'The Saloon, which forms the centre of the suite in the eastern front, is magnificently decorated, almost every part being effulgent with gold. Its general plan is a circle, thirty five feet in diameter, surmounted by a cupola, and enlarged to the north and south by coved semicircular recesses (of a ten feet radius), which include the entrances from the apartments communicating with the Music and Banqueting rooms. The Cupola springs from a boldly projecting cornice, composed of various mouldings, apparently, of massive gold, crowned by a running ornament of flowers, and pendent bells. The ceiling represents a lightly clouded sky (the sun being dimly seen); in the centre of which is a gorgeous bird, in full relief, with wings of flowered gold and silver, enwreathed with serpents, resplendently coloured crimson and green. This sustains one of the most elaborate and finely devised lustres, of cut glass, that was ever executed. Its height is about eighteen feet, and its varying and brilliant tiers of glittering drops are surrounded, towards the bottom, by radiant burners, the light of which is softened and diffused around by globes of ground glass. Four smaller lustres, but of corresponding fancy and workmanship, are pendent from the ceilings of the recesses.
'On the eastern side are three large windows, splendidly adorned with festooned curtains of flowered satin, crimson and gold; and the panels, and other divisions, are enriched with corresponding drapery. Between the windows are two very large pier glasses, reaching nearly from the ground to the cornice; and other large glasses surmount the entrance doorways; all the framework is of an elegantly conceived pattern, designed from the lotus leaf; and every frame has a rich canopy, springing from dragons' heads. On the west side is a sumptuous chimney piece of statuary marble, with enrichments of ormolu; and, in each jamb, within a niche, stands a Chinese figure; these figures, which are of metal, are highly painted and varnished, and the dresses are finely pencilled. Over the chimney piece is a vast looking glass, thirteen feet high, and eight feet wide, in front of which stands an elegant dial by Vulliamy; this is supported by couchant dragons of blue porcelain, and enclosed in a China case surrounded by golden wreaths of the lotus and sunflower plants. Surmounting the dial, is a Chinese male figure seated, with a boy on his shoulder, a girl at his side, and a dog on his lap.
'At the sides of the recesses are enriched pilasters; each shaft of which exhibits a kind of caduceus, enwreathed by double headed serpents, in gold. The doors, which are folding, and also double, are beautifully ornamented in Japan work, in panels, curiously embossed with flowering shrubs, birds of different kinds (including peacocks, parrots, and cockatoos), rabbits, a porcupine frightened by snakes, insects, etc., in variously coloured gold. On the side piers, between the doors, are represented pagodas in rockery scenery, together with a lake teeming with water flowers of many species, and, in the sky, flying dragons. Great invention and very skilful execution are displayed by all these designs.
'Large vases of china, and other vessels in rich settings, beautifully wrought with sundry kinds of insects, in low relief, constitute a part of the ornamental furniture of the Saloon; which, also, includes some fine cabinets, and splendid ottomans of ruby coloured silk, fringed with gold, with couches and chairs of corresponding elegance. The carpet, which is of Axminster manufacture, is wrought on a circular plan, to fit the room, accords with the other decorations. In the centre is a dragon and two serpents, surrounded by lotus flowers and leaves; roses, stars, serpents, and other forms, in alternating succession, diversify the borderings.
'The Green Drawing Room, or Banqueting Room Gallery, which connects the Banqueting Room with the Saloon, was originally called the Blue Drawing Room, from the general tone of its decorations. Chinese lanterns were suspended from the cornice and ceiling, and paintings of Chinese scenery and trellis work covered the walls; but it was, subsequently, altered, and scarcely a vestige of its former state remains except the stoves and chimney pieces. It is now called the Green Drawing Room, from the prevalent hue of its draperies, which are of richly woven silks, of a pale green colour, tastefully wrought with groups of fruit and flowers.
