IHBC members with a more edgy twist may be interested to know of the Pavilion’s tunnel tours that will continue to the end of March.
Culture 24 writes:
Stretching along 60 subterranean metres beneath George IV’s exotic pleasure palace, limewash is the only constant on the walls of the Royal Pavilion’s dark tunnels
The passages beneath the former royal residence could scarcely offer a greater contrast to the unrestrained lavishness above them: pock-marked walls, wires, musty old non-descript boxes and gas vats mark out the hollow chambers of these rat run-style caverns and their often pretty uneven floors.
John Nash, who redesigned Henry Holland’s original 1787 Royal Pavilion 28 years later, was very derogatory about the basements, lambasting their inextensiveness and susceptibility to rot. ‘The Pavilion wasn’t built on the best foundations,’ says Meg Hogg, which might not come as a surprise given George IV’s famous desire for short-term gratification
One twisting bottletop stairway leads to the office of Sir Benjamin Broomfield, a prestigious member of the household and ‘a fun character’, says Hogg, until his attempts to stop George buying jewels for his final mistress, Lady Conyngham, who responded by trying to ship Broomfield to Ceylon. But Broomfield’s rise from lowly duties illustrates the diversity of people involved in the sub-pavilion over the centuries, with the rooms of maids and footmen within darning distance of nobility.
Hogg and fellow Visitor Services Officer Geoff Greenwood have devised a set of six tours along the tunnel between now and the end of March. ‘It is linked with George,’ she acknowledges, ‘but it’s been a pretty essential part of the city for a long time, often in quite unseen ways. It’s nice to know that we’ve always been here for the people of Brighton.
NB: 45-minute tours run until March 31 2016. Visit The Royal Pavilion Tunnel Tours for details.
We Love Brighton website
