In September 1783 George Prince of Wales, who had just turned 21, paid his first visit to Brighton and, the following year, it became known that he liked the place so much that he would take a house there. At first, in 1786, a house was leased, but the following year the freehold was acquired and the architect Henry Holland was commissioned to produce proposals for enlargement. Holland had worked for the Prince at Carlton House and began a process of rebuilding and redecoration that was to last for an astonishing 35 years.
Although the twists and turns of the prince’s works at Brighton are complicated they can be boiled down to three phases. The first there was the marine pavilion built by Henry Holland in 1787; then in 1801 the pavilion was enlarged by Holland and in 1804 some spectacular stables were built in the Hindoo style by William Porden. This encouraged the Prince to think of a larger, more elaborate and more exotic scheme and Holland, Porden and Repton came up with various designs for his approval. In the end, in a third phase the architect was John Nash working with the firm of decorators the Crace Brothers and they are responsible for the building we have today.
Holland’s building is encased within Nash’s building and little of it can be made out now, but the circular saloon does owe its shape to the original pavilion. Holland had begun to use oriental styles but it was Nash who understood that such styles were perfect for what he called ‘rich and picturesque compositions’. Nash built a wide ground-floor gallery with stairs at either end leading to two huge new reception rooms: a banqueting room at one end and a music room at the other. In 1819 a porte-cochére and entrance hall were added on the western side., Nash’s work was made possible by his innovative use of new materials, in particular structural iron used in the domed and tented roofs. The servicing was impressively modern: there were hot air ducts and 30 lavatories.
Despite the huge investment in the Pavilion George IV only paid two significant visits to it after it was completed in 1822. William IV liked the Pavilion but Queen Victoria who favoured Osborne sold it to Brighton Town in 1850. Much of its contents was then stripped out and taken to Buckingham Palace where it remains to this day.