Editing Brighton (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Undercliff Walk, Rottingdean - geograph.org.uk - 298484.jpg|thumb|right|To the east of Brighton, chalk cliffs protected by a sea-wall rise from the beach.]]
[[File:A23 closed by floods, November 2000 - geograph.org.uk - 1656937.jpg|thumb|right|The underground Wellesbourne can rise to the surface during heavy rain, as in November 2000, when it flooded the London Road in Preston village.]]

Brighton lies between the [[South Downs]] and the [[English Channel]] to the north and south, respectively. The Sussex coast forms a wide, shallow bay between the [[headland]]s of [[Selsey Bill]] and [[Beachy Head]]; Brighton developed near the centre of this bay around a [[Winterbourne (stream)|seasonal river]], the [[Wellesbourne, Brighton|Wellesbourne]] (or Whalesbone), which flowed from the South Downs above [[Patcham]].<ref name="VCH56961"/><ref name="EncB15">{{Harvnb|Carder|1990|loc=§. 15.}}</ref> This emptied into the English Channel at the beach near the East Cliff, forming "the natural drainage point for Brighton".<ref name="NEB246">{{Harvnb|Collis|2010|p=246.}}</ref>

Behind the estuary was a stagnant pond called the Pool or Poole, so named since the medieval era.{{NoteTag|The name was documented as ''Poole'' in 1296 and 1497.<ref name="NEB246"/>}} This was built over with houses and shops from 1793, when the Wellesbourne was [[culvert]]ed to prevent flooding,<ref name="NEB246"/><ref name="BTBP95">{{Harvnb|Dale|1976|p=95.}}</ref> and only the name of the road (Pool Valley, originally Pool Lane)<ref name="BTBP8">{{Harvnb|Dale|1976|p=8.}}</ref> marks its site. [[9 Pool Valley, Brighton|One original house]] survives from the time of the pool's enclosure.<ref name="VCH56961"/> Behind Pool Valley is [[Old Steine]] (historically ''The Steyne''), originally a flat and marshy area where fishermen dried their nets. The Wellesbourne occasionally reappears during times of prolonged heavy rain; author [[Mark Antony Lower]] referred to an early 19th-century drawing of the [[Royal Pavilion]] showing "quite a pool of water across the Steyne".<ref name="Lower248">{{Harvnb|Lower|1864|p=248.}}</ref>

Despite 16th-century writer [[Andrew Boorde]]'s claim that "Bryght-Hempston [is] among the noble ports and havens of the realm",<ref name="Lower247">{{Harvnb|Lower|1864|p=247.}}</ref> Brighton never developed as a significant port: rather, it was considered as part of [[Shoreham-by-Sea|Shoreham]]. Nevertheless, the descriptions "Port of Brighthelmston" or "Port of Brighton" were sometimes used between the 14th and 19th centuries, as for example in 1766 when its notional limits were defined for customs purposes.<ref name="EncB128">{{Harvnb|Carder|1990|loc=§. 128.}}</ref>

The East Cliff runs for several miles from Pool Valley towards [[Rottingdean]] and [[Saltdean]], reaching {{cvt|80|ft|m|order=flip}} above sea level. The soil beneath it, a mixture of [[alluvium]] and clay with some flint and chalk [[rubble]], has experienced erosion for many years.<ref name="EncB56">{{Harvnb|Carder|1990|loc=§. 56.}}</ref> The cliff itself, like the rest of Brighton's soil, is chalk.<ref name="VCH56961"/> Below this are thin layers of [[Greensand#Upper Greensand|Upper]] and [[Greensand (geology)|Lower Greensand]] separated by a thicker band of [[Gault|Gault clay]].<ref name="HistAtlas3">{{Harvnb|Leslie|Short|1999|p=3.}}</ref> The land slopes upwards gradually from south to north towards the top of the Downs.

