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

HOLIDAY FILMOGRAPHY PART 7 (1969 - 2011)

Charles Hawtrey, Betty Marsden and Terry Scott in Carry On Camping (1969)

1969:

Carry On Camping, Adder (RFD). Produced by Peter Rogers, Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Devon. Camping holiday.

What’s Good For The Goose, Tigon. Directed by Menahem Golan. Cast: Norman Wisdom, Sally Geeson. Comedy. Assistant bank manager falls for amorous teenager during seaside conference.

All At Sea, Anvil (CFF). Directed by Ken Fairbairn. Cast: Gary Smith, Steven Mallett, Stephen Childs, Norman Bird. Children. Boys on holiday cruise catch painting thief in Tangier.

1970:

And Soon The Darkness, ABPC (WPD). Directed by Robert Fuest. Cast: Pamela Franklin, Michelle Dotrice. Crime. France. Nurses on cycling holiday in France become involved with sexual murderer.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice in And Soon The Darkness (1970)

1971:

Carry On At Your Convenience, Peter Rogers Productions (RFD). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims. Comedy. Brighton sequence.

1972:

Carry On Abroad, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques. Comedy. Package holiday to Mediterranean island.

1973:

The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business, Sunny/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Christopher Hodson. Cast: Reg Varney, Diana Coupland, Lee Montague. Comedy. Holiday camp comedian discovers his wife is having an affair with the owner.

That’ll Be The Day, Goodtimes/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: David Essex, Ringo Starr. Musical. Seaside and holiday camp scenes.

The Sea Children, Pan (CFF). Directed by David Andrews. Cast: Earl Younger, Lesley Dunlop. Children. Malta. Holiday children discover strange world beneath sea.

Summer Holiday, Pacesetter. (CFF). Directed by Philip Leacock. Cast: Ivor Bowyer, Jill Gibbs. Children. Adventures on a school holiday.

Carry On Girls, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Brighton. Women’s Lib group tries to foil bathing beauty contest.

The dance class in Holiday On The Buses (1973)

Holiday On The Buses, Hammer (MGM-EMI). Directed by Bryan Izzard. Cast: Reg Varney, Bob Grant, Doris Hare, Wilfred Brambell. Comedy. Wales. Pontin’s at Prestatyn.

1974:

Swallows And Amazons, Theatre Projects (EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser. Children. 1929. Children on holiday in the Lake District play pirates.

1975:

Tommy, Stigwood (Hemdale). Directed by Ken Russell. Cast: Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed. Musical. Holiday camp sequence.

Carry On Behind, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Elke Sommer, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Jack Douglas, Windsor Davies. Comedy. Caravan park. Archaeologists cause trouble with their excavations behind a holiday camp.

1976:

The Likely Lads, Anglo-EMI. Directed by Michael Tuchner. Cast: Rodney Bewes, James Bolam, Brigit Forsyth. Comedy. Includes caravan holiday.

1977:

Are You Being Served? Anglo-EMI. Directed by Bob Kellett. Cast: John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton. Comedy. Department store personnel take a holiday in Spain.

Grace Bros. staff take off for Spain in Are You Being Served? (1977)

Confessions From A Holiday Camp, Swiftdown (Col). Directed by Norman Cohen. Cast: Robin Askwith, Anthony Booth, Doris Hare. Sex. Entertainment officer’s exploits at a holiday camp run by ex-prison officer.

1979:

That Summer, Film In General (Col). Directed by Harley Cockliss. Cast: Ray Winstone, Tony London. Drama. Torquay. Ex-Borstal boy enters swimming contest and is framed for burglary by Glasgow youths.

1980:

The Great British Striptease, Amaranth (Target). Directed by Doug Smith. Cast: Bernard Manning, Su Pollard. Sex. Blackpool. Sixteen women compete for £500 prize for best striptease act.

1985:

She’ll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas, (Pink Pyjama Productions/Film Four (Virgin). Directed by john Goldschmidt. Cast: Julie Walters, Anthony Higgins. Comedy. Lake District. Assorted women on an Outward Bound course.

1987:

Wish You Were Here, Zenith/Working Title/Film Four (Palace). Directed by David Leland. Cast: Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Jesse Birdsall. Sex. Worthing, 1951.

1988:

A Summer Story, ITC (Warner). Directed by Piers Haggard. Cast: Imogen Stubbs, James Wilby. Romance. Dartmoor. Holidaymaker recalls his youthful affair with farmer’s niece.

