Resort

'Look. I can see the sea!' Mrs Blakely came to Brighton as a child in the 1930s

In 1871, a new law compelled employers to give staff days off work. Thanks to the railway, fashionable Brighton was an obvious destination for a day trip. As well as the piers, attractions included an aquarium and two electric railways.

The Chain Pier was built in 1823 for boarding ferries and fashionable promenading. The West Pier was built next, and became a venue for shows and entertainers. Palace Pier, opened in 1899, was solely designed for day-trippers. Penny-in-the-slot machines and funfair rides gradually replaced human entertainers.

Brighton inventor Marcus Volk built the first public electric railway in Britain along the front (it still operates today). He also created the short-lived 'Daddy-Long-Legs', a carriage on stilts powered by an overhead electric cable that ran on undersea rails.

In 2000, Brighton Pier (once Palace Pier) was Britain's second most popular leisure facility. Ironically, the derelict West Pier is the only Grade I listed pier in the country.