The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-18 00:00:00

Renovation of the Brighton Pavilion.

The origin of the building designated as the Pa•
vilion, at Brighton, is well enough known, while
posterity and the present age have passed judgment
on the result of a whim of the ruler of this country
who built it ; but since the period when, inhabited
by that Monarch and his Court, it shone in all its
gorgeous, if barbaric, magnificence it has passed
through many phases, and now, after having been
reduced to the condition of a mere wreck, it once
more, thanks to the generosity of her Majesty, the
liberality of the Brighton town council, and the
skill of a conscientious and painstaking artist, is
restored to all its former glory of gilding and ela-
borate decoration, and will long be an attraction to
the town in which it is situate.

In tracing the history of the Pavilion to the
present time it is necessary to state that George
IV., when Prince of Wales, first visited Brighton
in 1782, and that in the succeeding year he again
visited the small but agreeably situated place. At
this time he purchased the villa in which he re-
sided, and which was the origin of the present
structure, which was commenced by Mr. Holland,
the architect, in 1784, and was enlarged three
years afterwards. Two wings arose in the early
part of the present century, and the marine palace
was finally completed in 1817 by John Nash,
though there is no doubt that designs and sugges-
tions of the King were plentifully adopted. It
subsequently became the favourite residence of King
William IV., to whom the Pavilion owes the erec-
tion of the handsome northern gateway. Her
Majesty Queen Victoria, following the example of
her predecessors on the throne, visited Brighton in
1837, and occupied the Pavilion, repeating the visit
in 1838, 1842, and 1843. On the 12th of September,
in the latter year, her Majesty embarked at the
chain pier for Ostend, but since that period Brigh•
ton has known the sovereign no longer, and it was
determined by the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests, to whom it was handed over, that it should
be dismantled and raised to the ground. The inhabi-
tants naturally manifested great opposition to this
decree, and the commissioners having offered to
sell the building to the town, the inhabi-
tants purchased it for £53,000. Thus, in June, 1850,
the palace, stables, and ground surrounding came
into the possession of the town at the comparatively
small amount mentioned, the structure having cost
in its erection and embellishment between
£1,100,000 and £1,200,000. It must not be sup-
posed that the building came into the hands of the
town in anything like the condition it presented
when it was a royal residence. The work of dis-
mantling had been too scrupulously carried out for
that, and all the elaborate adornments, the beauti.

ful chandeliers, and even the paintings on the wal
and the marble chimney-pieces, had been carried off
to London and Windsor, where they remained in
the royal store-houses, apparently without hope
that they would ever be restored. Suon after the
town commissioners entered on possession of their
unpromising property, the grand suite of rooms was
decorated afresh, and in Jan., 1851, a grand ball
was given to celebrate the inauguration of the
building to the use of the inhabitants. Since then
the rooms have been used for holding fetes, bazaars,
and exhibitions of various kinds. The constant use
of the rooms for these purposes had rendered it im-
peratively necessary that the aid of the decorator
should be again called in, and the Queen, on appli.
cation being made, most graciously gave orders
that the gorgeous decorations, carvings, and chande-
liers should be restored. This result is in a great
measure owing to the adoption of the suggestions
repeatedly pressed upon the Pavilion committee by
Mr Duval, the custodian, who, having been em.
ployed in the building when it was used as a royal
residence, was well acquainted with its former con-
dition, and naturally sighed to see it once more re-
stored to the condition in which he formerly knew
it. The value of the royal gift is very great. The
inhabitants, as may be supposed, are very grateful
to her Majesty for having restored to them that
which will long render Brighton famous, as possess-
ing a building which will prove a source of immense
attraction and delight to the visitors. In carrying
out the project of a perfect re-adornment of the
Pavilion, the town council have acted most
energetically and liberally. Mr Pantaenius, of
London, was engaged to supply designs, which
have been executed,,in a most admirable manner by
Mr Tony Bury, of Warwick, painter to the late
Louis Philippe, whose tender for, as it would seem,
an exceedingly low sum, was accepted, He has
had to paint side by side with the work of Jones
and Lambalet, and the result shows that he is by no
means inferior to those celebrated artists. The town
council have repeatedly expressed their satisfaction
at the progress of the work, and especially on a
recent occasion, when Mr Alderman Burrows
passed a high eulogium on the skill displayed by
the artist, the alderman's opinion was endorsed by
the opinion of the entire court then assembled. A
private view of the building yesterday, previous to
its being handed over to the corporation, gave the
opportunity to judge of the extent of the work
executed, and to convince even the most scrupulous
that the praisebestowed on the artistic well deserved.
The principal apartments are the banqueting room, the
green drawing room, the saloon, the yellow drawing room,
and the music room, all of which are on the ground floor.
The first room named is that in which the artist has been
principally engaged, as, notwithstanding the most earnest
desire that all the paintings should be restored, the greater
portion of them could not be found, and Mr Dury has had
to supply 10 new ones in keeping with those recovered. The

