The Bad Boy of Stately Homes

Despite being hedonistic, tremendously wealthy and one of the most renowned womanizers in history, in many ways it wasn’t easy being King George IV. From a relatively young age he suffered from extremely painful gout. He was also inclined to fall in love with the wrong sort of woman. One of these was Mrs Fitzherbert who, as a Catholic, was strictly off limits in the eyes of the law. His solution to these two problems? In 1786 he set up a hideaway in Brighthelmstone on the south coast, where he could enjoy the health benefits of salt water baths and some privacy, far away from the talking shop of the Royal Court in London. And so began the modern history of Brighton and the construction of its famous Pavilion.

Originally, the Royal Pavilion was a simple rented farmhouse. As the Prince grew fonder of his little cubby hole, he decided to expand it to include all the creature comforts that a person of his disposition was used to. After all, what’s a holiday home without acres of land, an enormous polished glass dome and a riding school? He hired two famous master craftsmen, Henry Holland (who had trained under Capability Brown and designed vast tracts of Kensington and Chelsea) and William Porden (the Royal Assessor who went on to reconstruct Eton Hall) to thus transform the modest house into a grand palace.

When he redesigned the palace between 1815 and 1822, John Nash (architect of Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch, amongst much else) kept and expanded the Indian touches of the original building. Ornate walkways, domes and minarets came to entirely dominate the exterior design. In an interesting reaction to the classicism that defined the contemporary Regency style, Islamic and Moghul influences ran riot through the interior, creating magnificent, distinctly Chinese and Indian living spaces. If such a thing were possible, the Pavilion would be the rebellious bad boy of English stately homes.

In 1866 the dome was given up as a manor house and converted into an opulent concert hall; the most fashionable and well healed cultural venue in the south of England. Later, during the First World War, it was used as a hospital for injured Indian servicemen, the familiar surroundings presumably being considered of some health giving, calming benefit.

Weather-beaten and crumbling going into the 20th Century, the Pavilion was given a major refit in 1935. The interior was almost completely restyled along art-deco lines. The biggest names in entertainment, such as Paul Robeson and Richard Tauber, were once again attracted to the stage at the dome. The art deco interior was faithfully and comprehensively restored during its most recent refit in 2002.

Today, the Pavilion is looking more splendid than ever in its history, with the integrity of both the Grade 1 listed Regency exterior and the 1930s Grade 1 listed interior skillfully maintained. The site is both an important historical landmark and a working public space, complete with a museum, educational facilities, top of the range concert venue, theatre and exhibition space. Not bad going for a 220 year old.