Colonial landscape in Brighton: the heritage of the Royal Pavilion
In the late Georgian era, the geographical descriptions and the representations of colonial territories influenced the design of the British landscape. The idea of an ‘exotic’ colonial scenery was diffused by a continuous movement of goods, followed by an increase in the number of travellers and travel guides. Thus, it became a ‘fashion item’ that was gradually introduced into new buildings and the composition of local landscapes (mainly in garden design), and it also accompanied academic reflections about the ‘aesthetics’ of space.
In Brighton, between 1815 and 1823, one of the main examples of this style, the Royal Pavilion, was designed and constructed. Conceived initially as a small neoclassical villa, its expansion incorporated an ‘Oriental’ appearance that became a landmark of the city. Following this idea, the subsequent sections will show this process, focusing initially in an overview of the local context in which it emerged; then it will be introduced the ‘ideological’ framework that influenced its design; and finally it will be shown the role that the Pavilion developed in the urban landscape.
Prior to the construction of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton was a decayed fishing village that was experiencing a rapid transition in its urban composition towards a health resort (Gilberts, 1975). This evolution was the result of the work made by Dr. Richard Rusell[1] and Dr. Anthony Relhan[2] since the 1750’s, whom promoted the city as an important niche for health treatments based on the baths. These were medical centres that offered sea baths as an alternative procedure for healing (Figure 1.) and the majority of them where allocated in The Steine (Figure 1.[3]-).
The benefits of these health facilities and the city’s closeness to London were the principal motivations to attract special visitors, being the Royal Family (especially the Regent Prince who became a regular visitor from the 1780’s) one of them. Gilbert (1975) shows that the continuous visits of the Prince promoted an influx of aristocratic families. These ‘newcomers’ stimulated Brighton’s economy, mainly by renting houses and chambers, converting the city in a ‘leisure’ space to enjoy their holidays. Suddenly, Brighton turned into a ‘social display’, an area to ‘see and be seen’ (Rutherford, 2003).
While Brighton was emerging as a resort, the scholar atmosphere (mainly architects and designers) was challenged by the influence of geographical knowledge and the idea of ‘picturesque’. This process can be understood as a ‘colonial counter-flow’, a dynamic in which the colonial scenery is translated into the British landscape as an inspirational model. In this way, the colonial landscape relationship is seen as a narrative in which each agent transfers power mechanisms into the other one (Hall, 2008).
Weindhardt (1958) and Crowley (2011) point out that this effect was the result of an increase in the number of both travellers and travel books in Britain, and also by their strong relationship with the idea of ‘picturesque’. In this way, the colonial images were seen as ‘settled spaces’ in which the buildings were an integral part of the scenery (Figure 4.).
In other words, the landscape should provide an experience that could be represented, but it must also be a visual composition that could be identified by any viewer. In this sense, the Oriental landmarks became a useful tool for setting the background for viewers.
This idea leads us to the Royal Pavilion (Figure 5.) an ‘Oriental’ style building, located in The Steine, that occupies the land that the Royal Family rented during their first visits to Brighton. The final design, made by John Nash, can be analysed as an interpretation of the ‘picturesque’, reflecting the influence of India’s images diffused in the Oriental Scenery.
This indicates, as Morley (2003) suggests, that the building´s evolution was also the result of the Prince’s desire to build up a ‘show off’ palace, trying to establish a ‘picturesque’ setting. In this way, following Berry (2005), the setting had to be related to the principal function of the building: entertainment. But also, the Oriental design was a consequence of ‘fitting’, proportionally, the existing buildings -the Stables- (Morley, 2003).
Conclusion
At a first glance, the Royal Pavilion shows the importance of the colonial counter-flow discourses in the late Georgian era. The evolution of its design confirms an influence of the Oriental scenery in the British landscape. However, this dynamic can be observed as a struggle in the exhibition of colonial power, characterized by landscape control and the construction of a ‘scenery theatre’.
Also, it must be remarked the role that the Royal Pavilion played in Brighton’s urban composition. Even if the building follows a ‘picturesque’ ideal, that balances its buildings, it abruptly breaks up the urban scenery imposing itself in the setting. In that way, we can argue that the setting idea only obeys a specific or recognizable landscape leaving behind any the other urban form. This theme can be explored in a future research, but for the moment it can be concluded that the Royal Pavilion symbolizes a ‘landscape style’ (Figure 4.).
References
General Bibliography
- Berry, S. (2005). Georgian Brighton, Chichester: Phillimore & Co ltd.
- Crowley, J.E. (2011). ‘India’, in Crowley, J.E. Imperial Landscapes. Britain’s global visual culture, New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press, pp: 169–203.
- Gilbert, E. W. (1975). Brighton Old Ocean’s Bauble, Sussex: Flare Books.
- Hall, C. (2008). ‘Culture and Identity in Imperial Britain’ in Stockwell, S (ed.) The British Empire. Themes and Perspectives, Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishing, pp: 199–217.
- Morley, J. (2003). The making of the Royal Pavilion, London: Philip Wilson.
- Rutherford, J. (2003). Prince’s Passion. Life of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton: Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museum.
- Weinhardt, C.J. (1958). ‘The Indian Taste’ in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 16, (7), pp. 208–216.
Images and maps
· Budgen, T. (1788). A new and correct Plan of Brightelmstone, Brightelmstone — Lewes: A. Crawford: T. Budgen. Available in Biblioteca Nacional de España, Número de control: BVPB20101047651.
· English School. (s.d.). The prince who gave us the sea side. Image retrieved from: http://www.magnoliabox.com/art/213513/The_Prince_Who_Gave_Us_the_Seaside (Accessed 21 August 2014).
· Forrester, A. (c. 1826). Beauties of Brighton, London: George Cruikshank. This image was retrieved from The British Museum. Museum number: 1859,0316.189.
· Daniell, T; Daniell, W. (1797). Oriental Scenery. Images available in The British Library (Daniells collection).
· Coleman, J. (2005). The Landscape Book of Brighton Prints, Brighton: Brighton Books Publishing.
· — — (s.d.). ‘The Prince of Wales riding along the Steine in Brighton in 1804’, The Prince’s Marine Pavilion, Image retrieved from: http://www.georgianindex.net/Brighton/marine.html (Accessed 20 Augustt 2014).
[1] Richard Rusell (1687–1759) was a British physician settled initially in Lewes before his definitive establishment in Brighton. His studies were focused in the benefits of seawater on human health. In that way, during his work in the city, he experimented with several water resources as alternative treatment to illness. His principal recommendations were taking sea baths, drinking seawater and visits to the ‘Chalybeate Spring’ –St. Ann’s Well- (Gilbert 1975).
[2] Dr. Relhan was famous for the ‘health propaganda´ that he made to Brighton, which in general terms, exalted the chemical uniqueness of Brighton’s seawater.
[3] As it can be seen in the legend of the map, one of the principal landmarks of the city was the allocation of the baths. The place that is marked, as The Baths, was originally the house of Dr. Rusell, a confortable space near the sea front, were many of his patients were healed.
