j.m., m.r., their friend c. & i headed to brighton for the day. j.m. found ridiculously cheap train tickets from victoria station and m.r.'s ladies football team (he coaches) had a match in brighton anyway, so it was all very convenient.
first stop was "vegetarian shoes" where j.m. bought a fun pair of boots.
then the royal pavilion -- george IV, who became the prince regent when he father george III, was declared mad, originally went to brighton in 1783 to seek a cure for gout. he rented a farmhouse in brighton in 1786. apart from gout-related benefits, the farmhouse was the perfect setting (far from the royal court in london) for george IV's naughty-naughties with the Catholic* mrs. fitzherbert (the name rung a bell because in "bridget jones' diary", she introduces him at the book launch as mr. titzpervert).
* important because marrying a Catholic was illegal.
the modest farmhouse was renovated twice & the exterior was designed sort of in a mughlai style of architecture. george IV was a man of extravagant, "exotic" taste. the pavilion is a feat of tacky decadence.
the young queen victoria was a visitor to the pavilion, but being the party-pooper she was, she hated it. her bedroom didn't have much of a sea view. boo hoo. once she became the virgin queen, the royal pavilion was sold by the government. it was bought by the town of brighton in 1850 for GBP 53,000. but being greedy cheapasses, the royal household had many of the original fixtures and fittings removed at the time of the sale. someone should have made sure the bill of sale included these specifically since non-permanent fixtures are chattel property & not considered part of the real property.
the entire pavilion is amazing beautiful (albeit often tacky), amazing colours, textures, wallpapers, textiles, furnishings, etc. many fab examples of the chinoiserie style of decor. BUT notably notable are the kitchen (gleaming copper!) and the banqueting room (an incredible chandelier!) & the huge sample of a banquet menu.
check em out:
after the royal pavilion, we grabbed a yummy lunch at a japanese place that seemed overrun with students.
and then off to the pier ...
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