About the Royal Pavilion:
The Royal Pavilion was originally a simple lodging house that George, Prince of Wales, rented shortly after he first began visiting Brighton in 1783. He enjoyed the informal atmosphere of the town and in 1787 he asked Henry Holland to create a neo-classical villa, known as the Marine Pavilion, on the site, suitable as a summer residence. From 1802 the interiors were decorated in the Chinese taste.
The Prince was renowned for his love of pleasure and high living and soon society followed him to Brighton and discovered the delights of sea air and sea bathing. Houses were rented along the newly built Georgian streets, squares and crescents of the expanding town, and they dedicated themselves to the continued round of balls, card parties, assemblies and soirees.
In 1811 George became Prince Regent and soon after he employed John Nash to enlarge the building further. Between 1815 and 1823 it was transformed into the present Pavilion, with an exterior inspired by Indian (Mughal) architecture. From its inception the Royal Pavilion took up much of George’s time and money and by the end of the Regency had turned it into a fulfilment of his fantasy. This did not come without cost, and it is estimated that it cost about £1 million at the time, the equivalent of over £100 million today. The cost of each room was huge – the Music Room cost £45,125 and the Banqueting Room cost £41,887 alone.
George IV was king from 1820-30. His brother William IV shared his fondness for Brighton and used the Pavilion as a royal residence. Their niece, Queen Victoria, felt the town to be ‘far too crowded’ and sold the palace to the Brighton Town Commissioners in 1850, having first stripped it of all its fittings and furniture. Since that time much of the original furniture and decorations have been returned by The Royal Collection.
The Royal Pavilion is justly celebrated as one of British royalty’s most outstanding architectural achievements. The power, expense, diversity, and sheer scintillation of the interiors created by Nash and the artists John and Frederick Crace and Robert Jones remain as unrivalled testimony to the skill of the professionals involved in their creation, to the technologically enhanced capabilities of Regency manufacturers and to the indulgent exuberant taste of their royal progenitor.
The Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust
Brighton & Hove Museums is a trading name for the Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, a registered charity.
On 1 October 2020 the Trust took over the management and operation of the Royal Pavilion & Museums:
The Royal Pavilion & Garden
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
The Booth Museum of Natural History
Hove Museum of Creativity
Preston Manor & Gardens
The service holds over a million objects in its collections, including three that are recognised to be of outstanding importance and quality under the Designation Scheme.
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