Thirty three members of TASG left at 8.30a.m from Grayshott by coach and were driven straight to Brighton, arriving at 10.20 in time for our visit to the Royal Pavilion (aka The Brighton Pavilion). We were dropped just outside this impressive palace with its Indian-inspired domes and minarets designed by the theatre designer and architect Paul Nash. Once inside and armed with our audio guides, we were treated to the Prince Regent’s love of Asian Art and Design known as Chinoiserie – inspired by porcelain, silk and lacquerware imported from China, Japan and other Asian countries. The internal decor of the palace was designed by Fredrick Crace and Robert Jones and they didn’t always get the Asian style right, hence the bamboo-decorated wallpaper has many leaves on their stems, while other décor used “trompe oeil” so that English wood was made to look like bamboo, and plaster casts to look like marble.
The Prince Regent, who adored entertaining and had a prodigious appetite, decorated his Banqueting Room richly and lavishly to the tune of £1 million in today’s money. The central chandelier weighs 1 ton and is 9.1 metres tall. Guests would sit at table for up to 6 hours and eat over 30 courses!
The Saloon was where the Prince Regent, later George IV, would receive his guests and was designed to take people’s breath away, which indeed it does with its rich red and gold colours.
The beautiful Music Room where George IV (an accomplished musician) would play the piano or the cello, occasionally conduct his orchestra, sing or dance, was designed by Fredrick Crace. It has an intricate decorated ceiling with perfect acoustics while the hand-painted red and gold canvases, silver dragons and 
chandeliers enhance the Chinese style effect. The beautiful dragon designed carpet has been recreated to the original design and the whole room beautifully restored after the fire of 1975 and again after the great storm of 1987 (There is a small exhibition on the restoration work undertaken on the first floor).
Upstairs on the first floor are the bedrooms of the Dule of York and the Duke of Clarence, the latter who later succeeded George IV as William IV.
Queen Victoria inherited the Pavilion and though she visited it between 1837-1845, she didn’t care for it and sold to the city of Brighton in 1850, making her own seaside retreat at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.
After our visit to the Pavilion, we were free to explore the town and find somewhere to lunch for ourselves, before returning to the coach at 3pm for our homeward journey. A very enjoyable and successful day out.
Liz Beecheno