East Brighton Park is located on the eastern edge of the city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Bounded by Wilson Avenue and East Brighton golf course, the

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

extends into Sheepcote Valley and covers around 60 acres. Within the park, there are pitches for football and cricket, tennis courts, a café and a children's playground, beyond it is the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. It was created in 1925.

Location

The park lies between Wilson Avenue and East Brighton golf course, on the eastern side of Brighton, just north of

Brighton Marina Brighton Marina is an artificial marina in Brighton, England. It features a working harbour and residential housing alongside a variety of leisure, retail and commercial activities. The construction of the marina itself took place between 1971 ...

. Adjacent to it and served by the same access road are Whitehawk F.C., Brighton Caravan Club and a sports ground used by

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

. Further up the hill are the

, Stanley Deason leisure centre and the municipal dump.

History

Brighton Corporation bought the land which would later become the park in September 1913. It purchased over 1000 acres of what was then land in the parish of Ovingdean. The 60 acres of parkland were landscaped in 1925 to provide football pitches and tennis courts. Brighton College had leased 25 acres in 1923, but after experiencing financial problems had to return some land to the Corporation, which then created the Enclosed Football Ground in 1947 (now the site of Whitehawk F.C.). The playground was set up in 1987. The caravan park to the north of the park was opened in 1938 and was the first municipal camping ground in England, formed by redeveloping the former Newhouse Farm. In 1968, scenes in the film ''

Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British epic comedy historical musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth Mo ...

'' were shot in the park, which was used to replicate the trenches of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

Uses

The council provides a cricket ground, football pitches, tennis courts and a children's playground. Sheep are grazed on the sides of the valley. The park is also used by the

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also cov ...

to land helicopters when bringing emergency cases to the Royal Sussex Hospital. In 2016,

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...

flew in by helicopter on his way to visit a local school. A café operates from within the cricket pavilion. Starting in 2018, Wild Chalk is a one day family friendly event organised by South Downs National Park and the council in order to raise awareness of the unique and rare chalk grassland habitat of places like Sheepcote Valley. The Land Beyond dance festival was due to take place in the park in June 2019, but the first day was cancelled as a result of high winds. The second day of the 5,000 person event went ahead as planned. In winter 2019, there were homeless encampments in the park alongside many other places in the city.

References

{{Brighton and Hove Parks and open spaces in East Sussex