'This apartment is fifty two feet in length, and about thirty three feet in extreme breadth. The ceiling, which is surrounded by an enriched cornice, is partly sustained by two oriental columns, crowned with spreading foliage. The walls are panelled white, with broad fret like borders, in gold; and, on the west side, under a festooned canopy, is a recess for a couch, with fluted drapery at the back, radiating from a central flower. On the same side, surmounted by large looking glasses, are two handsome chimney pieces of white marble, having ornamental accessories in ormolu and bronze. A clock by Vulliamy, and two beautiful jars of porcelain, upholding branch lights, stand on each shelf; and many other rich vessels of china and porcelain are ranged on Indian cabinets and side tables, in different parts of the room. But the most récherché of all, are two vases, and two ewers of Chinese manufacture, which occupy high pedestals in front of the window piers; they approach to the Egyptian form, and are of a sea green colour, variegated with gold; each of these vessels is about three feet in height. Several of the tables are of rosewood inlaid with ormolu; and one table is of rich tortoise shell, similarly embellished. The door panels are of looking glass.'
CHAPTER XXI
The Banqueting Room – The Library – Royal Bedroom – North and South Galleries – Queen Adelaide's apartments – Great Kitchen – Chapel – Stables – Riding House
'THE BANQUETING ROOM
'IN its general plan, dimensions, and principal architectural features, this apartment nearly corresponds with the Music Room; but the decorations and ornamental work are entirely different, although equally impressive in effect, from the good taste displayed in their well harmonized combinations, and in the professional ability which pervades the whole.
'Like the Music Room, the square of this apartment, at the height of twenty three feet, is bounded by a most elegant cornice, apparently inlaid with pearl and gold: the upper members exhibit the lotus leaf, and the lower ones are adorned with pendent trefoils, alternating with silver bells. This is supported, at the angles, by golden columns, each surrounded, in two divisions, by fasces of lances and darts entwined by serpents. Over each side of the cornice extends an elliptical arch, about seven feet high in the clear, having, in the central part, a narrow, oblong window of stained glass (so contrived as to be illumined from without), and, in smaller arched compartments, at the extremities, golden dragons of various forms. The windows, which are glazed lozenge wise, include in their embellishments radiant suns within circles, on a blue ground, involving dragons and serpents in their blaze, in accordance with oriental imagery. Cove-like spandrils, faced with ornamental fret work, connect the elliptical arches with a cupola of an unique, yet graceful form; the base being a regular cone, about six feet in height, and the surmounting part composed of curves struck from different centres, and partly convex. The cove is bordered with gold mouldings, and faced with scale work of a whitish-green colour, studded with golden flowerets. An Eastern sky, partially obscured by the broad and branching foliage of a luxuriant and fruited plantain tree, is depicted in the upper part; and, from this, appears to issue a vast dragon, finely carved, and most brilliantly coloured, the wings and scales being redolent of metallic green and silver.
'From a ring, environed by the claws of the dragon, was, formerly, suspended a magnificent lustre, of unparalleled size and beauty; but this was taken down, about three years ago, under the express command of his late Majesty, King William, who was fearful lest, from its immense weight, the supports should give way, and some fatal accident occur. It is still, however, carefully preserved, and may be replaced, whenever desirable. Its height is thirty feet, its extreme diameter about twelve feet, and its weight about one ton. This elaborate specimen of ingenious art consists of two divisions, connected with each other by chains richly gilt. The upper division is, apparently, formed of conjoined links of pearls and rubies diverging to a horizontal star; below which is a radiant circle of open flowers and bands of pearls, etc., combined with festoons of sparkling jewellery. The lower division consists of a vast bulb, gradually expanding, composed of seeming pearls, and connected with four large and glittering dragons, from whose upturned mouths proceed as many lotus flowers (of ground glass slightly tinted), "the expressive Eastern emblems of perfection and brightness." Festoons of pearls, with rosettes, stars, etc., and tassels of brilliant drops, complete the form of this unique ornament.
'Four other lustres, designed in a style of corresponding elegance, but much smaller, and more simple in construction, are suspended from an equal number of beautifully carved figures of the Chinese Fum, which appears to issue, in the act of flight, from the spandrils beneath the cupola, and are richly and variously coloured to resemble nature. Each minor lustre displays only a single lotus flower, which crowns the lower division, and appears studded, at the joining of the leaves, with superb jewels; twenty four burners are contained within the cup of each flower.
'Of the enchanting effect produced by the diffusive rays of these lustres, when fully illumined, it is scarcely possible to conceive an adequate idea. "Creating," (if the figure may be allowed), "in mid air, a diamond blaze, yet so chastened by the semi-transparent medium through which it streams, that the eye gazes on the beauteous scene, undazzled; the effulgence assumes the character of an artificial day.
