotton cloth to wear and tobacco…
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19th Century

1808: West Indian Builds Houses on Royal Crescent Site in Brighton

The land on which the houses of the Royal Crescent now stand was sold for building purposes in 1789 to a West Indian named J. B. Otto Otto began by…
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1814: Doctor Brighton, Sake Dean Mahomed
Doctor Brighton -Sake Dean MahomedSake Dean Mahomed

Sake Dean Mahomed (1759-1851) grew up in India. He served in the English East India Company Bengal Army as a trainee surgeon. At age 25 he immigrated to Ireland in…
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1826: Woman for Sale

In May 1826 a woman was put up for auction at Brighton market, with a halter around her neck. She was brought by a man for a sovereign and four…
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1849: Frederick Akbar Mahomed
Akbar Mohamed

Frederick Ackbar Mahomed (grandson of Sake Dean Mahomed) was born in Brighton on 11th April 1849 at No.2 Black Lion Street, East Cliff, Brighton. He went to private school in…
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1857: Mary Seacole, the Black Nurse
Mary Seacole

Mary Seacole the Black nurse visited Brighton and mentions it in her book, saying that the Journey across Panama by train was as smooth as the journey from London to…
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Asian Population in Brighton

Asian immigrants were beginning to be noted in London in the 1780s. Lascar seamen were being press-ganged onto ship crews in India and then abandoned in London. The law obliged…
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Black Soldiers Based in Brighton

There were a number of Black soldiers with the 10th Hussars (the Regent’s favourite regiment) who were stationed in Brighton during the Regency period. One of whom – William Afflick…
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Sarah Forbes Bonetta (1843-1880)
Sarah Forbes Bonetta's wedding

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was captured and later given to Queen Victoria who, impressed by the girl's natural regal manner and exceptional intelligence, was pleased to give her sanction to be married…
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A special ceremony was held in Brighton to commemorate the life of a freed child slave Thomas M.S. Highflyer
T.M.S.Highflyer's restored grave

T.M.S.Highflyer's restored grave Brighton celebrates life of African slave boy - 20th June 2018 148 years after his death, a special service took place to honour Thomas M.S. Highflyer, an…
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20th Century

Indians and West Indians in Brighton

Indians and West Indians appeared in Brighton through their involvement in both world wars. In 1948 the SS Empire Windrush brought many West Indian immigrants to Britain, and in 1950…
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Two Indian Memorials in Brighton
Brighton Pavillion Memorial

Today two Memorials exist in Brighton to commemorate the Indian soldiers that passed through the Brighton hospitals during the First World War 1914 - 1918. The First is the gateway…
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1914-1918: Wounded Indian Troops at the Brighton Pavilion
Wounded Indian Troops at the Brighton Pavilion

Very early on in World War I it was apparent that the allies did not have enough forces to cover all the areas of fighting - for example in North…
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1915: West Indian Men in Sussex

Men from the West Indies arrived in Sussex preparing to defend and die for our freedom and liberty, fighting side by side with British soldiers. Between October 1915 and March…
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1921: The Royal Pavilion Gateway

Early in 1921 work began on a new gateway to the Pavilion grounds. A gift of the Princes and people of India, the gateway was to serve as a permanent…
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1921: The Chattri
The Chattri

The Chattri is a memorial on the Sussex South Downs to Indian soldiers who died whilst in Brighton during the First World War. Hindu and Sikh soldiers who died whilst…
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1938: Haile Selassie enjoying the sea air on the Palace Pier Brighton
Haile Selassie enjoying the sea air on the Palace Pier Brighton

The Emperor of Ethiopia visited Brighton & Hove whilst exiled in Britain. During Italy's occupation of Ethiopia between 1936-1941 Haile Selassie was forced into five years of exile in Britain,…
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21st Century

The Chattri Memorial
The Chattri Memorial

To the memory of all Indian soldiers who gave their lives for the King-Emperor in the Great War, this monument, erected on the site of the funeral pyre where Hindus…
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Brighton’s First and Only Mayor of Colour?

It is 2017, and with the coming of a brand new New Year comes the sad news of the death of a prominent BME activist, Tam Framroze (1941-2017), resident of Brighton and…
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