A Place Of Pleasure
And there it was! One of Britain’s most spectacular and idiosyncratic buildings, the Royal Pavilion. I’ve long heard about this amazing creation by renowned architect John Nash, and headed to Brighton on this most glorious summer’s day to see it for myself. As always, when visiting these great historic monuments, you run the risk of having the edifice covered in scaffolding because of ongoing restoration works, so these close-up pictures are the best I could manage, without actually revealing the bits which were obscured.
The Royal Pavilion is intimately linked to the Regency period of British history, when, in the early 19th century, the fun-loving Prince Regent – and later King George IV – came to spend an increasing amount of time in this seaside resort - for health and for amourous reasons. On the site first stood a farmhouse, which was then converted into a neo-classical villa.
Later on, the Prince Regent commissioned John Nash, one of the era’s greatest architect, to remodel the building, which Nash then transformed into a most amazing complex in a Mughal-inspired Indo-Saracenic style, with lavish onion domes and minarets. Clearly, cultural influences flowed both ways in this age of empire.
But while the exterior was Indian, the interior was Chinese – or more accurately described as Chinoiserie – a craze for decorative oriental designs which swept the fashionable of Europe as early as the 18th century. We see within the Pavilion Chinese-inspired decorative elements, such as dragons, created by contemporary craftsmen who had probably never set foot out of England.
It was a shame that no cameras were allowed inside the Pavilion, for words cannot describe the sheer opulence of the two greatest rooms within – the Banqueting Room, with its one ton chandelier with a dragon and palm leaves on top, and also the even more resplendent Music Room, with dragon and snake motifs throughout, and a red color scheme pervading the entire hall.
A short walk away from the Royal Pavilion is the famous Brighton Pier - venue for fun and frivolity. And what better time to come here than in high summer, without a cloud in the sky, to see people out and about, enjoying themselves, especially after the dismal weather over the couple of months. I walked past the amusement centre, the many ice cream stalls, and the outdoor rides, before stopping for a meal at the Palm Court restaurant for some posh nosh – Cod and Chips, followed by Spotted Dick.
After a few appropriate post-meal burps, I ventured inland again, towards the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, where an eclectic array of exhibits was on display, ranging from art to local history to design, and then wandered up and down the meandering narrow lanes of an area prosaically called The Lanes, dating from Brighton’s earliest days, now bustling with cafes aplenty.
What a nice afternoon away from London. And in just over an hour on the train, I was back in the capital. A very delightful journey this certainly was.
The Royal Pavilion is intimately linked to the Regency period of British history, when, in the early 19th century, the fun-loving Prince Regent – and later King George IV – came to spend an increasing amount of time in this seaside resort - for health and for amourous reasons. On the site first stood a farmhouse, which was then converted into a neo-classical villa.
Later on, the Prince Regent commissioned John Nash, one of the era’s greatest architect, to remodel the building, which Nash then transformed into a most amazing complex in a Mughal-inspired Indo-Saracenic style, with lavish onion domes and minarets. Clearly, cultural influences flowed both ways in this age of empire.
But while the exterior was Indian, the interior was Chinese – or more accurately described as Chinoiserie – a craze for decorative oriental designs which swept the fashionable of Europe as early as the 18th century. We see within the Pavilion Chinese-inspired decorative elements, such as dragons, created by contemporary craftsmen who had probably never set foot out of England.
It was a shame that no cameras were allowed inside the Pavilion, for words cannot describe the sheer opulence of the two greatest rooms within – the Banqueting Room, with its one ton chandelier with a dragon and palm leaves on top, and also the even more resplendent Music Room, with dragon and snake motifs throughout, and a red color scheme pervading the entire hall.
A short walk away from the Royal Pavilion is the famous Brighton Pier - venue for fun and frivolity. And what better time to come here than in high summer, without a cloud in the sky, to see people out and about, enjoying themselves, especially after the dismal weather over the couple of months. I walked past the amusement centre, the many ice cream stalls, and the outdoor rides, before stopping for a meal at the Palm Court restaurant for some posh nosh – Cod and Chips, followed by Spotted Dick.
After a few appropriate post-meal burps, I ventured inland again, towards the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, where an eclectic array of exhibits was on display, ranging from art to local history to design, and then wandered up and down the meandering narrow lanes of an area prosaically called The Lanes, dating from Brighton’s earliest days, now bustling with cafes aplenty.
What a nice afternoon away from London. And in just over an hour on the train, I was back in the capital. A very delightful journey this certainly was.
2 Comments:
what a nice place to go. i actually know of someone from melaka who stays there. maybe i should contact them ...
pn
You mean the scaffoldings are still there!? They were there 8 years ago too!!!
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