'The recesses to the north and south of this apartment are united to the main cornice by convex curves (rising from a subordinate cornice enriched with gold and pendent bells), each of which is divided into five semi-elliptic compartments, curiously embellished with a variety of shadowy mythological forms, in pale gold, on a slate coloured ground. The intervening spaces above the cornice, are crimson and gold, with silver studs.
'On the east side are five spacious windows, the draperies of which are of the richest crimson silks, adorned with gold, and sustained by flying dragons. The dividing piers are covered by fluted silks of celestial blue; and, in front of each pier, is a beautiful candelabrum, about ten feet in height. Each of the latter consists of a circular pedestal (including descending dragons, in relief, among its ornaments), supporting a cylindrical vase of blue porcelain, resembling lapis lazuli, surmounted by a lotus flower, of seven leaves, slightly tinged with red, and having its stem entwined by golden dragons. Similar candelabra, but with varied pedestals, stand before the main piers on the opposite side. The windows are glazed with plate glass in large panes, set in frames of dark wood, with gold beadings, and borders of amber coloured glass; the jambs are black and red, edged with gold ornamental work.
'There are four entrances to this apartment (viz., two at each end), all of which are uniform in character and decoration. They have folding doors embellished in imitation of Japan work; each leaf presenting an elegant pagoda, embossed with gold of different hues, and hung with silver bells. Small columns ornament the sides of the doorways, and each impost exhibits two finely carved dragons, apparently of solid gold. Above these, in an arched compartment, is a group of dragons, issuing from an expanded flower cup, expressive of the chimæra of oriental mythology: these, also, are richly gilt, and beautifully sculptured.
'The walls above the dado (independently of a general decoration of silver chequer work, heightened with flowered crosses, on a deep blue ground) are divided into compartments of large size, containing a series of beautiful paintings in illustration of the domestic manners and costume of the Chinese people. The grouped subjects are eleven in number, and there are four others of single figures, holding screens of peacock's feathers. The ground of these masterly productions is an imitation of inlaid pearl, richly and ingeniously wrought with all the varied forms of the mythology of China; yet so delicately executed as scarcely to intrude upon the eye. The central picture on the west side represents the conveyance home of a Chinese bride. She is seated in a palanquin, under a parasol canopy, with a peacock by her side, and carried by six bearers in rich habits. An attendant with cymbals, and two boys, respectively carrying a banner and a trumpet, lead the procession. In the adjoining are a lady looking at a vase containing gold fish, which an attendant is feeding, and a Chinese grandee giving audience to a suitor. On the same side, but within the recesses, family parties are represented, in one of which is a female on a settee, with two children, and, at her knee, a boy playfully holding a macaw. Among the other subjects represented are, a lady playing on a guitar, with a much pleased child, kneeling at her side, and listening; a lady, with a peacock fan, receiving fruit from a boy; a lady and child tending flowers; and a child amusing itself with a tame snake, in the presence of its parents. These paintings are executed with a precision and delicacy equal to miniature, and the colouring is extremely brilliant: the figures are nearly the size of life; and the dresses are richly embroidered. They are all inclosed within painted framings of trellis work, edged by narrow gold mouldings. On the west side are, also, painted two Chinese standards, hung with pennons, and guarded, at the base, by dragons.
'At each end of this room (facing each other) is a chimney piece of the finest statuary marble, ornamented with ormolu, and having canopied niches in the jambs, occupied by Chinese figures, richly gilt. Above each is a looking glass, extending to the cornice, and measuring ten feet in height, by five feet nine inches in width. Before the northern glass stands a time piece, of most excellent design and workmanship. The dial forms the centre of an opening sunflower, on each side of which, as though reposing in the shade of its exuberant and varied foliage (chased in gold), is a Chinese figure, male and female, the one with a bow, the other with a fan. These figures are of brass, highly coloured in beautiful Japan work; and the garments are enriched with golden ornaments, finely pencilled. On the opposite chimney piece is a thermometer, of similar design and execution as the time piece: each dial is surmounted by a peacock, or Fum.
'There are five sideboards of rose wood in this apartment, ornamented with ormolu and Chinese emblems. The dining table, which is of the best mahogany, is forty two feet in length, and seven feet six inches in width. The seats and backs of the chairs are covered with red morocco.
'Among the other furniture appropriate to a dining room, are five Chinese Cisterns, mounted in ormolu, of superior workmanship; and numerous jars and vessels of blue porcelain, of great brilliancy and excellence; the latter are of Staffordshire manufacture, and were provided by Spode and Copeland. The carpeting, which is of Axminster manufacture, and made expressly for the room, consists of a large square, and two end pieces to correspond. A dragon, with three serpents coiled round, and involving it, forms the central ornament: this is surrounded by circles, diversely wrought, and increasing in diameter towards the border.
'The illustration represents the Banqueting Room as it appeared during one of the splendid entertainments given there, by the Prince Regent; whose portrait may be distinctly recognised among the company.
'On the same side, at the end of the dining table, is his Royal brother, the late King, when Duke of Clarence. The table is set out with rich plate, splendid candelabra, and elegant and costly statuary.
'THE LIBRARY
'Behind the Music Room, and, partly, forming the north west of this edifice, are the private apartments which were occupied by his late Majesty, George the Fourth. They consist of a Library, Bed room, Bath, Sitting and Dressing rooms, and several offices.
'The Library comprehends two rooms, the largest of which is thirty five feet in length, by twenty feet in breadth, and the other, about half those dimensions. Divided into three compartments, viz. a square and two oblongs, the ceiling of the large room is painted to represent an azure sky, diversified by light clouds; and, in the oblong compartments, are delineations of Chinese standards. The square part is surrounded by a gilt cornice, supported, at the angles, by fluted pillars, crowned with capitals of fan-like tracery. Dragons of grotesque and varied forms, combined with flowers and other devices, on a green ground, are curiously painted on the walls. The hangings are composed of rich yellow coloured drapery. Over the chimney piece, which is of statuary marble, and very elegant, is a splendid looking glass; and another is fixed over the chimney piece in the smaller room. Though still called the Library, these apartments present but few indications of that appropriation, all the books having been removed during the residence, here, of William the Fourth. A great variety of China jars, and other vessels, form a part of the ornamental furniture, and, in the smaller room, is a very pretty Indian Cabinet, containing numerous articles of bijouterie and vertû.
'HIS MAJESTY'S (GEORGE THE FOURTH) BEDROOM
'This apartment adjoins to the Library, on the north side: it forms a square of about forty feet, with a recess for a bed on the eastern side. A kind of dado of trellis work surrounds the lower part, and the upper parts are decorated with dragons, stars, flowers, etc., pencilled in white, on a light green ground: the doors, also, are painted to correspond. The adjoining Bath Room is lined white marble: the principal bath, which is sixteen feet long, ten feet wide, and six feet deep, is supplied with salt water from the sea, by a succession of pipes, and other machinery. In the Ante room (or Page's room) are eighteen small paintings, very neatly executed, of Chinese Landscapes, and other subjects connected with China.
'The North and South Galleries, or Lobbies, as they are now called, serve as avenues of communication with the adjoining apartments. From the trellis work and general style of fitting up, they have a light and airy appearance, and the furniture is correspondent. Each doorway is flanked by two half columns, ornamented by lozenge-shaped reticulations, and crowned by dragons' heads in relief. Several models of Chinese ships and Pagodas, finely carved in ivory, are preserved here, and exhibit extraordinary examples of patient labour and dexterity in that branch of art.
'Queen Adelaide's Apartments, are very neatly fitted up, though with little splendour; being far more adapted for domestic comfort than for state display; for which, indeed, they were never designed. Both the Drawing and Bed-rooms are battened with a very handsome paper, teeming with flowers upon a yellow ground, and including many beautiful parrots and other birds and insects among its other ornaments. Several Indian cabinets, and an elegant Buhl table, form part of the Drawing room furniture; and, in the adjoining Lady's Room, is a fine head, by Lawrence, of his late Majesty, William the Fourth. These apartments open to the balcony in the West Wing, over the Library.
