Most of the pavilion's decor from this period is in the Chinoiserie fashion, by Frederick Crace and his less well-known colleague Robert Jones.
Staircases were cast and painted to resemble bamboo, columns to look like palm trees, and ceilings embellished with gilding. Walls were hung with silks and painted papers, and floors richly carpeted, all in vibrant colours. The banqueting room features a 9m crystal and glass chandelier weighing 1 tonne, suspended from a carved wooden Chinese dragon under an arrangement of copper plantain leaves. The music room includes an imposing marble and ormolu chimney piece, made by Richard Westmacott and Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy On 2nd January , the King moved in.
Building work was completed in and the interiors were finished by summer The exterior was covered with stucco painted to look like mellow Bath stone. In , the patent mastic that had been applied to waterproof the roofs of the pagodas and onion domes failed. In an effort to stop water ingress, some areas were covered with copper sheeting. However, the internal drainage pipes were often overwhelmed by the volume of rainwater from the roofs, and water continued to seep into the fabric.
Queen Victoria stayed at the pavilion several times between and , and used apartments above the west entrance. Her bedroom has a heavy ornate plaster ceiling, supported by mm square section prestressed timber beams spanning 8.
The beams are halved vertically, sandwiching three cast iron T-members to form a shallow internal truss with the timbers in tension. It is a technique known from the midth century, but executed at that time using hardwood instead of iron for the compression members. In , Queen Victoria decided that the pavilion would be sold to pay for work on Buckingham Palace. All the furnishings were removed as they remained Crown property, though much would be returned in the s.
Some of the buildings on the south side of the complex, including the royal chapel, were demolished. The main pavilion was used as a venue for civic events.
Brighton Museum was established in the building's upper floors and the Red Drawing Room became the mayor's office. In , the complex was used as a bed military hospital with operating theatres, caring for sick and wounded Indian soldiers who were casualties of World War I Great care was taken to provide for the soldiers' religious and cultural needs as well as their medical treatment. From to , the pavilion was used as a rehabilitation hospital for British troops who had lost limbs during the conflict.
After , the British government paid for repairs to the damage caused during the pavilion's use as a hospital. King George V and Queen Mary returned some of the building's artefacts, including eight Regency Spode and ormolu standard lamps from the banqueting room.
It was presented by the "princes and people of India" to the people of Brighton in thanks for the wartime care provided at the town's three Indian hospitals. The complex is also a scheduled ancient monument. However, in the late s, ten of the most eroded minarets on the south roof were replaced with fibreglass replicas for safety reasons. In , an arson attack on the music room caused damage that took more than 10 years to repair. Not long after it reopened, a huge stone ball, part of one of the roof minarets, was dislodged by the winds of the Great Storm of October and plunged through the ceiling, punching a hole through the 26, gilded cockleshells and crushing part of the carefully reconstructed carpet.
Some have suggested that these misfortunes may be supernatural in origin: depicting snakes and dragons next to each other is thought by the Chinese to be very unlucky.
In his later years the king slept downstairs, the years of indulgence having taken their toll. The bed now in this bedroom was made for his apartments at Windsor Castle, where George died, lying on a couch next to it. In , the Pavilion was purchased by the Corporation of Brighton from Queen Victoria, who was less enamoured of the Pavilion and Brighton, not least because by the time she stayed here for the last time in the railway had arrived, bringing a huge influx of visitors who regarded the Queen and her family as a tourist attraction.
Almost all its contents had been removed but a series of refurbishments funded by the town and the gradual return of some items by the Royal Family laid the foundations for its rebirth in the 20th century. Without decades of dedication on the part of conservationists, by now the Pavilion would surely have perished, after suffering in the damp climate of the classic English seaside resort for years.
For most of that time it has been afflicted by dry and wet rot, by rusting of the ironwork supporting its exterior features, and by water damage caused by blocked gutters on the roof. That it is still standing today is as much a testament to the talent and hard work of the specialists who have worked here since the end of the Second World War, as it is a reminder of the decadence of the Prince Regent and his social circle. And when asked about his favourite part of the building? Or the pagodas in the Music Room.
But it is somehow fitting that this unique building, the presence of which did so much to create modern Brighton, today attracts visitors from all over the world.
It is a true treasure. And perhaps George himself would be amused to see that so many of those who visit the Pavilion find it to be enormous fun. That was the whole point, after all. For details on visiting The Royal Pavilion, Brighton, tel: ; www. It is open to visitors every day except: December. However, due to increased responsibilities and ill-health, once the interior of the Royal Pavilion was finally finished in he made only two further visits in and William IV was a popular and affable king and continued to visit Brighton and stay at the Royal Pavilion.
Further buildings were added to the Pavilion estate, virtually all of which have since been demolished. Although William and Adelaide continued to entertain at the Royal Pavilion, it was in a much more informal style than the glamour and extravagance of former decades. Queen Victoria made her first visit to the Royal Pavilion in and this gesture of royal approval thrilled the people of Brighton.
However the lack of space in the Royal Pavilion, and its association with her extravagant and indulgent elder uncle, made Queen Victoria feel uncomfortable. She adopted a policy of financial stringency during her residence in Brighton.
As it was thought the building would be demolished, she ordered the building to be stripped of all its interior decorations, fittings and furnishings, for use in other royal homes. Brighton continued to prosper in the mid 19th century and the opening of the new London to Brighton railway marked the beginning of mass tourism.
The people of Brighton were aware of the economic and symbolic importance of the former palace. Within a year of purchase the main ground floor rooms had been completely redecorated in a similar, but much less lavish, style to that of Crace and Jones, and the Royal Pavilion was opened to the public. However in the s they were much admired. In Queen Victoria returned many items — chandeliers, wall paintings, fixtures — with further gifts being made in From to the s the admission fee to the Royal Pavilion was sixpence.
At this time the Royal Pavilion was also used as a venue for many different events and functions from fetes, bazaars, and shows to balls, exhibitions and conferences. The Royal Pavilion Gardens were opened up and made accessible to both residents and visitors. As a result the interiors were altered, sometimes damaged, and inevitably neglected. In a programme of restoration began funded by a settlement made by the government for the damage done to the building during its use as a hospital.
This was further boosted when Queen Mary returned original decorations, including furniture that had remained at Buckingham Palace. After a break during World War II, restoration work began again in earnest with the revival of interest in the Regency era.
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