Brighton Fishing Museum

About the museum

Brighton Fishing Museum was founded in 1994 in cooperation with the local fishing community. It came out of a dispute in the early 1990s over the rents of the seafront arches used by the Brighton Commercial Fishermen's Association, which led the founder, a history lecturer and councillor, to help set up a museum celebrating the fishermen's story. It occupies two of the arches on King's Road, west of Brighton Pier, in an area now known as the Fishing Quarter.

The museum explains how a fishing village called Brighthelmston became a fashionable seaside resort after sea water was prescribed for health in the 1700s and the Prince Regent made the town his retreat. With the coming of the railway in the mid-19th century, many fishermen turned their boats into pleasure craft and became boatmen and showmen. The displays include characters such as Martha Gunn, a famous bathing attendant, and Captain Fred Collins of the pleasure boat Skylark.

The centrepiece is a 27-foot clinker-built Sussex punt that visitors can walk alongside, surrounded by hundreds of pictures and objects, archive and modern film, models and an audio piece of fishing families talking and singing. The museum is run by the Brighton Seafront Heritage Trust, a charity that also operates an art gallery and the Old Net Loft event space in the quarter.

Highlights

• 27-foot clinker-built Sussex fishing punt as centrepiece
• Hundreds of historic pictures, models and objects
• Martha Gunn and Captain Fred Collins of the Skylark
• Archive and contemporary film and audio of fishing families
• Free entry on the seafront

Permanent exhibition

• Brighton fishing community – Photographs, paintings, film, models and a full-size Sussex fishing punt show how Brighton changed from a fishing village to a resort.

Founded

1994

Operated by

Brighton Seafront Heritage Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free and does not need to be booked. Donations are welcome, with a donation box and a contactless payment machine just inside the museum.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is on the ground level and is reached from the seafront by a ramp. Most areas are accessible for wheelchair users and mobility scooters, but a metal threshold and grate at the entrance make the floor slightly uneven, and 6 plus 5 steps lead up and along the side of the boat. Seating is available throughout, and a virtual tour is online. There are no toilets in the museum; public toilets are a two-minute walk away, and the nearest accessible toilet and Changing Places facility is at Shelter Hall, a five-minute walk.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities: not available

The museum welcomes visitors of all ages and is accessible for pushchairs. There are no baby changing facilities in the museum; the nearest are a ten-minute walk away.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the seafront in two arches west of Brighton Pier.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available

There is no café in the museum, but refreshments can be bought at a café immediately to the right on leaving.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit