£40

This all-day tour, led by Dr Alexandra Loske (Curator, Royal Pavillion Projects) and Dr Sue Berry will explore both the internal and external spaces of George IV’s magnificent seaside palace, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. Winner of the Georgian Group Architectural Award 2019 for ‘Restoration of a Georgian Interior’ for The Saloon, this is the first time the Group will have a chance to view the completed restored decorative scheme.

When George, Prince of Wales leased a lodging house standing on a plot between the Steine (the town’s promenade) and East Street (the main road out of Brighton), he was already interested in playing with buildings, expensively.  To expand the house and grounds, he had to acquire more land. He decided to buy plots on the west side of East Street which in due course became a detached garden. Eventually he managed to get East Street closed and unite all of his landholding into one big plot.  At last, he had a site that he could develop as gardens, and build new facilities such as the superb Dome as a riding school and stables.  He now had space to enlarge the Pavilion and its southern service wing (mainly demolished). What we see today is a result of George’s determination to build a grand villa, and attain some privacy. Attendees to make their own lunch arrangements.

Dr Alexandra Loske is a German-British art historian with a particular interest in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century European art and architecture. The subject of her doctoral thesis was the use of colour in the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. Since 2016 Alexandra Loske has been the curator of the Royal Pavilion, where she regularly gives talks, lectures, and specialist tours. Alexandra has curated many temporary fine art exhibitions and permanent displays. Her most recent one – Designing and Enchanted Palace (2020-22) – focussed on the royal decorators John and Frederick Crace and their original designs for the Royal Pavilion. Alexandra Is the author of several academic and non-academic books and is currently working on a book about the Royal Pavilion interiors for Yale University Press.

Dr Sue Berry has been studying the history of Georgian seaside resorts for some time. Her articles about Brighton are mainly in the Journal of the Georgian Group, and the Collections of the Sussex Archeological Society. Many can down be downloaded free via the sites of both organisations. She is currently looking at how the economies functioned and just how different they were from other Georgian towns.  She also lectures, mainly nowadays on Zoom.

This event is for members only.

If tickets have sold out for this event, please email members@georgiangroup.org.uk to be added to the waiting list.