Brighton

Our class went to Brighton for a class trip on Thursday...lucky for us we had beautiful English weather for the excursion...what a great day to see the beach...(not)

Brighton became known as a fashionable nineteenth century party city during the lifetime of the Prince Regent, George IV. It was far enough away from London where George could host extravagant and lavish parties. Quite the party boy, this King (who was actually the Prince Regent from 1811-1820 because King George III went 'mad' and was unfit to rule) built an entire party pavilion, called The Royal Pavilion, to host all of his guests. 

The outside is decorated in this odd Indian style...

but then the inside is decorated in "chinoiserie" ...aka the English idea of what decoration from the 'Far East' might look like. "Chinoiserie" is definitely not authentic Chinese - it is what the English thought Chinese interior decoration looked like so is often a mash-up of Indian/Japanese/Chinese/etc styles - important to note. The whole place is meant to transport one into an exotic frame of mind - dinners would last for hours and the wine was flowing. 

Rooms are constructed in a series that accommodates a very specific experience - one would start out waiting in the long gallery, which is lavishly decorated with this exotic-feeling 'chinoiserie' 

...then the King would greet you and take you into the banqueting hall to eat and drink...

(here is a contemporary work done of the banqueting room - painted in 1826 so this is what it would have looked like in its prime)

Next you would retire to a sitting room (ladies and gentlemen to their respective rooms) for a short rest...this is the saloon 

before proceeding to the music room for dancing. 

After this long night guests would return back to their rented townhouses (which they would rent for a "season") - here is the outside of a series of these Regency-era townhouses

Only the royal family would stay at the pavilion - the upstairs were all bedrooms/sitting rooms decorated with Regency Style interiors. Note on "regency style" -- although the actual "regency" only lasted from 1811-1820 politically (this is the period George IV took over for his sick father - George III died in 1820 and George IV went on to rule as king until 1837), the term's stylistic connotations are applied to things made c.1795-1837. George had a huge influence on arts production and style during his lifetime so the term "regency" is applied to all decoration/objects made with his influence. 

Now Brighton is still known as a place to escape the formality of London and have fun - apparently the pier/boardwalk is a great place to go out at night in the summer and its a great spot for antiquing. I'm sure it would be more pleasant in the summer - perhaps I'll come back then and get a better impression of it.