kimi
- ----;',-;'-!.;?.'.,':,-,
walls are divided info II panels, on whi inrelarintief-li
jects, illustrative of Chinese life. The rtift#47*•,tgrA
represents a marriage scene with the brid.J '"n;lttira.47.3, /,.
home in a palenquin. Others represent a Chi Eve pillar i 5
offering- his v.rans to a lady ; a lady playing on a guitar, uP
while a boy is dancing ; a mother with her son and daugh-
ter, the boy playing with a macaw; a rich merchant effEr-
ing jewels to a Chinese maiden ; a lady and child, with
attendant, feeding some gold fish in a basin ; a lady with a
screen, and a boy playing with a puzzle ; a young warrior
preparing to repel invaders, surrounded by his man at arms;
a lady receiving a bouquet from a child ; a boy carcssing a
tame snake ; and finally, a group engaged in arranging
the preliminaries for a marriage with a rich man's daughter.
Besides the abovementioned, four narrower panels contain
full length portraits of standard bearers ; and it is curious
that as one of the faces became injured in its journey from
London the artist has inserted an i.dniirable likeness of Air
David, the custodian. The unrai,tdeable English face cer-
tainly does not harinot.i.se with the Chinese dress, but it is a
well deserved compliinent to the man through who sC sug.-
gcstions the Pavdion has resumed its former glories. The
costumes were ci p';,,d trom some dresses kindly placed at
Mr Dury's disposal by a French Minister of State. Some of
the figures also are painted from the life. The remarkable
chandelier, depending from the vaulted ceiling of this room,
is ono of the most extraordinary productions of any period,
and cannot fail to attract the attention of the visitors. It is
related that Queen Adelaide having dreamed that it fell
whilst her Majesty was seated at a table beneath, the pon-
derous mass, weighing nearly a ton, was taken down and
was not fixed again for some time. Most of the decorations,
including the arabesque work inserted in the panels of the
canopy at each end of the room, are part of the original de-
corations. The room is lighted by a range of windows open-
ing on to the lawn, but daylight ill serves to bring out the
gorgeous decorations of the apartment, and it was onlywhen
illuminated last night that the full effect of the sculpture and
elaborate adornments could be seen. Over these windows
the original cornice has been placed, and the drapery con-
sists of damask silk curtains of an elaborate pattern. The
music room is almost in the same gorgeous condition as when
it left the hands of the original decorator, and it is even more
magnificent than the banqueting room. It is so elaborately
adorned in every part that a detailed description would ne-
cessarily occupy a great space, even if justice could be then
done to it. This apartment forms a square of 42ft, extended
by recesses at either end. The walls are nearly covered
with paintings in imitation of crimson and gold japan, re-
presenting views in the neighbourhood of Pekin. The
warm glow spread over the landscapes convey to a Euro-
pean an idea of the climate of the Celestial Empire, and the
general tone of the decorations of the apartments harmo-
nise with the effect of these large paintings. Here, as in
the dining-room, Chinese dragons are plentifully introduced,
and serve to preserve the general character of the other
decorations. The whole of the paintings on the walls are
the work of Lambalet, whose reputation has not suffered in
the hands of the artist who has now restored them to the
place they originally occupied. A beautiful canopy or
cornice adorns the square part of the room, and is orna-
mented with carved shield work, flower-drops, stars, &c.
In the centre is a large glass chandelier, on which are
painted a profusion of Chinese figures. and there are eight
others suspended from other parts of the ceiling. That in
the centre and four of the minor ones are the originals, but
four are new, and have been executed in so admirable a
manner that it is difficult to detect any difference in them.
At the north end of the room is the organ which was pre-
sented to the town by the Queen when the building was
purchased. A large mirror occupies the space over the
mantelpiece, and in some of the minor apartments there are
others. There can be no doubt that a more liberal introduc-

tion of this means of decoration would be a great improve-
ment. Behind the music room are the private apartments
formerly occupied by George IV. ; but these, we believe,
have not been restored at present. The other apartments
already mentioned have afforded full scope for the decorative
powers of the designer and although they are not now
restored to the exact condition in which they formerly were
they afford evidence that, when not required to follow out
and restore the original plan, the artist knew how to intro-
duce adornments which, although more in keeping with
modern ideas, yet harmonise well with the decorations of
the principal rooms. The entrance hall, the staircase, the
corridor, and other portions of the building have also been
restored to their original condition.
To celebrate the completion of the work, a complimen-

tary dinner, given to the mayor, Mr Brigden, took place
last night in the dining room ; and to-night a military,
naval and full dress ball will be held, followed by a trades-
men's ball on Thursday.

NEI vs pApE il
_'•
( - ----. --- ,-..,,,e..,,
~,,,_:::::,
,•.4...t±,-)...7,c,,,,:-i...,5,„;.,.„
. ; -7;,-.1',1_4:,');:`-•?.,- It:::;\ , z--:
~...,: ._,
i ..,
i A; ~
, rt. •;;;-. ..f
~. , ..,./
‘ f 1
-/