Brighton is not a major fishing port these days as it lacks the sort of quality harbour required by modern trawlers. However, in past times all a fisherman needed was a beach on which he could pull up his boat and sell his catch. Unfortunately for the fishermen of Brighton, the arrival of the Prince Regent and his entourage resulted in their being gradually evicted from the beach in favour of more socially acceptable activities such as bathing and tourist shops. When, in the 1860s, the council built the great sea wall we see today, the fisherman were allocated only three of the arches from which to ply their trade.
Their presence came under continued pressure and when, in 1992, the council was again looking to improve the appearance of the sea front the fisherman appealed to local Labour politician, Andy Durr, for help. This was a smart move, because Mr. Durr was not only an able politician (he is currently Mayor of Brighton and Hove) but also a lecturer in history at the University of Brighton. With Durr's help, one of the fishermen's arches was converted to a museum devoted to preserving the memory of a vanishing profession.
The Brighton Fishing Museum is not large, and unless you have a passion for clinker built boats it has little in the way of big displays. However, museums are not just there for the flash stuff. They also exist to tell us about the lives of people in past times, and from that point of view the fishing museum does a fine job.
Much of the museum is given over to prints and photographs of Brighton's sea front and the activities that took place there. Just as Brighton has been a magnet for famous writers, so too many of Britain's greatest artists have visited. A small museum such as this cannot afford major works of art, but it does boast prints of works by such luminaries as Constable and Turner, all featuring Brighton seaside scenes.