The Royal Pavilion ('Royal Pavilion') is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in the 19th century as a seaside retreat for George IV of the United Kingdom, then still Prince Regent. It is also called Brighton Pavilion.
History
Context
Brighton was nothing more than a small fishing village until well into the century. Around 1740, the popularity of the place increased due to sea water cures, recommended by a well-known Lewes doctor, Dr Richard Russell.
The Prince of Wales, George IV, visited Brighton for the first time in 1783, on the recommendation of his doctors, who thought that seawater would be beneficial for his gout "Gout (disease)." During his first visits to the village in 1783 and 1784 the Prince of Wales stayed at Grove House, a large residence built on the north side of the Steine in the previous decade and rented by his uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, from George Wyndham. By the end of 1780, the construction of the Georgian terraces had already begun and the small fishing village was gradually becoming the sought-after tourist center it is today. During King George IV's first visit, the regent fell in love with the small fishing village and rented a small farm in the Old Steine area, close to the promenade. Away from the Royal Court in London, the pavilion was also a discreet place where the prince could have relations with his first wife, Maria Anne Fitzherbert, whom he had married in an illicit marriage, as she was Catholic. In 1786 the house was rented by the Duke of Marlborough following the sale of his other house Steine House, however, and he bought it outright in 1790; The Prince of Wales, therefore, probably spent the 1786 season at the nearby country house of Thomas Kemp.
The extensions
The city immediately pleased the then prince, who was vain and had a great passion for fashion, the arts, architecture and the good life, and he took to drinking, women and gambling. His decadent lifestyle, combined with his taste for architecture and the decorative arts, resulted in great debt. In October 1786 the Prince of Wales was seeking a permanent residence in Brighton and had his Kitchen Secretary, Louis Weltje, acquire a lease of Kemp's farm, then Henry Holland was employed to build a new marine house on the site between April and June 1787. In 1787, after many pleas and promises made by the Prince of Wales, the House of Commons agreed to pay his debts and increase his revenue.
Architecture of royal pavilions
Introduction
The Royal Pavilion ('Royal Pavilion') is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in the 19th century as a seaside retreat for George IV of the United Kingdom, then still Prince Regent. It is also called Brighton Pavilion.
History
Context
Brighton was nothing more than a small fishing village until well into the century. Around 1740, the popularity of the place increased due to sea water cures, recommended by a well-known Lewes doctor, Dr Richard Russell.
The Prince of Wales, George IV, visited Brighton for the first time in 1783, on the recommendation of his doctors, who thought that seawater would be beneficial for his gout "Gout (disease)." During his first visits to the village in 1783 and 1784 the Prince of Wales stayed at Grove House, a large residence built on the north side of the Steine in the previous decade and rented by his uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, from George Wyndham. By the end of 1780, the construction of the Georgian terraces had already begun and the small fishing village was gradually becoming the sought-after tourist center it is today. During King George IV's first visit, the regent fell in love with the small fishing village and rented a small farm in the Old Steine area, close to the promenade. Away from the Royal Court in London, the pavilion was also a discreet place where the prince could have relations with his first wife, Maria Anne Fitzherbert, whom he had married in an illicit marriage, as she was Catholic. In 1786 the house was rented by the Duke of Marlborough following the sale of his other house Steine House, however, and he bought it outright in 1790; The Prince of Wales, therefore, probably spent the 1786 season at the nearby country house of Thomas Kemp.
The extensions
The city immediately pleased the then prince, who was vain and had a great passion for fashion, the arts, architecture and the good life, and he took to drinking, women and gambling. His decadent lifestyle, combined with his taste for architecture and the decorative arts, resulted in great debt. In October 1786 the Prince of Wales was seeking a permanent residence in Brighton and had his Kitchen Secretary, Louis Weltje, acquire a lease of Kemp's farm, then Henry Holland was employed to build a new marine house on the site between April and June 1787. In 1787, after many pleas and promises made by the Prince of Wales, the House of Commons agreed to pay his debts and increase his revenue.
The Prince then engaged the services of architect Henry Holland who was employed to transform his small farm into a modest new villa near "La Marina" between April and June 1787, which would become known as Marine Pavilion. Initially known as Brighton House, the Prince's "Marine Pavilion" was a classic two-storey villa in the shape of a half-timbered letter "E", with a façade of cream-coloured mathematical tiles. A vaulted hall with six Ionic columns stands in the center with sloping wings on either side, while an Ionic portico provided the entrance on the western side. The decoration was in a bright French style. With his aforementioned passion for art and fascination with the East, he richly furnished and decorated the house, especially choosing objects and furniture imported from China, and had the walls papered with hand-painted paper.
Several men lost their lives while working on the dome, but the house was completed at the end of June 1787. The Prince took possession on 6 July 1787, but Weltje, who purchased the house and gardens from Kemp in November 1787 for £5,850, charged the Prince an annual rent of £1,000 and had a house built for himself between the south-west corner and the Prince's stables. The prince finally purchased the Pavilion for 17,000 pounds from Weltje trustees in September 1807.
In 1801 the prince was considering modifications to the house. Holland drew up a new eastern plan, but it was his nephew, P.F.Robertson, who was responsible for adding two new oval-shaped wings in 1801-2 perpendicular to the eastern facade. Also in 1802, the prince was presented with some rolls of Chinese wallpaper that were later hung in the gallery. Thus taken up by them was the prince who had the entire interior redecorated in Chinese style by John Crase and Sons, and he also had plans for new Chinese style exteriors drawn up by William Porden in 1805 and Humphrey Repton in 1806-7, neither was taken up, however. Construction of the stables (the "Dome", q.v.) was begun in 1803, and in 1805 the grounds were laid out by Lapidge and Hooper, but some other additions or improvements were made to the Navy Pavilion in the years 1806 to 1814. In 1808 the new stables were completed, with an impressive glass dome for a roof, and capacity for 62 horses.
George was determined to make his palace the ultimate in comfort and convenience. Special attention was paid to lighting, heating and sanitation, and the Great Kitchen was provided with the most modern equipment.
Meanwhile, the city of Brighton grew exponentially, going from approximately 3,600 inhabitants in 1786 to 40,634 in 1831. The renovation tasks of the Prince's villa provided work for local bricklayers and merchants. The presence in the city of the court, the Prince's guests and members of the British high society of the time promoted the business of builders and industries.
The transformation of the Marine Pavilion began in 1815 and took seven years to complete.
Prince George chose the architect John Nash to expand the palace, whose proposal followed the oriental style in which the stables had been built. Nash was also inspired by the landscape designer Humphrey Repton, who had published designs for a new palace based on Indian architectural forms.
Work began by making alterations to the central western façade, followed by the construction of the Great Kitchen and the two new rooms: the Music Room and the Banquet Hall.
Work on the entire building, structure and interior decoration was completed in 1823. The complex composition of the domes, towers and minarets creates a romantic exterior. On each side of the enormous central dome there are two towers that serve the interior rooms above the Hall, one by a staircase and the other by a crane. To achieve a picturesque effect, the interior walls were painted to look like a building made of Bath stone.
During the construction period, the Prince Regent enjoyed showing his guests and friends the progress of his favorite project. He used to take walks through the construction sites after dinner, with a map of Nash in his hands.
In 1817 George hired Frederick Crace and Robert Jones to finish decorating the interior, combining rich and sophisticated decoration with the highest quality of the furniture, thus creating a luxurious palace for George IV, crowned king in 1820.
The Royal Pavillion brought together the advances of its time. It was designed to incorporate the latest technologies and equipment to meet the demands of heating and comfort. A multitude of new features were brought into the kitchen, gas lighting was installed and the bathrooms had complete plumbing installation, with running water and toilets.
William IV
William IV was a popular king with the people, and continued to stay at the Royal Pavilion during his visits to Brighton. As George IV became more reclusive and reclusive towards the end of his life, the people of Brighton were reassured by William's visibility and openness.
However, the Royal Pavilion was not suitable for a married king, and more space had to be made available for Queen Adelaide's service. More buildings were built, most of which have been demolished.
Although William and Adelaide continued to use the Royal Pavilion, it was in a much more informal style than the glamorous and extravagant form of previous decades.
Queen Victoria and the sale of the palace
King William IV died in 1837 and was succeeded by his niece Victoria. Queen Victoria made her first visit to the Royal Pavilion in 1837, a gesture that was greatly appreciated by the local population. However, the style of the pavilion, and its association with her extravagant uncle, made Victoria uncomfortable. She adopted a policy of economic austerity while residing in Brighton.
As his family grew, the Royal Pavilion became short on space and did not offer the privacy he required, so he finally decided to put the palace up for sale. However, the Brighton Commissioners and the Brighton Vestry managed to get the government to sell the Pavilion to the city for £53,000 in 1849 under the Brighton Improvement Act in 1850.[1] As it was thought to be demolished, he ordered the building to be stripped of all decoration and furniture for use in other royal houses.
The city takes charge
Meanwhile, the city of Brighton continued to prosper with the expansion of the Industrial Revolution and the opening of the new railway line from London, which encouraged mass tourism.
The people of Brighton were aware of the economic and symbolic importance of the palace, and within a year it had been redecorated in a similar, although less lavish, style and opened to the public.
In 1864 Queen Victoria returned many decorative items, such as candelabras, paintings, and many others in 1899. From 1851 until the 1920s the entrance fee was six pence. At this time, the Royal Pavilion was used to hold events such as parties, fairs, shows and conferences. The Royal Pavilion Gardens opened and became accessible to residents and visitors.
20th and 21st centuries
During the First World War the Royal Pavilion was used as a hospital for wounded Indian soldiers, which caused the interiors to be altered and damaged. In 1920, a restoration program began, subsidized by the Government in compensation for the damage received during its function as a hospital. Queen Mary returned all the original decoration and furniture, including pieces that had been moved to Buckingham Palace.
After a pause during the Second World War, restoration work continued again, with renewed interest in the Regency era. To ensure the historical rigor of the reconstruction, each piece is examined and compared with drawings and documents from the Archives.
The restoration program has had negative moments. In 1975, an arson attack damaged the Music Hall, which was closed to the public for 11 years. Then, in the great storm of 1987, a stone sphere broke loose from a minaret and fell through the newly restored roof, burying itself in the new carpet. The Pavilion restoration team is back to work and the Music Hall is now fully restored.
Since then, restoration work has focused on the rooms on the upper floor, with the intention that visitors better understand how more private apartments have appeared.
Today, the Pavilion is open to visitors and is also available for educational events, banquets and weddings, and is testament to the prosperity of Brighton, with which it is inextricably linked.[2].
Spaces
Contenido
El Royal Pavilion es uno de los mayores referentes del Eclecticismo neo-oriental. Los enormes salones se destacan en el exterior mediante las características cúpulas bulbosas de influencia árabe.
music room
Music was one of George IV's great passions. In the Music Hall, the northernmost room of the complex, the king's chamber orchestra entertained guests with Italian or Handel operas. The Italian composer Rossini played here in 1823.
The interior of this room is illuminated by nine lotus-shaped candelabras. The walls are decorated with red and gold fabrics in a chinoiserie style, supported by painted dragons. The windows have satin blue silk curtains supported by carved flying dragons. The ceiling, in the shape of a hemispherical dome, is lined with plaster flakes that decrease in size upwards, to give the impression of greater height.
This room was seriously damaged in the fire of 1975. A restoration was then carried out which included the reproduction of the original handmade carpet. In 1987, a storm toppled a stone sphere from one of the minarets, which fell through the dome and into the newly restored carpet. Today, this room has been restored following the original scheme designed by Frederick Crace, the king's chief decorator.[3].
banquet hall
This room, the southernmost, seeks a theatrical style, the background that George IV wanted to offer to his guests and courtiers. Their banquets included up to 70 different dishes.
The imaginative design of this room was carried out by Robert Jones, a well-known artist of the time. Its dazzling design includes a shallow dome, moldings and canvases depicting Chinese domestic scenes. The spectacular 30-foot-tall (9-meter) one-ton chandelier hangs from the claws of a silver dragon at the zenith of the dome, below which six smaller dragons breathe light through lotus glass crystal shades.
The stunning table is based on an 1823 painting created by architect John Nash depicting the dessert. Many of the exquisite silver gilt displays would have been placed on the front sideboards in light to display George IV's wealth and status to the fullest.
The Regency style room is decorated with original candelabras, made of blue Spode porcelain vases with gilt bronze dragon mounts. On the window wall there is an original sideboard, given by Her Majesty the Queen, veneered in satin wood with carved dragons and gilded wood. The Regency collection of silver gilt is the most important of its kind anywhere in public view.
The Great Kitchen
Built in 1816, the kitchen, unlike the rest of the pavilion, has a Greek Doric façade with pediment and pilasters overlooking Palace Place. Related to the Banquet Hall, the Great Kitchen was one of the first parts to be completed during Nash's renovation. It was designed to be innovative and modern for its time. The ventilation and lighting system consisted of twelve tall windows located in a skylight. It also had a constant supply of running water, from the Pavilion's water tank. The columns, made of cast iron, are decorated with capitals with carved palm leaves.
It was not common to find a kitchen so close to the dining room in those days. This gave George IV the opportunity to impress his guests with his new technologies in the Great Kitchen as part of his itinerary through the palace.
The Great Kitchen and the Banquet Hall were separated by the Table Decker's Room, where the waiters collected the dishes to present them in the Hall.
George IV was an admirer of French cuisine, so he needed a chef who appreciated working in the Grand Cuisine and was capable of cooking the banquets he offered. In 1816 he hired the renowned chef Marie-Antoine Carême to work at his London home, Carlton House, and at the Royal Pavilion. Carême was capable of making culinary masterpieces that delighted the king and stimulated conversation. Particularly spectacular were the cakes, which could be two meters high and more than half a meter in diameter.
Unfortunately, the king could not convince Carême to remain under his command any longer and he returned to France a year later.
Following the purchase of the estate in 1850 the large kitchen was used for art exhibitions, and from 1858 to 1876 it housed the Brighton School of Arts and Crafts, which later became the Municipal School of Art (see "Polytechnic"). The interior has been restored and is lined with more than 600 copper utensils, while the roof is supported by fine iron columns in the shape of palm trees. There is also a new roaster-broiler, powered by the convection of its own fire.
reception rooms
Attree describes it as a hall whose "color is warm clay, with red and blue moldings. This hall is thirty-five feet square, and twenty feet high, and is tastefully decorated in the Chinese style. A bright gallery with an awning crosses it, under which there are life-size figures of mandarins, each holding a colored glass lantern, on which flowers and other oriental motifs are painted, very well executed and with a beautiful effect. Indeed, the interior design includes two semi-cylindrical niches that house two statues, over which a canopied gallery runs, all reminiscent of oriental pagodas.
Guests were led through the Entrance Hall by attendants, and then entered the Gallery. This hallway connected all the great halls of the palace. The walls of this space were painted with a design of rocks, trees, bushes and birds on a pink background. The current finish is a 1950 reconstruction.
The Gallery was illuminated from above, through a longitudinal painted glass skylight, and lamps to illuminate it at night. These lamps were not only for lighting, they also contributed to the theatrical effect.
Filled with exotic furniture and decor, with art pieces from China, the Gallery used clever decorative techniques, such as cast iron to imitate bamboo and carefully placed mirrors.
This space already existed in the original farm and was initially divided into two rooms, an anteroom and a breakfast room. When John Nash remodeled the palace, it was used as an "after-dinner drawing room." George IV's guests retired to this quiet, secluded room to play cards, chat and drink.
Columns with cast iron capitals in the shape of a palm tree, like those of the Great Kitchen, support the upper floor. Today, this room houses some of the finest Regency furniture, made to commemorate Lord Nelson's victories.
This space was the central room of the primitive Marine Pavilion. It is the only room in the Nash pavilion that has preserved its original shape unchanged since 1787. The basic form has a harmony that never fails: it is circular, with the fireplace on its west wall, in front of the windows on the east wall, with two semi-domed anterooms on the north and south sides.
Two unexecuted designs survive for this hall, in Etruscan style, the inscription "This design for the Great Saloon was received from M. Lignereux" refers to an artist who was paid, in association with Dominique Daguerre, to work on Carlton House.[4] The designs show alternative treatments for each side of the fireplace. Initially, the decoration consisted of " [...] paintings by Rebecca, executed in her best style",[5] referring to Biagio Rebecca, who received a total of 360 pounds for his work, of which 160 were "paid by Mr. Holland for the ceiling alone."[6] The hall remained unchanged for 14 years. H. R. Attree refers to the Saloon in his book Topography of Brighton thus:.
It is under the large bulbous exterior dome. The interior decoration has changed several times since the building's early days.
The bedrooms
In John Nash's scheme of the renovation, George IV's suite was moved from the upper floor to the ground floor. The change allowed the king to have easier access (as at this time he was already overweight and gout) to his private rooms. These apartments have a less pompous decorative style. The English and French decoration and furniture give an image of sober elegance.
George IV's original bed is on long-term loan. This bed was made in 1828 for his newly renovated chambers at Windsor Castle. The king's rooms include the bedroom, a library and an anteroom. The bathroom was accessed from the bedroom and had the latest luxury bathroom equipment; Unfortunately it was demolished later, still in the 19th century.
George IV's favorite painted wallpaper design, with designs of dragons "Dragon (mythology)"), phoenixes and birds of paradise was used to decorate the apartments of his brothers, the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence. They receive the name from the use of the new and vigorous color chrome yellow, which makes the Chinese oil paintings and watercolors stand out, and contrasts with other materials used in the room.
This set of rooms has been restored to its original design with the dragon paper and skirting having been meticulously reproduced from original fragments and printed in the traditional way. The vivid chrome yellow dramatically sets off the rich coloring of the Chinese oil paintings and watercolors, and contrasts beautifully with the 'red vase and chintz flower' of the bed and window cloths.
Queen Victoria visited the Royal Pavilion for the first time in 1837, and found it a "strange, extravagant, slanted place, both inside and out." She would later return for a longer stay, with her husband Albert and two children in 1842, and the upper floor was adapted to accommodate the Queen and her family. Victoria maintained a strict policy of austerity regarding Crown funds, and wanted to distance herself and the monarchy from the extravagance and waste of the Regency era. The Royal Pavilion could not offer him enough space and privacy, so in 1850 he sold the palace to the city of Brighton.
Its three rooms (the queen's bedroom, servant's room and wardrobe) have been restored as they were between 1837 and 1845. Queen Victoria's bedroom is decorated with hand-painted wallpaper in the chinoiserie style, based on original wallpapers. These are produced in such a way that, when installed, they form a continuous scene that does not repeat itself. The bed is made of mahogany, with a canopy, and has six mattresses of straw, hair and feathers, it is a copy of the original from 1830 in Stratfield Saye. The Maid's Room is decorated with a reproduction of the original background image supplied courtesy of Brunschwig et Fils.
The wardrobe was used as a servants' room during the reign of George IV and was later converted into a bathroom for both William IV and Queen Victoria.[7].
The palace grounds
George IV's original farm had a small area of land around it. As his financial position improved, he was able to purchase plots around the palace to create the estate that can be seen today. The limits of the land are the doors: North and South.
