French Raid on Brighton 1377
Who Fought
French: 300 horsemen committed to the ambush, part of a fleet of 120 ships under Admiral Jean de Vienne. English: approximately 500 men led by the Prior of Lewes.
History & Significance
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Brighton and Hove in South East England.
c. 600 BC – Hollingbury Castle is built, although the site was preceded by a c. 1200 BC enclosure.
c. 100 AD – A Roman villa is built near what is now Preston Park.
c. 270 AD – A fire destroys the Roman villa at Preston Park.
The Domesday Book records 87 households in the settlement of Bristelmestune.
The Domesday Book refers to a church which is believed to relate to St Nicholas Church.
c. 1093 – St Nicholas Church is granted to the new Lewes Priory.
1147 – A new chapel is built and dedicated to St Bartholomew in c. 1185.
1170 – A font is carved for St Nicholas Church: the only evidence of the church being older than this is a list of vicars which dates back to 1091.
1312 – Edward II grants market rights to Brighton, although this was likely the formalisation of a pre-existing market.
1377 – French forces land at Rottingdean during the Hundred Years War and burn the church at Ovingdean.
1514 – The village, by this point known as Brighthelmstone, is burned to the ground during a French raid, with the only surviving building being St Nicholas Church.
1545 – A map, the oldest known of the area, is presented to the King depicting the raid of 1514. The map also shows the beginnings of Hove, including St Andrew's Church, as well as two windmills to the north of Brighton.
1559 – The Old Ship Hotel, the oldest hotel in Brighton, is built.
1613 – The Preston Twins, a pair of elm trees believed to be the oldest in the world, are planted.
c. 1630 – The parish population is recorded as around 2,700.
1703 – 17 November: The Great storm of 1703 causes significant damage to the town, with Daniel Defoe reporting that it looked "as though it had been bombarded.
1730s – Richard Russell begins to prescribe the medicinal use of seawater for his patients.
1765 – Marlborough House is built and would later be renovated in 1786.
1771 – Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, first visits Brighton, establishing it as a popular resort.
1780 – The development of Brighton's characteristic Georgian terraces begins.
1783 – George, Prince of Wales, (later King George IV) has his first visit to Brighton.
1786 – George, Prince of Wales, rents a farmhouse at the Old Steine.
1787 – George, Prince of Wales, begins construction of the Royal Pavilion on the site of his farmhouse.
1788 – A census finds the population of Brighton to be over 3,600 prior to a general inoculation due to an outbreak of smallpox which kills 34 people.
1794 – An exact census prior to a second general inoculation for smallpox finds the population of Brighton to be 5,669.
The ground they fought on
The site of French Raid on Brighton 1377 lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.
The Prior of Lewes led 500 men to repel the French landing at Rottingdean, but the raiders, having observed the English advance, set an ambush with 300 horsemen that proved devastating: at least 100 English were killed, the Prior himself was captured alongside Sir John Falvesley, Sir Thomas Cheyne, and the esquire John Brocas, the last of whom died of his wounds and was never ransomed.
- English: at least 100 killed; the Prior of Lewes, Sir John Falvesley, Sir Thomas Cheyne, and John Brocas captured. Brocas died, probably of wounds. French casualties unspecified but described as sufficient to deter further inland advance.
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- Timeline of Brighton and Hove · Wikipedia
- Rottingdean · Wikipedia