The Royal Pavilion: Restoration of the Saloon and member offer

Following our opulent after-hours tour last week comes a blog from Caan Walls, Development Officer at the Royal Pavilion and Museums. As well as talking about the restoration of the Pavilion Saloon, he also includes a fantastic offer for Chamber members.

The Royal Pavilion – a testament to George IV’s taste and personality – is one of the country’s most original and popular buildings. As well as playing a key role in the development of Brighton and its international reputation, it attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. Maintaining the Royal Pavilion & Museums requires not only the skills of very dedicated staff, but also finances. Generous support is received from Brighton & Hove City Council but, with increasing financial pressures on public services, additional income must also be raised from charitable sources.

The Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation is a registered charity, which raises funds to support these buildings and the important curatorial, conservation and education work, through an imaginative range of plans and projects. Our most recent project has been to successfully raise the funds to start work restoring the Saloon in the Royal Pavilion back to its original 1823 design.

For many years the Saloon has resembled a building site, whilst essential maintenance works have been carried out. The layers of history this work has revealed, backed up by detailed research, has enabled conservators to piece together the decoration of what was one of the finest interiors in the country. Everything is in place, but the conservators desperately needed the funds to get to work transforming it back to this stunning original design.

Each year our members have helped the Foundation go from strength to strength. But raising the funds to restore the Saloon, is perhaps our greatest achievement yet; following the success of the public appeal which raised £36,000 and several generous grant awards work can now start in earnest.

The last of the three great state rooms at the Royal Pavilion to be restored since the palace came into public ownership. King George IV commissioned artist-designer Robert Jones to transform the Saloon into a breathtaking room of gold, silver and crimson that would convey his status as King. Completed in 1823, the Saloon was a landmark in daring and exotic design, topped off by a towering new dome. George IV wanted to inspire a sense of amazement and awe in his visitors, we hope following the restoration visitors will once again marvel at the breathtaking beauty, and experience a rich sense of its history.

Restoring the Saloon to its former grandeur will take two years to complete. Firstly, we must carry out weather-proofing to the dome above the Saloon. Then the remaining papier-mâché frames around the Chinese wallpaper must be removed, and if required carry out any remedial conservation work. Our conservator, Anne Sowden, can then begin the painstaking job of setting out the original Robert Jones hand drawn design that will adorn the walls of the Saloon. Conservators will then start applying the platinum leaf to give the walls their lustrous shine. Then we can apply all the furnishings and fittings, carpets and curtains bringing the room back to life. All of our conservation work is carried out in house and we will keep the Saloon open for as long as possible during the restoration work so that you can come in and see our dedicated staff working to bring the room back to life.

The Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation will offer a 20% discount off the cost of membership to all members of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce. To become a member or to donate to the Saloon restoration fund please call 01273 295898 or go to www.pavilionfoundation.org

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk