This auspicious date took us on an expedition to Brighton. Our intention was to re-visit the glories of the Royal Pavilion with a friend who had not been there before. It was a lovely day, and after our drive and a rather fraught hunt for somewhere to leave the car, our first stop was for a Costa coffee. Suitably refreshed we walked through the Lanes, soon arriving at the entrance to the Royal Pavilion. We walked in under the portico and bought our tickets and received our audio guides. Then began the adventure. As we had not really looked at the exterior of the building, our guest was to be suitably impressed with the opulent interior in the first instance.
The Royal Pavilion was built for the Prince Regent, fulfilling a dream he had had ever since renting a so-called 'modest' farmhouse in the late 1700s. His first villa, on the farmhouse site, designed by Henry Holland(1787), was built over by John Nash, using wrought iron frameworks. Nash took his inspiration from the domed Indian style stables George commissioned from William Porden (1803). Nash's building took seven years to complete and George loved it straight away. Every detail, inside and out, was finished to the highest standards; giving it an opulence hardly to be believed.
We walked down the Long Gallery, where guests of the Prince Regent would gather before dinner. Many guests came only for dinner, arriving in carriages and alighting at the doorway to enter through the Octagon Hall with its tented ceiling. The Long Gallery is filled with many Chinese treasures, which would have fascinated the guests as the waited for the moment when they were invited to enter the Banqueting Room. You can only gasp and look slowly around in order to take in the stunning decor of this unbelievable room. The huge chandelier which hangs in the 45 foot dome in the clutches of a silver dragon, is 30 feet high and one ton in weight. Everywhere you look are exotic decoratons incorporating lotus flowers and dragons. Guests must have been almost overwhelmed with the opulence; you would certainly know that this was a Royal residence
(Photo from the Pavilion official website)
What the guests didn't see, we were able to observe - the quarters where the suitably exotic dinners were prepared and served from. The Great Kitchen is set out as it would be for one of the many coursed dinners, George was know to host. It must have been an amazing place to work in, whether you were the head chef or the lowliest of the kitchen staff. We then moved back through the other side of the stunning Banqueting Hall and on into a succession of drawing rooms, to where the guests retired after their dinner.
Beyond these is the dazzling Music Room. It was designed by Frederick Crace and many people think that this is the most beautiful room in the Royal Pavilion. It is looking wonderful these days, but has been devastingly damaged over the years. A fire in 1975 severely damaged the room, and in 1987 the infamous hurricane dislodged a stone ball which crashed through the ceiling, embedding itself in the newly restored carpet. Now it has been returned to its former glory - and what glory that is!
There are also the King's Apartments and upstairs, other bedrooms as well as various exhibition rooms. All are suitably decorated including some of the original furniture of the Pavilion made from real or imitation bamboo. All this and they have also managed to fit in the Queen Adelaide Tearoom, on the first floor.
Now it was time to venture outside into the Pavilion Gardens. From here there is a wonderful view of the building. Its towers, domes and minarettes are fabulous as befits a Royal residence - and just begged to be photgraphed. The changing light reflects its many colours off the Bath stone and stucco. You can imagine yourself in some far off exotic destination, but for the very British flowers surrounding you. The Gardens are being restored to as close to Nash's original plans as possible.
What the guests didn't see, we were able to observe - the quarters where the suitably exotic dinners were prepared and served from. The Great Kitchen is set out as it would be for one of the many coursed dinners, George was know to host. It must have been an amazing place to work in, whether you were the head chef or the lowliest of the kitchen staff. We then moved back through the other side of the stunning Banqueting Hall and on into a succession of drawing rooms, to where the guests retired after their dinner.
Beyond these is the dazzling Music Room. It was designed by Frederick Crace and many people think that this is the most beautiful room in the Royal Pavilion. It is looking wonderful these days, but has been devastingly damaged over the years. A fire in 1975 severely damaged the room, and in 1987 the infamous hurricane dislodged a stone ball which crashed through the ceiling, embedding itself in the newly restored carpet. Now it has been returned to its former glory - and what glory that is!
There are also the King's Apartments and upstairs, other bedrooms as well as various exhibition rooms. All are suitably decorated including some of the original furniture of the Pavilion made from real or imitation bamboo. All this and they have also managed to fit in the Queen Adelaide Tearoom, on the first floor.
Now it was time to venture outside into the Pavilion Gardens. From here there is a wonderful view of the building. Its towers, domes and minarettes are fabulous as befits a Royal residence - and just begged to be photgraphed. The changing light reflects its many colours off the Bath stone and stucco. You can imagine yourself in some far off exotic destination, but for the very British flowers surrounding you. The Gardens are being restored to as close to Nash's original plans as possible.
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