A Rather Grand Beach Hut: Brighton Royal Pavilion

If you think that Brighton has become an overpriced suburb of London, accommodated by Hipsters and bright young things then blame Dr Richard Russell and the Prince Regent in the late 18th and early 19th century. Seawater as a restorative cure for all ills had resulted in seaside towns superseding the English spas, particularly after the Prince Regent made it fashionable at Brighton to follow the advice of Dr Russell whose Dissertation Concerning the Use of Sea-Water in Diseases of the Glands had been published in English in 1754 (Walvin, 1978: 16, and Hassan, 2003: 6).

Dr Russell recommended the health-inducing effects of dipping oneself into the sea, hence the invention of the bathing machine for seaside dippers. This was an altogether more palatable way of enjoying the medicinal qualities of seawater than drinking it! Once Prince George made Brighton fashionable, the upper- and mercantile classes followed in his place. 

Prince George's (subsequently King George IV) original Marine Pavilion was not grand enough for him to entertain his aristocratic guests in the lavish style he desired and so in 1815 he commissioned John Nash to transform the house into an ornate oriental palace. The grandest seaside residence ever designed. Rob Shields says that a growing sense of ‘spectacle’ in the mid nineteenth century, alongside a growing number of visitors to Brighton subsequently contributed to the town’s transition from a place of ritualised health-pursuits into a location for fun and social mixing (2002: 81).

However, when Victoria became Queen she was unhappy with the association that the Pavilion had with George IV's extravagant lifestyle and sold the house to the town. Visitors to Brighton can now enjoy the spectacle of the Royal Pavilion for themselves. 

An idea of what Prince / King George IV's lavish banquets were like might also be gleaned from Minnelli's 1970 film On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Some scenes for the film were shot in the Pavilion itself, as studio sets would not have been able to match the opulence of the palace itself.

Further reading:

Hassan, John, 2003, The Seaside, Health and the Environment in England and Wales Since 1800, Hampshire: Ashgate.

Shields, Rob, 2002, Places on the Margin, Alternative Geographies of Modernity, London: Routledge.

Walvin, John, 1978, Beside The Seaside, A Social History of the Popular Seaside Holiday, London: Allen Lane.

Royal Pavilion website

Two National Trust Houses: Mr Straw's House and Stoneywell Cottage

These two National Trust Houses in the East Midlands are both worth a visit. They invite an interesting contrast!

Mr Straws House was left to the National Trust in 1990 when William, the last member of the Straw family, passed away at the age of 92.

No.7 Blyth Grove in Worksop is a semi-detached house built circa 1905. It is a relatively large house befitting a well-to-do family that made its money from a grocers shop. The Straw family moved into the house in the early 1920s. The house and contents remained largely untouched from 1932 when William senior, the father of the house died suddenly whilst gardening. His wife Florence died seven years later.

Although fascinating, there is something decidedly stifling about this abode that has been stuck in a timewarp since the 1930s. Even the calendar in the dining room still reads 1932, and William Straw Snr’s pipes and tobacco pouch are still hanging up there.

Everything is decorated in browns, and piles of hoarded letters and papers are stacked around the piano in the drawing room. The parents’ bedroom has layers of clothes preserved between the bedclothes and the bed has been laid over with newspapers to preserve its contents.

*****

An altogether different experience awaits those who visit Stoneywell House in Charnwood, Leicestershire.

Although the road past Stoneywell is very familiar to me, any passer by would be completely unaware that the large stone house is hidden behind a dip in a hill a short walk from the roadside.

Built at the end of the 19^th century, Stoneywell is in the Arts and Crafts style, and being constructed of local stone, it is meant to give the impression of growing naturally out of the landscape. It originally had a thatched roof that was destroyed by a fire. However, the local slate helps the appearance of the house to blend in with the surrounding countryside. (Slate from nearby Swithland is characteristic of the Charnwood area). 

One of the quirky delights of this house is that you can exit an upstairs bedroom window and step onto the ground outside without injury, because the house is built on a slope.

the bedroom window

The home belonged to Leicestershire industrialists, the Gimson family, and was designed by architect Ernest Gimson as a summer residence. The interior is light, airy, and uncluttered. It reminded me a lot of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge with its muted and calming colour palette of natural wood and white walls. One of the rooms even has an Orkney Chair like the one at Kettle’s Yard.

Orkney Chair (to the right) in the sitting room

The grounds are also very beautiful, retaining the natural look of the Charnwood landscape with its granite rocks, ferns, and surrounding woodland.

If you want to visit either house, you will need to book a tour. Stoneywell is approached by a mini bus that carries you from a nearby car park.

Further reading: Mr Straw’s House, 1993 (reprinted 2011), National Trust

Chesters Thompson, Simon, and Groves, Anna, 2015, Stoneywell Cottage, National Trust

Mr Straw's House

Stoneywell