The Royal Pavilion Brighton - The Long Gallery

The interiors of the Pavilion were originally in the neo-Classical style, but the Prince of Wales revived chinoiserie in 1802, and the interiors became full of simulated bamboo, lacquer, pagodas and dragons, giving them an exotic feel.



The Gallery
The architect responsible for the Long Gallery was John Nash. He was inspired by Elizabethan architecture, which made frequent use of long galleries because they gave people somewhere to walk when it rained.

When it came to decorating the gallery, Frederick Crace took his inspiration from pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall. He had the walls painted with a bamboo mural, and then lit by painted skylights in the day and by Chinese lanterns at night.

This is a description of the gallery's usage, written by Lady Ilchester in 1816.

"As soon as Princess Charlotte sat down to cards everybody moved about as they pleased, and made their own backgammon, chess or card parties, but the walking up and down the gallery was the favourite lounge. All the rooms open into this beautiful gallery, which is terminated at each end by the lightest and prettiest Chinese staircases you can imagine, made or cast iron and bamboo, with glass doors beneath, which reflect the gay lanterns etc at each end."


For more information on the Pavilion, click here