History of Brighton - 16th and 17th Centuries

16th and 17th Centuries

In June 1514, the fishing village (by then known as Brighthelmstone) was burnt to the ground by the French as part of a war which began as a result of the Treaty of Westminster (1511). Subsequently in 1545 the residents of the town petitioned the monarch for defensive cannon. Their petition featured an illustrated map showing the French raid, a copy of which can be seen in Hove Museum.

This map is the earliest known picture of Brighton. It shows a site laid out in a rectangular shape about a quarter of a mile square. The lower town of houses on the foreshore can be seen with a series of sloping ways rising eastwards up the cliff. Middle Street came into existence during the 16th century and West Street, North Street and East Street were fully developed by the 16th century. However the interior between Middle Street and East Street remained undeveloped and was known as the Hempshares.

The lower town on the foreshore suffered from sea erosion. In 1665 there were 113 houses out of a former 135. However as only 24 of these houses paid Hearth Tax in that year, it is suspected that many of these dwellings were mere hovels.

Deryk Carver, a brewer from Black Lion Street, was arrested by the Sheriff, Edward Gage, for contradicting the dictats of state religion. Their readings were in English and they rejected the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and its continuing role as an instrument of state power. Carver and others were dispatched for trial in London and ultimately executed at the county town of Lewes. Carver was stood in a barrel of pitch and burned alive.

After his defeat at the Battle of Worcester, Charles II escaped to France through Brighton and finally Shoreham-by-Sea. This event is remembered annually by the Royal Escape yacht race, now organised by Sussex Yacht Club. The tomb of the boat-owner who was instrumental in the escape of Charles II, Nicholas Tettersell, is to be seen in St Nicholas churchyard, Brighton.