PICTORIAL HISTORY OF BRIGHTON CONTINUED

MARINA FROM BLACK ROCK

The Marina Was The Inspiration Of Local Garage Owner And Yachtsman Henry Cohen                                     

His Original Idea In 1963 Was For A Harbour With 3,000 Moorings, To Be Sited Between Dukes Mound And The Madeira Lift. \It Was To Include A Heliport And Hovercraft Station As Well As Flats, Hotels, Restaurants, Conference Halls And The Like. 

His Scheme Was Met With Stiff Opposition And The Present Site Was Chosen Following Advice From The Planner Sir William Holford.              

The Project Was Started But Never Finished.                                   

The Harbour, Formed By A Huge Breakwater Made Up Of 110 Caissons, Each 12 Meters High And Weighing 600 Tons. It Enclosed 30 Hectares Of Sheltered Water, Though Now Most Of This Has Been Filled In, And Construction Of More Accommodation And Additional Leisure Facilities Goes On Apace, Although With The Threat Of Ever Rising Tides Due To So Called Global Warming, One Often Wonders About The Wisdom Behind This Strategy, As They Say  "Time Will Tell! "

BRIGHTON PAVILION

The First House Erected On This Site Was Built By Henry Holland In 1786 - 87, For George 1V Prince Of Wales. It Was A Simple Classical Building With Curved Projections In The Centre, Fronted Bi Ionic Columns Surmounted By Statues And With Two Shallower Bows On Each Side Of The Central Feature.                                    

It Was Known As The Marine Pavilion Of His Royal Highness, And This Name Survived All The Subsequent Transformations Of The Building. In 1801 - 3, The Prince's Residence Was Enlarged And Given Its First Chinese Interior. Between 1815 And 1820, John Nash Gave The Building Its Present Hindu Exterior, And Whilst In This Process Refurbished The Interior, Again In The Chinese Style. For Details Of This Please Refer To Henry D. Robert's History Of The Royal Pavilion And Clifford Musgrave's The Royal Pavilion. 

The Facade Of The East Front Of The Pavilion Facing The Steine Is Still Governed By The Outline Of Henry Holland's Pavilion, Which It Replaced. The Saloon In The Centre Has The Bowed Front Of The Classical Building And Trellised Oriental Veranda Fronting It, Instead Of The Ionic Portico. The Drawing Rooms On Either Side Each Have Two Shallow Bows Of Holland's Pavilion.

BRIGHTON PAVILION

The Banqueting Room And The Music Room At The Ends Were Later Additions With Square Fronts. On This Framework Have Been Imposed Nash's Domes And Minaret's. The Largest Centre Dome, Over The Saloon, Actually Contains Five Rooms Which Were Originally Bedrooms For Members Of The Court Entourage.                                             

They Are Now Used As Storerooms And Workshops. George 1V's Own Apartments Were On The Ground Floor Of The West Front. The Prince Finally Came To The Throne In 1820. In 1830, Two Years Before The Building Work Was Completed, He Died, And Never Fully Enjoyed His Creation. He Was Succeeded By His Brother William, Who Became A Regular Visitor During His Seven Year Reign, And Commissioned Several Additions Including The North Gateway.                                              

Queen Victoria Was A Less Frequent Visitor And In 1846 Sold The Pavilion To Raise Money To Complete Buckingham Palace. The Town Purchased The Pavilion For 50,000 Pounds But Not Before Its Interiors Had Been Totally Stripped Of Decorations And Furnishings. During The Next Century It Was Used As Assembly Rooms, Art Gallery And Even A Military Hospital During The 1st World War. The Long Slow Process Of Restoration To Its Former Glory Was Only Begun After The 2nd World War, And Now Today Has Been Completed At The Cost Of Several Million Pounds To Achieve. 

THE DOME THEATRE 1

Built In 1803 - 5 And Designed By William Porden, It Was Based On The Halle Au Ble' In Paris, Its Purpose Was To Serve As Stables For The Royal Pavilion.

In 1850 The Buildings Were Taken Over By The Town And In 1867 Converted Into Assembly Rooms. In 1935 The Dome Was Totally Reconstructed At A Cost Of 73,000 Pounds, And Was Turned Into A Modern Concert Hall By Robert Atkinson With The Capacity To Hold 3,000 People. 

During The Last Couple Of Years The Whole Area Of The Dome, Corn Exchange And Library Have Undergone Complete Refurbishment, Greatly Improving All These Amenities.  

GRAND HOTEL

Opened In 1964 And Designed By J. H. Whichcord In The Free Italianate Cum French Second Empire Style.

Originally On This Site Stood Artillery Place, A Regency Square Housing The Old West Battery House And Ammunition Ground, Dating From 1793. 

The Grand Hotel Housed 150 Bedrooms, It Was First To Have A Lift And Electrical Installations, It Was Said To Boast 48 Kilometres, ( About 30 Miles Of Flooring ) 5,861 Cubit Meters ( About 23,000 Cubit Feet ) Of Timber And 9.65 Kilometres,         ( About 6 Miles Of Gas Pipes.)

In 1984 A Bomb Blast On One Of The Upper Floors, Caused Several Million Pounds Worth Of Damage, But Fortunately It Has Been Restored And A Victorian Style, Glazed Sun Lounge, Has Been Added Onto The Front Entrance, Greatly Enhancing The Hotel's Appearance.