The North Gate faces Church Street and is the northern entrance to the Royal Pavilion, it is a Portland stone Indian style gate surmounted by a copper dome and flanked by loggias. It is adorned with columns and minarets, a lion and crown facing north, and a crown and feathers of the Prince of Wales facing south. It also bears the letters "W IIII" and the date 1832, and was erected in that year for King William IV by Joseph Good. It is now a listed building. On 4 October 1837 the North Gate was decorated with flowers and became a triumphal arch for Queen Victoria's first visit. The north face has a drinking fountain from 1859. Adjacent to the North Gate of the Royal Pavilion is the North Gate House.
The South Door faces the Pavilion Buildings; The first formal south entrance to the Royal Pavilion was known as the South Lodge and was completed by William IV on 7 May 1831. Built in line with the rest of the buildings on North Street, it was a scalloped Indian arch surmounted by east towers and was designed by Joseph Good. Following the purchase of property in 1851 the South Lodge was demolished by the city commissioners, along with some other outbuildings for the construction of the Pavilion Buildings, and was replaced by a new South Gate on the present site, surmounted by concave pagoda domes and with two large, iron gates flanked by small square arches through which pedestrians pass.
The current Indian arch stands thirty-seven meters high and was designed by Thomas Tyrwhitt in the Gujerati style with a simple dome mounted on four stone pillars. It bears the following inscription: "This door is the gift of India, in commemoration of its children who, devastated by the Great War, lay in the Pavilion, in 1914 and 1915." It was dedicated for the use of the inhabitants of Brighton by His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala on 26 October 1921.
The North Gate House is three storeys, listed as a grade 2 building and the only remaining house with a terrace; of nine, which once stood beside a road through the grounds of the Royal Pavilion. Known as Marlborough Row, this terrace was probably built around 1774, but numbers 1-4 were demolished in 1820 and numbers 5-7 in 1821. No. 9 was a small blacksmith's shop, whose owner refused to sell, but was eventually expropriated for the extension of Church Street.
The North Gate House itself was presented by William IV (George IV) to his sister, Princess Augusta in 1830 and in 1832 the façade was remodeled with windows and oriental decorations to match the style of the new North Gate. Since 1930 it has been home to the Royal Pavilion offices, art gallery, museum and public library, and also housed the children's library for a time. It is finally expected at the headquarters of the National Toy Museum in the building.
Structural problems and conservation
When George IV died in 1830, the ambitious remodeling of the Royal Pavilion was already beginning to show structural problems. The roof was leaking and the drains were overflowing, causing other elements to rot. Restoration of the Royal Pavilion began in the middle of the century, and has continued to this day. In 1920, an important interior conservation program began, with interventions on the structure in the early 1980s.
• - John Nash.
• - Brighton.
• - George IV of England.
• - William IV of England.
• - Victory for England.
• - María de Teck.
Referenced bibliography
• - Morley, John (1984). The Making of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton (in English). London: IB Tauris & Co.
• - Watkin, David (1971). English Architecture (in English). London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Royal Pavilion.
[5] ↑ Stroud, Dorothy (1966). Henry Holland, His Life and Architecture (en inglés). Londres: Country Life. Consultado el 4 de abril de 2011. (requiere registro).: https://archive.org/details/henryhollandhisl0000stro
The Prince then engaged the services of architect Henry Holland who was employed to transform his small farm into a modest new villa near "La Marina" between April and June 1787, which would become known as Marine Pavilion. Initially known as Brighton House, the Prince's "Marine Pavilion" was a classic two-storey villa in the shape of a half-timbered letter "E", with a façade of cream-coloured mathematical tiles. A vaulted hall with six Ionic columns stands in the center with sloping wings on either side, while an Ionic portico provided the entrance on the western side. The decoration was in a bright French style. With his aforementioned passion for art and fascination with the East, he richly furnished and decorated the house, especially choosing objects and furniture imported from China, and had the walls papered with hand-painted paper.
Several men lost their lives while working on the dome, but the house was completed at the end of June 1787. The Prince took possession on 6 July 1787, but Weltje, who purchased the house and gardens from Kemp in November 1787 for £5,850, charged the Prince an annual rent of £1,000 and had a house built for himself between the south-west corner and the Prince's stables. The prince finally purchased the Pavilion for 17,000 pounds from Weltje trustees in September 1807.
In 1801 the prince was considering modifications to the house. Holland drew up a new eastern plan, but it was his nephew, P.F.Robertson, who was responsible for adding two new oval-shaped wings in 1801-2 perpendicular to the eastern facade. Also in 1802, the prince was presented with some rolls of Chinese wallpaper that were later hung in the gallery. Thus taken up by them was the prince who had the entire interior redecorated in Chinese style by John Crase and Sons, and he also had plans for new Chinese style exteriors drawn up by William Porden in 1805 and Humphrey Repton in 1806-7, neither was taken up, however. Construction of the stables (the "Dome", q.v.) was begun in 1803, and in 1805 the grounds were laid out by Lapidge and Hooper, but some other additions or improvements were made to the Navy Pavilion in the years 1806 to 1814. In 1808 the new stables were completed, with an impressive glass dome for a roof, and capacity for 62 horses.
George was determined to make his palace the ultimate in comfort and convenience. Special attention was paid to lighting, heating and sanitation, and the Great Kitchen was provided with the most modern equipment.
Meanwhile, the city of Brighton grew exponentially, going from approximately 3,600 inhabitants in 1786 to 40,634 in 1831. The renovation tasks of the Prince's villa provided work for local bricklayers and merchants. The presence in the city of the court, the Prince's guests and members of the British high society of the time promoted the business of builders and industries.
The transformation of the Marine Pavilion began in 1815 and took seven years to complete.
Prince George chose the architect John Nash to expand the palace, whose proposal followed the oriental style in which the stables had been built. Nash was also inspired by the landscape designer Humphrey Repton, who had published designs for a new palace based on Indian architectural forms.
Work began by making alterations to the central western façade, followed by the construction of the Great Kitchen and the two new rooms: the Music Room and the Banquet Hall.
Work on the entire building, structure and interior decoration was completed in 1823. The complex composition of the domes, towers and minarets creates a romantic exterior. On each side of the enormous central dome there are two towers that serve the interior rooms above the Hall, one by a staircase and the other by a crane. To achieve a picturesque effect, the interior walls were painted to look like a building made of Bath stone.
During the construction period, the Prince Regent enjoyed showing his guests and friends the progress of his favorite project. He used to take walks through the construction sites after dinner, with a map of Nash in his hands.
In 1817 George hired Frederick Crace and Robert Jones to finish decorating the interior, combining rich and sophisticated decoration with the highest quality of the furniture, thus creating a luxurious palace for George IV, crowned king in 1820.
