FOR many decades they have stood proudly in our parks, lawns and seafronts - ready to provide entertainment, glorious memories and even shelter.

With their iconic fancy iron-work, polygonal shapes, pointed roofs and bright colours, each tells of a time gone by and of many happy nights.

They mark a high point in our county's public architecture, so loved that many have been lovingly restored to ensure they remain for future generations.

Of the nine bandstands still standing in Sussex (once there were 36), Brighton’s is just about the oldest, an “all but bomb-proof” structure finished in 1884.

“I think it is absolutely stunning,” says enthusiast and expert Paul Rabbitts, who has written a book on bandstands about which he has something of an obsession or "my illness”, as he calls it.

“The detailing of it, the design of it, the location is just incredible, the fact that there is a little coffee shop behind it, the fact that you can get married in it.

“Most of the bandstands are in parks or on seaside promenades, but to have one right on the seafront... There is no other like it.”

Over in Eastbourne the semi-circular model, with its pretty blue roof, is one of a kind, built in 1935 to replace a previous bandstand.

While their use may have declined in recent decades, bandstands remind us of a time when thousands turned out to listen to music, hear speeches and be generally entertained.

Many were built up in Glasgow by the famous Walter Macfarlane and Company before being shipped down to take pride of place at the other end of the country.

Even their falling number tells a story: a changing nation's habits as TV, radio and cinema took provided our entertainment.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr Rabbitts thinks we should be treating these glorious structures rather better than we have been.

"I think people notice things when they are gone," he said.

"I am trying to encourage a bottom-up approach to bandstands and think groups should use them more.

"Because what we are finding is that most people don’t know they are available.

"They add to the vibrancy of the area and I think that is really important."