1989:

Shirley Valentine, Gilbert/Russell/Paramount (UIP). Directed by Lewis Gilbert Screenplay (Play) Willy Russell. Cast: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti. Housewife flies to Greece for sexual adventure.

Tom Conti and Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine (1989)

1992:

Blame It On The Bellboy, Bellboy/Hollywood (Warner). Directed by Mark Herman.  Cast: Dudley Moore, Richard Griffiths, Patsy Kensit. Comedy. Venice.

Dirty Weekend, Scimitar (UIP). Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Lia Williams, Rufus Sewell. Sex. Brighton.

1993:

Bhaji On The Beach, Umbi/Channel 4 (First Independent). Directed by Gurinder Chadha. Cast: Kim Vithana, Jimmy Harkishin, Lalita Ahmed, Shaheen Khan, Zohra Segal. Drama. Birmingham women take a day trip to Blackpool.

1996:

Small Time, Big Arty Productions/BFI. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Mat Hand, Dena Smiles, Shane Meadows. Drama. Includes trip to Skegness.

Gallivant, Tall Stories/BFI/Channel 4/Arts Council of England. Directed by Andrew Kotting. Cast: Gladys Morris, Eden Kotting, Andrew Kotting. Travelogue. Semi-documentary journey taken by a family around the coastline of Britain.

1999:

Hotel Splendide, Filmfour/Toc Films/Renegade Films. Directed by Terence Gross. Cast: Toni Collette, Daniel Craig, Katrin Cartlidge. Drama. Crumbling spa hotel peopled by eccentrics.

Guest House Paradiso, Universal/House Films/Vision Video. Directed by Adrian Edmondson. Cast: Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Vincent Cassel, Bill Nighy, Fenella Fielding. Comedy. Voyeurs run seaside guest house adjacent to nuclear power station.

Paddy Considine dancing at Chapel St Leonards in A Room For Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room For Romeo Brass, Alliance Atlantis/BBC Films/Arts Council of England/Company Pictures/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane meadows. Cast: Andrew Shim, Ben Marshall, Paddy Considine. Drama. Includes day trip to Chapel St Leonards.

2000:

Last Resort, BBC Films. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Cast: Dina Korzun, Paddy Considine, Artiom Strelnikov, Lindsey Honey. Drama. Margate. Muscovite asylum seekers are held at seaside resort.

Dina Korzun at the Dreamland Amusement Park, Margate, in Last Resort (2000)

Some Voices, Filmfour/British Screen/Dragon Pictures. Directed by Simon Cellan Jones. Cast: Daniel Craig, David Morrissey, Kelly MacDonald. Drama. Includes seaside excursion to Hastings.

Kevin and Perry Go Large, Icon/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Fragile Films. Directed by Ed Bye. Cast: Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans. Comedy. Teenage boys become star DJs and lose virginity on holiday in Ibiza.

2001:

The Martins, Icon Entertainment International/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Icon Productions/Isle of Man Film Commission. Directed by Tony Grounds. Cast: Lee Evans, Kathy Burke. Comedy. Man robs wealthy couple of holiday tickets and takes his family to the Isle of Man.

Arthur’s Dyke, Evolution Films/Quirky Films. Directed by Gerry Poulson. Cast: Pauline Quirke, Brian Conley, Dennis Waterman. Comedy. Walking holiday on English-Welsh border.

2006:

London To Brighton, LTB Films/UK Film Council/Steel Mill Pictures/Wellington Films. Directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Cast: Lorraine Stanley, Johnny Harris, Georgia Groome. Drama. Prostitute and child flee to Brighton to escape gangster.

Venus, Channel 4/UK Film Council/Venus Pictures/Free range Films. Directed by Roger Mitchell. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker. Drama. Includes journey to Whitstable beach.

2008:

Somers Town, Tomboy Films/Mother Vision/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello. Drama. Two boys dream of holiday to Paris on Eurostar.

2010:

Brighton Rock, BBC Films, Kudos Film and Television. Directed by Rowan Joffe. Cast: Helen Mirren, John Hurt. Crime. Brighton, 1964. (Filmed at Brighton and Eastbourne).

Never Let Me Go, Film 4, DNA Films. Directed by Mark Romanek. Cast: Keira Knightly. Drama. Includes seaside scenes at Clevedon and Holkham Beach.

2011:

The Inbetweeners Movie, Film 4/Young Bwark. Directed by Ben Palmer. Cast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas. Comedy. Group of youths on sexual adventure to Crete.

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Bibliography:

Gifford, (2001), Catalogue of British Film

BFI Database

IMDb