The Royal Pavillion brought together the advances of its time. It was designed to incorporate the latest technologies and equipment to meet the demands of heating and comfort. A multitude of new features were brought into the kitchen, gas lighting was installed and the bathrooms had complete plumbing installation, with running water and toilets.
William IV
William IV was a popular king with the people, and continued to stay at the Royal Pavilion during his visits to Brighton. As George IV became more reclusive and reclusive towards the end of his life, the people of Brighton were reassured by William's visibility and openness.
However, the Royal Pavilion was not suitable for a married king, and more space had to be made available for Queen Adelaide's service. More buildings were built, most of which have been demolished.
Although William and Adelaide continued to use the Royal Pavilion, it was in a much more informal style than the glamorous and extravagant form of previous decades.
Queen Victoria and the sale of the palace
King William IV died in 1837 and was succeeded by his niece Victoria. Queen Victoria made her first visit to the Royal Pavilion in 1837, a gesture that was greatly appreciated by the local population. However, the style of the pavilion, and its association with her extravagant uncle, made Victoria uncomfortable. She adopted a policy of economic austerity while residing in Brighton.
As his family grew, the Royal Pavilion became short on space and did not offer the privacy he required, so he finally decided to put the palace up for sale. However, the Brighton Commissioners and the Brighton Vestry managed to get the government to sell the Pavilion to the city for £53,000 in 1849 under the Brighton Improvement Act in 1850.[1] As it was thought to be demolished, he ordered the building to be stripped of all decoration and furniture for use in other royal houses.
The city takes charge
Meanwhile, the city of Brighton continued to prosper with the expansion of the Industrial Revolution and the opening of the new railway line from London, which encouraged mass tourism.
The people of Brighton were aware of the economic and symbolic importance of the palace, and within a year it had been redecorated in a similar, although less lavish, style and opened to the public.
In 1864 Queen Victoria returned many decorative items, such as candelabras, paintings, and many others in 1899. From 1851 until the 1920s the entrance fee was six pence. At this time, the Royal Pavilion was used to hold events such as parties, fairs, shows and conferences. The Royal Pavilion Gardens opened and became accessible to residents and visitors.
20th and 21st centuries
During the First World War the Royal Pavilion was used as a hospital for wounded Indian soldiers, which caused the interiors to be altered and damaged. In 1920, a restoration program began, subsidized by the Government in compensation for the damage received during its function as a hospital. Queen Mary returned all the original decoration and furniture, including pieces that had been moved to Buckingham Palace.
After a pause during the Second World War, restoration work continued again, with renewed interest in the Regency era. To ensure the historical rigor of the reconstruction, each piece is examined and compared with drawings and documents from the Archives.
The restoration program has had negative moments. In 1975, an arson attack damaged the Music Hall, which was closed to the public for 11 years. Then, in the great storm of 1987, a stone sphere broke loose from a minaret and fell through the newly restored roof, burying itself in the new carpet. The Pavilion restoration team is back to work and the Music Hall is now fully restored.
Since then, restoration work has focused on the rooms on the upper floor, with the intention that visitors better understand how more private apartments have appeared.
Today, the Pavilion is open to visitors and is also available for educational events, banquets and weddings, and is testament to the prosperity of Brighton, with which it is inextricably linked.[2].
Spaces
Contenido
El Royal Pavilion es uno de los mayores referentes del Eclecticismo neo-oriental. Los enormes salones se destacan en el exterior mediante las características cúpulas bulbosas de influencia árabe.
music room
Music was one of George IV's great passions. In the Music Hall, the northernmost room of the complex, the king's chamber orchestra entertained guests with Italian or Handel operas. The Italian composer Rossini played here in 1823.
The interior of this room is illuminated by nine lotus-shaped candelabras. The walls are decorated with red and gold fabrics in a chinoiserie style, supported by painted dragons. The windows have satin blue silk curtains supported by carved flying dragons. The ceiling, in the shape of a hemispherical dome, is lined with plaster flakes that decrease in size upwards, to give the impression of greater height.
This room was seriously damaged in the fire of 1975. A restoration was then carried out which included the reproduction of the original handmade carpet. In 1987, a storm toppled a stone sphere from one of the minarets, which fell through the dome and into the newly restored carpet. Today, this room has been restored following the original scheme designed by Frederick Crace, the king's chief decorator.[3].
banquet hall
This room, the southernmost, seeks a theatrical style, the background that George IV wanted to offer to his guests and courtiers. Their banquets included up to 70 different dishes.
The imaginative design of this room was carried out by Robert Jones, a well-known artist of the time. Its dazzling design includes a shallow dome, moldings and canvases depicting Chinese domestic scenes. The spectacular 30-foot-tall (9-meter) one-ton chandelier hangs from the claws of a silver dragon at the zenith of the dome, below which six smaller dragons breathe light through lotus glass crystal shades.
The stunning table is based on an 1823 painting created by architect John Nash depicting the dessert. Many of the exquisite silver gilt displays would have been placed on the front sideboards in light to display George IV's wealth and status to the fullest.
The Regency style room is decorated with original candelabras, made of blue Spode porcelain vases with gilt bronze dragon mounts. On the window wall there is an original sideboard, given by Her Majesty the Queen, veneered in satin wood with carved dragons and gilded wood. The Regency collection of silver gilt is the most important of its kind anywhere in public view.
The Great Kitchen
Built in 1816, the kitchen, unlike the rest of the pavilion, has a Greek Doric façade with pediment and pilasters overlooking Palace Place. Related to the Banquet Hall, the Great Kitchen was one of the first parts to be completed during Nash's renovation. It was designed to be innovative and modern for its time. The ventilation and lighting system consisted of twelve tall windows located in a skylight. It also had a constant supply of running water, from the Pavilion's water tank. The columns, made of cast iron, are decorated with capitals with carved palm leaves.
It was not common to find a kitchen so close to the dining room in those days. This gave George IV the opportunity to impress his guests with his new technologies in the Great Kitchen as part of his itinerary through the palace.
The Great Kitchen and the Banquet Hall were separated by the Table Decker's Room, where the waiters collected the dishes to present them in the Hall.
George IV was an admirer of French cuisine, so he needed a chef who appreciated working in the Grand Cuisine and was capable of cooking the banquets he offered. In 1816 he hired the renowned chef Marie-Antoine Carême to work at his London home, Carlton House, and at the Royal Pavilion. Carême was capable of making culinary masterpieces that delighted the king and stimulated conversation. Particularly spectacular were the cakes, which could be two meters high and more than half a meter in diameter.
