Victorian

Although Queen Victoria rejected Brighton as her country retreat in favour of Osborne House, the town went from strength to strength. Major landmarks that identify the city today were built by the Victorian - the two Piers, the aquarium, and the avenues in Hove, the Engineerium, and the Clock Tower.

Inventors such as Magnus Volk, George Albert Smith and William Friese Green 'Father of film' were Victorians pioneers in their fields (electric railways and cinema respectively). It was also the era when Brighton started to attract holidaymakers on mass when the London to Brighton railway opened in 1841.

• 1840-5 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visit the Royal Pavilion
  
• 1841 London to Brighton railway line opens
  
• 1860 Brighton welcomes 250,000 visitors a year by train
  
• 1850 Queen Victoria sells the Royal Pavilion to the Corporation of Brighton for £53,000
  
• 1872 Sussex County Cricket ground opens in Hove
  
• 1883 Magnus Volk builds England's first electric railway in Brighton
• 1896 Chain Pier destroyed by a mighty storm
• 1899 Completion of the Palace Pier
  

* All pictures courtesy of Brighton & Hove Museums