“If I were an Englishman, I think I should select Brighton as the place where I should live, and I am very sure you could not meet a jollier and better people anywhere.” The orator paused to welcome the rapturous applause of the audience gathered in his honour at the Royal Pavilion.
His words thrilled townspeople already revelling in the reflected glory of hosting this most illustrious visitor. For Ulysses S Grant was one of the most revered men in the world. As Commander General of the Union Army, he had won victory over the southern Confederacy in the American Civil War before then serving two terms as President of the once-more United States.
Grant spent three days in Brighton during October 1877. His was the first visit by a former American president to Britain. Having recently retired from political office, Grant travelled across the Atlantic as part of a world tour that he undertook along with his wife Julia and youngest son Jesse.
The family arrived in Liverpool aboard the SS Indiana on 28 May. From there, they toured widely across Scotland and England, including a ceremony at which Grant received freedom of the City of London as well as a reception hosted by Queen Victoria at Windsor Palace. (Her Majesty was not amused by Jesse’s petulant complaint about seating arrangements for dinner.)
Grant travelled by train from Victoria Station to Brighton on the morning of Saturday 20 October. He came to the city as a personal guest of Conservative MP John Ashbury who, along with a small reception committee, welcomed him as he set foot onto the platform. A carriage immediately took the Grants on a tour of Brighton’s newest cultural attraction, the town aquarium.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