Unfortunately, the king could not convince Carême to remain under his command any longer and he returned to France a year later.
Following the purchase of the estate in 1850 the large kitchen was used for art exhibitions, and from 1858 to 1876 it housed the Brighton School of Arts and Crafts, which later became the Municipal School of Art (see "Polytechnic"). The interior has been restored and is lined with more than 600 copper utensils, while the roof is supported by fine iron columns in the shape of palm trees. There is also a new roaster-broiler, powered by the convection of its own fire.
reception rooms
Attree describes it as a hall whose "color is warm clay, with red and blue moldings. This hall is thirty-five feet square, and twenty feet high, and is tastefully decorated in the Chinese style. A bright gallery with an awning crosses it, under which there are life-size figures of mandarins, each holding a colored glass lantern, on which flowers and other oriental motifs are painted, very well executed and with a beautiful effect. Indeed, the interior design includes two semi-cylindrical niches that house two statues, over which a canopied gallery runs, all reminiscent of oriental pagodas.
Guests were led through the Entrance Hall by attendants, and then entered the Gallery. This hallway connected all the great halls of the palace. The walls of this space were painted with a design of rocks, trees, bushes and birds on a pink background. The current finish is a 1950 reconstruction.
The Gallery was illuminated from above, through a longitudinal painted glass skylight, and lamps to illuminate it at night. These lamps were not only for lighting, they also contributed to the theatrical effect.
Filled with exotic furniture and decor, with art pieces from China, the Gallery used clever decorative techniques, such as cast iron to imitate bamboo and carefully placed mirrors.
This space already existed in the original farm and was initially divided into two rooms, an anteroom and a breakfast room. When John Nash remodeled the palace, it was used as an "after-dinner drawing room." George IV's guests retired to this quiet, secluded room to play cards, chat and drink.
Columns with cast iron capitals in the shape of a palm tree, like those of the Great Kitchen, support the upper floor. Today, this room houses some of the finest Regency furniture, made to commemorate Lord Nelson's victories.
This space was the central room of the primitive Marine Pavilion. It is the only room in the Nash pavilion that has preserved its original shape unchanged since 1787. The basic form has a harmony that never fails: it is circular, with the fireplace on its west wall, in front of the windows on the east wall, with two semi-domed anterooms on the north and south sides.
Two unexecuted designs survive for this hall, in Etruscan style, the inscription "This design for the Great Saloon was received from M. Lignereux" refers to an artist who was paid, in association with Dominique Daguerre, to work on Carlton House.[4] The designs show alternative treatments for each side of the fireplace. Initially, the decoration consisted of " [...] paintings by Rebecca, executed in her best style",[5] referring to Biagio Rebecca, who received a total of 360 pounds for his work, of which 160 were "paid by Mr. Holland for the ceiling alone."[6] The hall remained unchanged for 14 years. H. R. Attree refers to the Saloon in his book Topography of Brighton thus:.
It is under the large bulbous exterior dome. The interior decoration has changed several times since the building's early days.
The bedrooms
In John Nash's scheme of the renovation, George IV's suite was moved from the upper floor to the ground floor. The change allowed the king to have easier access (as at this time he was already overweight and gout) to his private rooms. These apartments have a less pompous decorative style. The English and French decoration and furniture give an image of sober elegance.
George IV's original bed is on long-term loan. This bed was made in 1828 for his newly renovated chambers at Windsor Castle. The king's rooms include the bedroom, a library and an anteroom. The bathroom was accessed from the bedroom and had the latest luxury bathroom equipment; Unfortunately it was demolished later, still in the 19th century.
George IV's favorite painted wallpaper design, with designs of dragons "Dragon (mythology)"), phoenixes and birds of paradise was used to decorate the apartments of his brothers, the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence. They receive the name from the use of the new and vigorous color chrome yellow, which makes the Chinese oil paintings and watercolors stand out, and contrasts with other materials used in the room.
This set of rooms has been restored to its original design with the dragon paper and skirting having been meticulously reproduced from original fragments and printed in the traditional way. The vivid chrome yellow dramatically sets off the rich coloring of the Chinese oil paintings and watercolors, and contrasts beautifully with the 'red vase and chintz flower' of the bed and window cloths.
Queen Victoria visited the Royal Pavilion for the first time in 1837, and found it a "strange, extravagant, slanted place, both inside and out." She would later return for a longer stay, with her husband Albert and two children in 1842, and the upper floor was adapted to accommodate the Queen and her family. Victoria maintained a strict policy of austerity regarding Crown funds, and wanted to distance herself and the monarchy from the extravagance and waste of the Regency era. The Royal Pavilion could not offer him enough space and privacy, so in 1850 he sold the palace to the city of Brighton.
Its three rooms (the queen's bedroom, servant's room and wardrobe) have been restored as they were between 1837 and 1845. Queen Victoria's bedroom is decorated with hand-painted wallpaper in the chinoiserie style, based on original wallpapers. These are produced in such a way that, when installed, they form a continuous scene that does not repeat itself. The bed is made of mahogany, with a canopy, and has six mattresses of straw, hair and feathers, it is a copy of the original from 1830 in Stratfield Saye. The Maid's Room is decorated with a reproduction of the original background image supplied courtesy of Brunschwig et Fils.
The wardrobe was used as a servants' room during the reign of George IV and was later converted into a bathroom for both William IV and Queen Victoria.[7].
The palace grounds
George IV's original farm had a small area of land around it. As his financial position improved, he was able to purchase plots around the palace to create the estate that can be seen today. The limits of the land are the doors: North and South.
The North Gate faces Church Street and is the northern entrance to the Royal Pavilion, it is a Portland stone Indian style gate surmounted by a copper dome and flanked by loggias. It is adorned with columns and minarets, a lion and crown facing north, and a crown and feathers of the Prince of Wales facing south. It also bears the letters "W IIII" and the date 1832, and was erected in that year for King William IV by Joseph Good. It is now a listed building. On 4 October 1837 the North Gate was decorated with flowers and became a triumphal arch for Queen Victoria's first visit. The north face has a drinking fountain from 1859. Adjacent to the North Gate of the Royal Pavilion is the North Gate House.
The South Door faces the Pavilion Buildings; The first formal south entrance to the Royal Pavilion was known as the South Lodge and was completed by William IV on 7 May 1831. Built in line with the rest of the buildings on North Street, it was a scalloped Indian arch surmounted by east towers and was designed by Joseph Good. Following the purchase of property in 1851 the South Lodge was demolished by the city commissioners, along with some other outbuildings for the construction of the Pavilion Buildings, and was replaced by a new South Gate on the present site, surmounted by concave pagoda domes and with two large, iron gates flanked by small square arches through which pedestrians pass.
