Street traders 

'Busking is wicked, it introduces me to a huge amount of people from all segments of the population who would not normally be hanging out together.'

Phil the didge guy, on busking, 1999

Entertainers and sellers of wares were a common sight on Brighton's Victorian streets. Many of Brighton's poor saw street entertaining as a way of earning a living. Minstrels, jugglers and organ grinders performed in almost every part of the town. 

Pies, fruit and wares of all sorts were sold on Brighton's streets. By the end of the 1800s, street traders would gather in Gardner Street. Brighton Council, tired of moving them on, allowed Upper Gardner Street to be used as a market on Saturday mornings. By 1919, a second gathering of barrows in Oxford Street led to the opening of Brighton's Open Market, which moved to its present site in 1960.

Street trading is still evident in Brighton. As well as adding to the town's alternative image, for many it is their main source of income. 

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