North Laine

Once partly a slum area, it is now seen as Brighton's bohemian and cultural quarter, with many pubs, cafés, restaurants, independent shops, theatres and museums.

John Furner planted a market garden in the plots, and by 1840 a rail hub had been set up on the northern border of North Laine, Brighton railway station.

During the reigns of George IV and William IV and through the first quarter of the reign of Queen Victoria, despite the grandeur of their Royal Pavilion, what would become the North Laine section was known partly for its squalor, poor living conditions and high concentration of slaughterhouses, notably in an area then known as Pimlico.

[3][4][5] Today North Laine is a thriving residential, conservation and retail area of central Brighton featuring largely period (from late Regency to early Victorian) terraced housing such as Kensington Place and Tidy Street plus bohemian independent shopping areas.

The latter had been closed for some years in anticipation of major redevelopment of the area which failed to materialise; in the building was for some time a covered market with a number of small stallholders, until Komedia moved in from their previous home in Kemp Town.

Typical retailers include art, antiques, architectural salvage, ladies and men's fashion, tailors, jewellery, gifts, second-hand books, hats, indoor flea markets, fine wines and spirits, music, records, children's shops vintage and [retro]]" clothing, graphic novels, musical instruments and new age paraphernalia.

This significantly changed the flow of pedestrians, which prior to this had been predominantly straight through North Laine on the main shopping streets, and is now more two-dimensional.