Main transport links developed along the floor of the Wellesbourne valley, from which the land climbs steeply—particularly on the east side. The earliest settlement was by the beach at the bottom of the valley,<ref name="EncB15"/> which was partly protected from erosion by an underwater [[sandbar]]. Changes in sea level affected the foreshore several times: {{cvt|40|acre|ha}} disappeared in the first half of the 14th century,<ref name="EncB43">{{Harvnb|Carder|1990|loc=§. 43.}}</ref> and the [[Great Storm of 1703]] caused widespread destruction. The first sea defences were erected in 1723,<ref name="EncB43"/> and a century later a long sea wall was built.<ref name="EncB56"/>

{{wide image|Brighton Seafront vom Pier.JPG|800px|Brighton seafront from the [[Brighton Palace Pier|Palace Pier]]}}

===Climate===
{{See also|Climate of the United Kingdom}}
Brighton has a [[Temperateness|temperate]] climate: its [[Köppen climate classification#Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates|Köppen climate classification]] is ''Cfb''. It is characterised by cool summers and cool winters with frequent cloudy and rainy periods.<ref name="EncB40">{{Harvnb|Carder|1990|loc=§. 40.}}</ref> Average rainfall levels increase as the land rises: the 1958–1990 mean was {{cvt|740|mm|in}} on the seafront and about {{cvt|1000|mm|in}} at the top of the South Downs above Brighton.<ref name="EncB40"/> Storms caused serious damage in [[Great Storm of 1703|1703]], 1806, 1824, 1836, 1848, 1850, 1896, 1910 and [[Great Storm of 1987|1987]]. Heavy snow is rare, but particularly severe falls were recorded in 1881 and 1967.<ref name="EncB40"/>
{{Weather box
|location=Brighton
|metric first=Yes
|single line=Yes
|Jan high F=46
|Feb high F=46
|Mar high F=49
|Apr high F=53
|May high F=60
|Jun high F=66
|Jul high F=71
|Aug high F=72
|Sep high F=65
|Oct high F=59
|Nov high F=52
|Dec high F=48
|year high F=57
|Jan low F=38
|Feb low F=38
|Mar low F=40
|Apr low F=43
|May low F=48
|Jun low F=53
|Jul low F=58
|Aug low F=58
|Sep low F=54
|Oct low F=49
|Nov low F=43
|Dec low F=40
|year low F=47
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm=88
|Feb precipitation mm=60
|Mar precipitation mm=51
|Apr precipitation mm=58
|May precipitation mm=56
|Jun precipitation mm=50
|Jul precipitation mm=54
|Aug precipitation mm=62
|Sep precipitation mm=67
|Oct precipitation mm=105
|Nov precipitation mm=103
|Dec precipitation mm=97
|year precipitation mm=851
|source 1=Met Office{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}
|date=June 2011
}}
{|class="wikitable"
|+Average sea temperature<ref>[http://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/brighton-january.htm Brighton average sea temperature] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706102403/http://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/brighton-january.htm |date=6 July 2015 }} – seatemperature.org</ref>
|-
!'''Jan'''
!'''Feb'''
!'''Mar'''
!'''Apr'''
!'''May'''
!'''Jun'''
!'''Jul'''
!'''Aug'''
!'''Sep'''
!'''Oct'''
!'''Nov'''
!'''Dec'''
!'''Year'''
|-
|style="background:#9ff; color:black;"|{{cvt|9.2|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9ff; color:black;"|{{cvt|8.7|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9ff; color:black;"|{{cvt|8.2|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9ff; color:black;"|{{cvt|9.6|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9fc; color:black;"|{{cvt|11.4|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#cf9; color:black;"|{{cvt|13.6|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|{{cvt|15.4|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|{{cvt|16.9|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#ff6; color:black;"|{{cvt|17.3|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#ff9; color:black;"|{{cvt|16.3|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#cf9; color:black;"|{{cvt|14.7|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9fc; color:black;"|{{cvt|12.0|°C|°F}}
|style="background:#9fc; color:black;"|{{cvt|12.8|°C|°F}}
|}

===Boundaries and areas===
{|class="wikitable" align=right
|-
! Date from
! Parish area<ref name="NEB34–35">{{Harvnb|Collis|2010|pp=34–35.}}</ref>
|-
|{{circa}} 11th century
|{{cvt|1640|acre|ha}}
|-
|31 October 1873
|{{cvt|1640|acre|ha}}
|-
|1 October 1923
|{{cvt|1640|acre|ha}}
|-
|1 April 1928
|{{cvt|12503|acre|ha}}
|-
|1 April 1952
|{{cvt|14347|acre|ha}}
|-
|31 March 1972
|{{cvt|15041|acre|ha}}
|-
|1 April 1993
|{{cvt|15140|acre|ha}}
|-
|1 April 1997{{NoteTag|Area of the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove.<ref name="NEB35" />}}
|{{cvt|21632|acre|ha}}
|}
At the time of the [[Domesday Book|Domesday survey]] in 1086, Brighton was in the [[Rape of Lewes]] and the [[Hundred (county division)#England|Hundred]] of Welesmere. The new Hundred of Whalesbone, which covered the parishes of Brighton, [[West Blatchington]], [[Preston Village, Brighton|Preston]] and [[Hove]], was formed in 1296. Parishes moved in and out several times, and by 1801 only Brighton and [[West Blatchington]] were included in the Hundred.<ref name="VCH56959">{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/Sussex/vol7/p241 |title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes. The hundred of Whalesbone |editor-last=Salzman |editor-first=L.F. |editor-link=Louis Francis Salzman |year=1940 |website=[[Victoria County History]] of Sussex |publisher=British History Online |page=241 |access-date=27 September 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926032607/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol7/p241 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In its original form, Brighton parish covered about {{cvt|1640|acre|ha}} between the English Channel, Hove, Preston, [[Ovingdean]] and [[Rottingdean]]. The borough (but not the civil parish) was first extended from 31 October 1873, when {{cvt|905|acre|ha}} was annexed from Preston civil parish. In 1894 the part outside the borough became Preston Rural civil parish and Preston civil parish continued in the borough. On 1 April 1889 Brighton became a county borough.

On 1 October 1923, {{cvt|94|acre|ha}} were added to Brighton borough and to Preston civil parish from Patcham parish: Brighton Corporation was developing the [[Moulsecoomb]] [[Council house|estate]] there at the time. On 1 April 1928, Brighton civil parish was extended to include Preston civil parish. On the same date the borough grew by nearly five times by adding Ovingdean and Rottingdean parishes in their entirety and parts of [[Falmer]], Patcham and West Blatchington; it also exchanged small parts with Hove municipal borough. All the areas added to the borough became part of Brighton civil parish.<ref name="NEB34">{{Harvnb|Collis|2010|p=34.}}</ref> From 1 April 1952, more of Falmer and part of the adjacent [[Stanmer]] parish were added; 20 years later, land and marine territory associated with the new [[Brighton Marina]] development also became part of Brighton. Except for a small addition of rural land in 1993 (from [[Pyecombe]] parish), Brighton Borough's boundaries remained the same until it was joined to Hove Borough in 1997 to form the [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] of Brighton and Hove.<ref name="NEB35">{{Harvnb|Collis|2010|p=35.}}</ref>

The old boundary between Brighton and Hove is most clearly seen on the seafront, where the King Edward Peace Statue (1912) straddles the border, and in a [[Alley|twitten]] called Boundary Passage which runs northwards from Western Road to Montpelier Place.<ref name="AboutBtn57">{{Harvnb|Dale|1986|p=57.}}</ref> There is a [[Listed building|Grade II-listed]] parish boundary marker stone in this passageway.<ref name="NHLE-1380005">{{National Heritage List for England|desc=Boundary Stone Approximately 40 Metres North of Western Road, Boundary Passage, Brighton|num=1380005|grade=II |access-date=19 August 2013}}</ref> Between Western Road and the seafront, the boundary runs up Little Western Street (pavement on eastern side, in Brighton), but it is not visible.<ref name="AboutBtn57"/> Northwards from Western Road, it runs to the west of Norfolk Road, Norfolk Terrace, Windlesham Road and Windlesham Gardens in the [[Montpelier, Brighton|Montpelier]] area, then along the south side of Davigdor Road to [[Seven Dials, Brighton|Seven Dials]]. From there it runs along the west side of Dyke Road as far as Withdean Road in [[Withdean]], at which point it crosses Dyke Road so that the section north of that is part of Hove parish. The boundary continues to follow Dyke Road towards [[Devil's Dyke, Sussex|Devil's Dyke]] on the South Downs.<ref name="B&HMap-1960">{{cite map |publisher=G.I. Barnett Publishers & Cartographers |title=Barnett's Official Street Plan: Brighton and Hove |year=1960 |scale=1:15840 |cartography=[[Ordnance Survey]] |section=G9,G8,H7,G7,G6,F6,F5,E4,D3,C3 |location=Ilford}}</ref>

{{Geographic Location
|title=Neighbouring districts and places
|Northwest=[[Hove, England|Hove]]
|North=[[Gatwick Airport]]
|Northeast=[[East Sussex]]
|West=[[Worthing, England|Worthing]]
|Centre=Brighton
|East=[[Eastbourne]]
|Southwest=[[Isle of Wight]]
|South=[[English Channel]]
|Southeast=[[France]]
}}