The current Indian arch stands thirty-seven meters high and was designed by Thomas Tyrwhitt in the Gujerati style with a simple dome mounted on four stone pillars. It bears the following inscription: "This door is the gift of India, in commemoration of its children who, devastated by the Great War, lay in the Pavilion, in 1914 and 1915." It was dedicated for the use of the inhabitants of Brighton by His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala on 26 October 1921.
The North Gate House is three storeys, listed as a grade 2 building and the only remaining house with a terrace; of nine, which once stood beside a road through the grounds of the Royal Pavilion. Known as Marlborough Row, this terrace was probably built around 1774, but numbers 1-4 were demolished in 1820 and numbers 5-7 in 1821. No. 9 was a small blacksmith's shop, whose owner refused to sell, but was eventually expropriated for the extension of Church Street.
The North Gate House itself was presented by William IV (George IV) to his sister, Princess Augusta in 1830 and in 1832 the façade was remodeled with windows and oriental decorations to match the style of the new North Gate. Since 1930 it has been home to the Royal Pavilion offices, art gallery, museum and public library, and also housed the children's library for a time. It is finally expected at the headquarters of the National Toy Museum in the building.
Structural problems and conservation
When George IV died in 1830, the ambitious remodeling of the Royal Pavilion was already beginning to show structural problems. The roof was leaking and the drains were overflowing, causing other elements to rot. Restoration of the Royal Pavilion began in the middle of the century, and has continued to this day. In 1920, an important interior conservation program began, with interventions on the structure in the early 1980s.
• - John Nash.
• - Brighton.
• - George IV of England.
• - William IV of England.
• - Victory for England.
• - María de Teck.
Referenced bibliography
• - Morley, John (1984). The Making of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton (in English). London: IB Tauris & Co.
• - Watkin, David (1971). English Architecture (in English). London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Royal Pavilion.
[5] ↑ Stroud, Dorothy (1966). Henry Holland, His Life and Architecture (en inglés). Londres: Country Life. Consultado el 4 de abril de 2011. (requiere registro).: https://archive.org/details/henryhollandhisl0000stro
Since 2006 a conservation program has been underway to restore the historic Saloon to its initial splendor. Since the start of the programme, conservation work has included securing and cleaning the ceiling fresco, which depicts the sky, and cleaning the remaining painted and gilded surfaces. The work will continue with the recreation of the original silver and pearl white mural decoration, as well as the baseboards and moldings.
Similar to the Gallery of the Banqueting Hall, this room provided an atmosphere of calm for George IV's guests after the grandeur of the Music Hall. It could have been used for small concerts and recitals, occasionally removing the carpet to allow dances to be held.
The grand piano was brought to the Royal Pavilion by Queen Mary. Finished in rosewood exterior with bronze inlays, it is similar to the original piano that stood in this room during the Regency period.
Victoria's chamber is above the Salán de la Entreda. Transformed in 1950 into a mid-Victorian style bedroom to commemorate Queen Victoria's (1837-1845) residence at the Pavilion. It was furnished in a somewhat feminine style with gilded and lacquered furniture, a half-poster metal bed, with pink furniture and a predominantly pink Aubusson rug.
John Nash transformed Henry Holland's modest Marine Pavilion into a grand Indian-style palace. The large central dome is compositionally balanced by the gentle tent-like roofs of the Music Hall and Banquet Hall, and a forest of small domes, minarets, pinnacles and chimneys. The exterior surface of the Pavilion is painted to imitate Bath stone, creating a unified vision of the building.
The Dome was originally built as a stable for the Prince of Wales in 1803 by William Porden who based his design on the Paris corn market. Due to dwindling finances and a shortage of building materials, it took several years to complete and the contractor, Edward Saunders, died in 1805 largely in debt due to delays. The yellow brick façade, the Indian style of the building cost £55,000, along with the adjacent riding school. The stables were completed in 1808. The building today houses the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and the Dome Concert Hall. Part of this area of the land was originally called Promenade Grove. It was a public garden and an outdoor venue for concerts and evening events.
The magnificent stables were designed entirely by William Porden"). With the large dome 80 feet in diameter (25 metres) and 65 feet high, it was one of the most important in the world at the time and was completed in late 1806, taking three years to build. The exterior was not finished until April 1808, but the interior was in use by August 1806 and the stables could house 60 horses, with quarters for the stable hands and bride and groom on the upper floor in the circular galleries. With entrances on all four sides, the stable opened onto a courtyard surrounded by coach houses and servants' quarters, a site now occupied by the public library, and from there through a wide arch it enters Church Street A facade was built along Church Street in front of the courtyard, but an indoor tennis court was proposed which was never built and in 1832 the space was occupied by the stables for Queen Adelaide and other buildings now occupied by the. museum and art gallery. The west wing housed the riding school, now the Alhóndiga or Corn Market. An underground passage was built between approximately 1821 and 1822 from the stables to the north end of the Royal Pavilion to the newly built king's apartments, to allow direct and private access.
Built in 1803-8 by William Porden), the Alhóndiga was erected for the Prince of Wales as a riding school, and forms the western wing of the prince's stables now known as the Dome. The splendid interior measures 178 feet by 58 feet with a roof supported 34 feet high, and is now used for exhibitions, receptions and other functions. The exterior is of yellow brick and the building has very large oriental windows. As Part of the original Royal Pavilion estate, the Alhóndiga is now a Grade I listed building.
In 1856, the riding school, which was acquired by the city in 1850 as part of the Pavilion estate, was left as a cavalry barracks, along with the Dome. It acquired its present name on 1 October 1868, when the Corn Market was transferred from the King and Queen Inn and was then held every Thursday until the building was handed over to a military hospital in December 1914. After the war it was converted into an exhibition and function hall, and in 1934 alterations were made by Robert Atkinson at a cost of £34,000, the royal box has been removed, and a new entrance was made. made in Church Street with a large figure of Ceres, the corn goddess, by James Woodford in a recess above the canopy.
The Royal Pavilion Gardens were originally designed by John Nash as a picturesque recreation area for the king. The garden's design reflected the revolution in landscaping that had begun in 1730. Straight lines and symmetrical shapes were replaced by curved paths, natural groups of trees and shrubs, and picturesque views. Landscaping began in 1816, at the same time as the remodeling of the Marine Pavilion, and was completed in the early 1820s.