BRIGHTON CONFERENCE CENTRE 

The Brighton Centre Was Designed By Russell Diplock And Associates And Opened In 1977. The Main Conference Area At 1st Floor Level Is 40 Meters By 47 Meters And Is Spanned By Ten Warren Trusses.

It Has Seating For 5,000, Plus Restaurant, Bars And A Secondary Hall And An Exhibition Space. Alas It Does Not Fit In Well With The Older Sea - Front Buildings. 

THISTLE HOTEL

Designed By Michael Lyelland And Associates And Opened In 1987, It Is Planned Around A Central Landscaped Atrium At 1st Floor Level.

There Are 211 Bedrooms Of Which A Quarter Have Sea Views, The Majority Of The Remaining Rooms Look Out Towards The Atrium.

The Rear Of The Hotel Overlooks A Square Formed By The Town Hall And A New Office Block With Shops At Ground Floor Level. A Polite But Uninspired Addition To The Seafront.

Formerly Called The Ramada Now Part Of The Thistle Chain Of Hotels.

BEDFORD HOTEL

The Original Hotel Was Designed By Thomas Cooper And Erected In 1829, And Was The Most Popular In Brighton, Until The Opening Of The Grand In 1864.

Almost All The Most Famouoday Are Ugly, And Show Total Disregard For People In England And Many From The Continent, Stayed At The Bedford Hotel, Among Them Charles Dickens Who Was A Frequent Guest.

Unfortunately It Was Destroyed By Fire In 1964. The Buildings Now On The Site Tor The Appearance Of The Sea - Front, And The Sky - Line, This Attitude Has Continued Down To Our Present Day.

ROYAL ALBION HOTEL

On This Site Originally Stood Russell House, Built By Dr. Richard Russell In 1754 For Himself, Its Gardens Reached Down To The Beach. In 1750 He Published A Book Called " A Dissertation Concerning The Use Of Sea Water In The Diseases Of The Glands. " This Book Did Much In Putting Both Himself And Brighton Firmly On The Map.

He Lived In This House Until His Death In 1759. The Hotel Was Designed And Built By Amon Henry Wilds, And Consisted Only Of The North - East Section Of What Now Exists. In Recent Times It Was Badly Damaged By Fire, But Thankfully Builders Were Able To Restore It To Its Former Glory.

 QUEENS HOTEL

The Site Where The Queens Hotel Now Stands Was Once Occupied By An Inn Called The Dolphin, Demolished In 1846. Next Door The Famous Vapour Baths Run By Sheik Mahomet, Who Had Been Shampooing Surgeon To King George 1V.

The Baths Were Converted Into Markwell Hotel In 1869 And Eventually Were Absorbed Into The Queens Hotel.

BRIGHTON STATION

The Terminus Building Was Designed By David Moccatta. In Its Original Form The Building Was A Handsome Italian Villa Style, With Central Arcade Entrance Behind Tuscan Colonnade.

In 1882 The Original Train Sheds Were Replaced With The Present Single Span Arched Roof Design By H. E. Wallis. This Is A Typically Elegant Victorian Train Shed Of Glass And Iron With Delicate Dolphin Designs On The Spandrels. At The Same Time As Moccata's Colonnade Was Removed And His Facade Was Hidden Behind The Ugly Porte Coterie Which Remain Today.

Brighton's Policy With Regard The Tramway Undertaking Was That It Should Be Self Contained And Therefore Office's, Shed's And Workshop's Were Built In One Place.

The Depot Was Built In 1901 In Coombe Terrace, Lewes Road. Some Of The Original Etched Windows Still Remain To This Day, And Carry The Brighton Coat Of Arms And The Words 

" Brighton Corporation Tramway's ".

In 1935 Some Eighty Cars Were Running And All Were Constructed And Maintained In These Workshops Now The Depot For Brighton And Hove Buses.

THE ROYAL SUSSEX HOSPITAL

Built In 1828 And Designed By Charles Barry On Land Donated By Thomas Read Kemp, And Financed By Money From Private Benefactors Among Them Lord Egremont.

The Victorian Wing Was Added In 1837 And Designed By William Hallett. Three Years Later Herbert Williams Designed The Adelaide Wing, In 1856 The Marquis Of Bristol Donated A Chapel.

Later 19th Century Additions Were By E. E. Scott, While In The 1920'S New Work Was Designed By F. T. Cawthorn.

The Site Is Now Dominated By The Tower Block, Built In The Early 70'S And Designed By Health Authorities Own Architects. Since That Time There Have Been Numerous Additions Including The Millennium Wing, A Multi - Story Car Park And A New Children's Wing Called The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital !

Built In 1898 And Designed By Clayton And Black, Its Original Purpose Was To Serve As A Convalescence Home For Patients From The French Hospital In London's Shaftsbury Avenue. It Was Sold For Redevelopment in 1999 and was briefly threatened with demolition, But English Heritage Listed The Building At Grade 11 for It's Architectural And Historical Importance And It Was Converted Into Flats. The Unusual Chateau Style French Renaissance Revival Building Has Been Criticised As "Dreary" And "Gauche" But Is Believed To Be Unique To England And Demonstrated Innovation In It's Use Of Double Glazing !

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