Sadly Brighton Dome, the Royal Pavilion and its garden were not successful in getting a grant from English Heritage

THE BRIGHTON SOCIETY HOPES THAT THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL NEXT YEAR. A MAGICAL CONSERVATORY DESIGNED BY NASH MIGHT THEN BE BUILT ALONG THE NEW ROAD FRONTAGE. THE PAVILION CAFE WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE APPLICATION.

This could house the Pavilion Cafe with its own patio, a New Road entrance, a space to park back packs and buggies and a shop. There were plans in the ’70s to build the Nash conservatory there, but the funding never materialised.

THE ROYAL PAVILION, BRIGHTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, THE BRIGHTON DOME, THE CORN EXCHANGE, THE STUDIO THEATRE AND PAVILION GARDENS FORMED THE SUBJECT OF A MASTER PLAN. The cost would have been £24 million. The budget for the design alone will be £268,000.

The Royal Pavilion now attracts such large numbers of visitors that they will have to be strictly managed in the future, the wear and tear on the Pavilion is unsustainable. Some visitors may be limited to a smaller number of rooms, some to other rooms, a few to every room, the variable price of tickets would reflect this.

THE ROYAL PAVILION REBUILT BY JOHN NASH PARTLY IN THE INDIAN STYLE. DECORATION OF THE INTERIOR HAS LARGELY BEEN RESTORED TO NASH’S DESIGNS. BRIGHTON DOME, A GRADE I LISTED BUILDING IN CHURCH STREET, WAS BUILT IN 1804-8 AS THE PRINCE OF WALES’S STABLES AND HIS RIDING HOUSE.

AFTER THE SALE OF THE PAVILION ESTATE IN THE 1850s THE DOME BUILDINGS WERE CONVERTED IN 1867 – 1873, TO A CONCERT HALL, A CORN EXCHANGE, A PICTURE GALLERY, A MUSEUM AND A LIBRARY. The aim is to raise them to World Heritage status.

The facade, running the length of Church Street between Grand Parade and New Road, is reminiscent of the flatness of monumental Islamic wall architecture. It is built of yellow bricks, the first building to turn to Indian and Islamic styles for inspiration.

Some of the greenery at the west end of the garden will have to be cut back as the view of the Pavilion is no longer visible from New Road. The ambition is to make the Pavilion garden a safe place to be by both day and night. Is this achievable? The garden would have to be lit all day and all night. There is safety in numbers, but will enough people want to walk across the garden after nightfall to make it safe?

Images from the ‘Landscape Book of Brighton Prints’ obtainable fom Brighton Town Press www.brightontownpress.co.uk