Brighton’s Jewel – the Royal Pavilion

Nash was inspired by the extraordinary personality of George IV, and it was from him that so much of the flambuoyancy

and character of the building comes from. 

At a time when the British Empire was expanding and all things oriental and exotic became so fashionable, the spires and domes of the

Royal Palace encapsulated the opulance of an age given to hedonism and pleasure.

It all began in 1780 when George, the Prince of Wales as he was then, rented a small farmhouse overlooking the Brighton promenade. The town itself was

already something of a fashionable destination for Londoners, but with the Royal seal of approval the status of the town took a major step upwards.

Whislt it was the health giving benefits of sea dipping that had been recommended to the Prince, it wasnt long before the pleasures of wine, women and food recommended themselves to the Prince in far louder terms – and he

wasnt deaf to their call!  His royal residences in London had already stacked up an overwhelming level of debt for his Royal Indulgenceness,

and when Parliament finally agreed to bail him out of his existing debt, the indomitable George went out and built himself another palace – the Royal Pavillion – and immediately got himself straight back into debt!

Initially George hired an architect to transform the original farmhouse into the Marine Pavillion, but with his rise to Prince Regent, on the incapacityof his father George III (see The Madness of King George for details!), the Pavillion demanded a greater level of opulence and splendour, and the building we now enjoy came into being.

, as well as grandeur and pomp , the palace was designed with the latest

thoughts and understandings of hygiene, light and sanitation in mind – and as such was an example of the highest standards of architectural skill in its time.

With the Prince’s proclivities for food and drink in mind, the Great Kitchen was built with the very latest in technology being installed – and this is

a particularly interesting part of any tour of the buidling today.

Brighton then owed much of it popularity and subsequent prosperity to this development. Where the Royal Court went then a host of fashionable ladies and gentelmen followed, and in their train all the traders and business folk that spotted an opportunity for trade. Within 50 years the population

of Brighton grew from 3600 to 40,600 by 1831,  and it was this geat influx of the wealthy that led to the building of so many of the handsome seafront squares and crescents that gives Brighton much of its present day beauty.

To get re information about opening times etc go to the excellent website for the Pavilion!

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

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