Everyone who was anyone came to Brighton when it was the most fashionable resort in the country.

The greatest artists of the day, Turner and Constable, painted the bustling marine scene including the new Chain Pier.

Britain’s two most eminent novelists, Dickens and Thackeray, both gave readings of their work to capacity crowds at the town hall.

The Rev Sydney Smith, an acute social observer, was also a great admirer of Brighton, who often visited the town.

He said, “I think all rich and rational people living in London should take small doses of Brighton from time to time.”

Horace Smith (no relation) said, “If I mount my little white nag and ride from Kemp Town to Brunswick Trace, I am sure of half a dozen invitations to dinner.”

It is easy to think Brighton’s pre-eminence as a fashionable resort was between the first and last visits of George IV, in 1783 and 1827.

But historian Sue Berry has pointed out how vibrant Brighton was in the years before that and writer Antony Dale says the best years lasted for much of the 19th century.

Brighton took over from Bath as the main resort for three reasons. It was far more accessible from London, being only half the distance. Even though the roads were bad, coaches could get there in five hours.

It was next to the sea, which was known to be good for health, and it was favoured by royalty, notably the Prince Regent.

Many people imagine that the seafront was the centre of activity but for the fashionable, it was best to be seen at The Steine. Promenading there also had the twin advantages of being near the Royal Pavilion and away from the fierce coastal winds.

As taking the air became the main benefit of Brighton rather than bathing in or even drinking the sea water, so the season shifted from the summer into autumn and winter.

The resort’s attractions lingered long after Queen Victoria had left the Pavilion and had made the Court stuffy and dreary once again.

Antony Dale says Brighton, even at the height of the Victorian era, never became quite respectable and retained its risqué reputation.

He says, “The Regency reputation of rakishness died hard and enough of its flavour persisted right through the 19th century to redeem it from the less attractive aspects of the Victorian age.”

Even when the railways brought mass tourism from the 1840s onwards, fashionable people still descended on Brighton for the season.

Numbers slowly declined as wealthy people discovered the delights of the Continent but there was a temporary revival in the Edwardian age, with the monarch a frequent visitor.

Some features of the old Brighton season were preserved until the start of the First World War, but Antony Dale says that conflict destroyed much privilege and exclusiveness in high society.

“With their destruction, Brighton as a place of fashion and taste also passed out of existence,” he says.