Did you know? · Brighton
Brighton fun facts
Things you might not know about Brighton & Hove. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
A Victorian aquarium
SEA LIFE Brighton opened in 1872 and describes itself as the world’s oldest continually operating aquarium (visitsealife.com).
An electric railway on the beach
Volk’s Electric Railway runs along the beach east of the Palace Pier; its supporters call it the world’s oldest operating electric railway.
The Hove film pioneers
George Albert Smith built a glasshouse film studio in St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove, one of the earliest in Britain; Hove Museum tells the story.
The oldest licensed aerodrome
Brighton City Airport at Shoreham calls itself the oldest licensed aerodrome in the UK; its Art Deco terminal opened in 1936.
A pier in the sea
The West Pier, designed by Eugenius Birch, opened in 1866 (West Pier Trust); its iron frame still stands in the sea.
Questions and answers
How old is the Brighton aquarium?
SEA LIFE Brighton opened in 1872.