During the final years of the century and the beginning of the 19th century, the gardens were altered beyond recognition. It was not until the 1980s that the layout of the original gardens was restored, in parallel with a major structural restoration of the palace itself. The restoration took around 20 years to complete.
The winding path that Nash designed in the Regency period now runs from William IV Gate to the entrance to the Royal Pavilion, with irregular beds of shrubs and mixed flowers at the sides of the walk and winding paths. The trees and shrubs were chosen from the list given to George IV at the time, mixed with modern equivalents of the herbaceous varieties of the Regency years.
Much of shrub planting is based on "rules" for shrub design described by Henry Phillips, a local landscape gardener, in 1828. Phillips advises that "a well-planted shrub depends on the selection of trees and shrubs that follow each other in flowering throughout the year, as well as contrasting shades of green for a permanent effect and underplanting flowers for the shortest duration."
The variety of plants that can be seen in the Gardens is, depending on the season:.
• - Early spring: almond blossoms, gorse, heather, quinces, bluebells, primroses, daffodils and hellebores.
• - Full spring: hawthorn flower, lilacs, broom, tulips, periwinkle, lilies and peonies.
• - Early autumn: strawberry trees, hydrangeas, fuchsias, late yellow broom, tiger lilies, sunflowers, chrysanthemums.[8].
Since 2006 a conservation program has been underway to restore the historic Saloon to its initial splendor. Since the start of the programme, conservation work has included securing and cleaning the ceiling fresco, which depicts the sky, and cleaning the remaining painted and gilded surfaces. The work will continue with the recreation of the original silver and pearl white mural decoration, as well as the baseboards and moldings.
Similar to the Gallery of the Banqueting Hall, this room provided an atmosphere of calm for George IV's guests after the grandeur of the Music Hall. It could have been used for small concerts and recitals, occasionally removing the carpet to allow dances to be held.
The grand piano was brought to the Royal Pavilion by Queen Mary. Finished in rosewood exterior with bronze inlays, it is similar to the original piano that stood in this room during the Regency period.
Victoria's chamber is above the Salán de la Entreda. Transformed in 1950 into a mid-Victorian style bedroom to commemorate Queen Victoria's (1837-1845) residence at the Pavilion. It was furnished in a somewhat feminine style with gilded and lacquered furniture, a half-poster metal bed, with pink furniture and a predominantly pink Aubusson rug.
John Nash transformed Henry Holland's modest Marine Pavilion into a grand Indian-style palace. The large central dome is compositionally balanced by the gentle tent-like roofs of the Music Hall and Banquet Hall, and a forest of small domes, minarets, pinnacles and chimneys. The exterior surface of the Pavilion is painted to imitate Bath stone, creating a unified vision of the building.
The Dome was originally built as a stable for the Prince of Wales in 1803 by William Porden who based his design on the Paris corn market. Due to dwindling finances and a shortage of building materials, it took several years to complete and the contractor, Edward Saunders, died in 1805 largely in debt due to delays. The yellow brick façade, the Indian style of the building cost £55,000, along with the adjacent riding school. The stables were completed in 1808. The building today houses the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and the Dome Concert Hall. Part of this area of the land was originally called Promenade Grove. It was a public garden and an outdoor venue for concerts and evening events.
The magnificent stables were designed entirely by William Porden"). With the large dome 80 feet in diameter (25 metres) and 65 feet high, it was one of the most important in the world at the time and was completed in late 1806, taking three years to build. The exterior was not finished until April 1808, but the interior was in use by August 1806 and the stables could house 60 horses, with quarters for the stable hands and bride and groom on the upper floor in the circular galleries. With entrances on all four sides, the stable opened onto a courtyard surrounded by coach houses and servants' quarters, a site now occupied by the public library, and from there through a wide arch it enters Church Street A facade was built along Church Street in front of the courtyard, but an indoor tennis court was proposed which was never built and in 1832 the space was occupied by the stables for Queen Adelaide and other buildings now occupied by the. museum and art gallery. The west wing housed the riding school, now the Alhóndiga or Corn Market. An underground passage was built between approximately 1821 and 1822 from the stables to the north end of the Royal Pavilion to the newly built king's apartments, to allow direct and private access.
Built in 1803-8 by William Porden), the Alhóndiga was erected for the Prince of Wales as a riding school, and forms the western wing of the prince's stables now known as the Dome. The splendid interior measures 178 feet by 58 feet with a roof supported 34 feet high, and is now used for exhibitions, receptions and other functions. The exterior is of yellow brick and the building has very large oriental windows. As Part of the original Royal Pavilion estate, the Alhóndiga is now a Grade I listed building.
In 1856, the riding school, which was acquired by the city in 1850 as part of the Pavilion estate, was left as a cavalry barracks, along with the Dome. It acquired its present name on 1 October 1868, when the Corn Market was transferred from the King and Queen Inn and was then held every Thursday until the building was handed over to a military hospital in December 1914. After the war it was converted into an exhibition and function hall, and in 1934 alterations were made by Robert Atkinson at a cost of £34,000, the royal box has been removed, and a new entrance was made. made in Church Street with a large figure of Ceres, the corn goddess, by James Woodford in a recess above the canopy.
The Royal Pavilion Gardens were originally designed by John Nash as a picturesque recreation area for the king. The garden's design reflected the revolution in landscaping that had begun in 1730. Straight lines and symmetrical shapes were replaced by curved paths, natural groups of trees and shrubs, and picturesque views. Landscaping began in 1816, at the same time as the remodeling of the Marine Pavilion, and was completed in the early 1820s.
During the final years of the century and the beginning of the 19th century, the gardens were altered beyond recognition. It was not until the 1980s that the layout of the original gardens was restored, in parallel with a major structural restoration of the palace itself. The restoration took around 20 years to complete.
The winding path that Nash designed in the Regency period now runs from William IV Gate to the entrance to the Royal Pavilion, with irregular beds of shrubs and mixed flowers at the sides of the walk and winding paths. The trees and shrubs were chosen from the list given to George IV at the time, mixed with modern equivalents of the herbaceous varieties of the Regency years.
Much of shrub planting is based on "rules" for shrub design described by Henry Phillips, a local landscape gardener, in 1828. Phillips advises that "a well-planted shrub depends on the selection of trees and shrubs that follow each other in flowering throughout the year, as well as contrasting shades of green for a permanent effect and underplanting flowers for the shortest duration."
The variety of plants that can be seen in the Gardens is, depending on the season:.
• - Early spring: almond blossoms, gorse, heather, quinces, bluebells, primroses, daffodils and hellebores.
• - Full spring: hawthorn flower, lilacs, broom, tulips, periwinkle, lilies and peonies.