Having taken a liking to bathing and the riotous social life of 18th Century Brighton, the Prince of Wales decided that he needed a home on the south coast. Young George acquired a farmhouse from a local magnate, Thomas Kemp, and, as soon as his gambling debts allowed, he set about converting it into something suitably grand.
The architect, Henry Holland, created the neo-classical Marine Palace comprising a central domed rotunda with two wings. Aside from the dome, the building was very much in the classic, restrained style of Georgian architecture. It was a job well done, and it might still be there now had not Prince George decided that he needed some stables.
The architect for the stabl
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Having taken a liking to bathing and the riotous social life of 18th Century Brighton, the Prince of Wales decided that he needed a home on the south coast. Young George acquired a farmhouse from a local magnate, Thomas Kemp, and, as soon as his gambling debts allowed, he set about converting it into something suitably grand.
The architect, Henry Holland, created the neo-classical Marine Palace comprising a central domed rotunda with two wings. Aside from the dome, the building was very much in the classic, restrained style of Georgian architecture. It was a job well done, and it might still be there now had not Prince George decided that he needed some stables.
The architect for the stables, William Porden, was an altogether more ambitious fellow. He set about constructing a huge, domed building inspired by the Corn Market in Paris and by "Hindu style", that is what was known from reports of buildings in India. The whole edifice, now known as The Dome, took five years to build, cost £70,000 and had room for 60 horses. Most importantly, it completely overshadowed the Marine Palace.
This would not do. George was not going to put up with his horses having a more splendid residence than he did. When he became Regent thanks to his father's madness and consequently had access to rather more money, George commissioned the greatest architect of the time, John Nash, to build him the greatest palace of all time.
Nash made use of revolutionary techniques of cast iron frameworks to cover Holland's original building in a riot of domes and minarets, also supposedly in "Hindu style". He also extended the building at each end creating the two main staterooms, the Banqueting Hall and the Music Room. The total cost of the project is rumoured to have been over a £1 million.
By the time the Pavilion was finished George had become King and had rather less time for socialising than before. In addition he found that his palace was so remarkable that it attracted an endless stream of tourists. Disliking being stared at all the time, George hardly used the finished building. His successor, William IV, quite liked the place, but Queen Victoria found it too gaudy and far too public. She preferred the secluded Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and, having stripped the Pavilion of anything valuable, sold it to Brighton council. Thankfully the current Queen has returned many of the original fittings, or allowed reproductions to be made, so that the Pavilion can be seen in all of its splendour.
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