'GREAT KITCHEN
'Nearly the whole of the south end of the Palace is occupied by the various offices belonging to the establishment, – of which, both in appearance, and interest, the Great Kitchen must be regarded as the principal. Its form is rectangular; the extent from east to west is about forty-five feet, and, from north to south, thirty-six feet. It has a lantern roof, which is supported by four iron columns, in the shape of palm trees, and is carried up to a considerable elevation. The interior of this necessary adjunct to social comfort is to be seen in a contemporary illustration, wherein its busy inmates are seen in active preparation for a Royal entertainment. The dishes, when placed on the central table, are kept hot by a steam apparatus, until everything is ready for the banquet. Several smaller kitchens, and two larders, are attached to the principal one; and, on the western side of the servants' corridor, are two pastry rooms and a confectionary. Some alterations were made here about two years ago, during a repair. It is scarcely necessary to add, that all the arrangements, fittings up and furniture of these offices, as well as the great variety of articles of culinary use, are of the best and most convenient description. In an open court, there is, also, an octagon tower, containing a water reservoir; the water is raised and supplied for domestic purposes, by ingenious and powerful machinery.
'The Chapel
'Near the south east angle of the palace is a large building of red brick, forming part of Castle Square. This was, originally, the Castle Inn; but, it having been purchased by the Prince Regent, the Ball room was converted into a Chapel for the Royal household, soon after his accession to the Crown. It was consecrated with great solemnity, on the 1st of January, 1822, by the late Dr. John Buckner, Bishop of Chichester, in the presence of the King and his suite, and a numerous congregation. The interior forms a rectangle of eighty feet by forty; the height is about thirty feet. The Royal gallery, which is at the north end, is supported by fluted columns and pilasters, and hung with crimson drapery: it includes three divisions, the central one being for the sovereign, and those to the right and left, for the attendant ladies and gentlemen. At the south end is a large organ gallery, with seats for the household servants. The area is appropriated to a general congregation, but no person is admitted without a ticket: the number of tickets issued is about 400. The chapel is neatly wainscoted; and has two fire places on each side: it communicates with the Palace by a covered passage leading to an apartment adjoining the Banqueting room. The original Chapel Royal was in Prince's Place, North Street, at a short distance westward from the Pavilion; and it is still occupied as a Chapel of ease to Brighton. It was erected in 1793, under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, who deposited the first stone; and contains accommodation for about 1,000 persons.
'The Royal Stables
'It has already been stated that the Pavilion Stables were erected from the designs of the late William Porden, Esqre, between the years 1803 and 1805. They stand on the northern side of the pleasure grounds, at the distance of about ninety or one hundred yards from the Palace itself, and occupy a part of the site of the Elm, or Promenade Grove, which had, for some years, been used as a place of public recreation, and was purchased by the Prince of Wales, in 1800. Shortly afterwards, the adjoining shrubberies and grounds of Grove House, belonging to the Duke of Marlborough, were also purchased; and, in consequence of those acquisitions, the New Road, connecting North Street with Church Street, was made. The thoroughfare connecting East Street with the North Steyne (which had, previously, run immediately behind the Pavilion) was then closed up, and the intervening space annexed to the demesne.
'The arrangement and construction of this extensive pile are highly honourable to the professional skill of its talented architect, who was the first person in this country that adopted the Oriental style in modern composition; at least, on an enlarged scale. In the boldness of the design, particularly of the dome crowned Rotunda, and in the judicious allocation of the parts, "which" (as was justly remarked by a contemporary writer), "while they produce all the conveniences in the contemplation of his Royal Highness, contribute, equally, to advance the general effect," the architect has been eminently successful; yet, as correct specimens of Oriental composition, neither the Pavilion, nor Stables, will be ever regarded as examples for imitation. The expense of erecting this building was upwards of £70,000.
'The principal entrance to the Royal Stables is from Church Street, and leads through a wide and lofty arch, of the pointed form, into a spacious quadrangular court, containing the coach houses, coach house stabling, and various servants' rooms and offices. Opposite to this, is another archway, conducting to the area of the Rotunda, which is a circle of 249 feet in circumference, surrounded by the stables for the saddle horses, and an open gallery; and the whole of which receives its light through the glazed compartments of the vast cupola by which it is surmounted. From the extent and height of this interior, and the lofty elevation of the four arches which open from it towards the cardinal points, an impressive effect, associated with surprise and admiration, is produced on the mind of every spectator.
'The Dome, or Cupola, which surmounts the Rotunda, combines strength and lightness in an extraordinary degree. Although upwards of eighty feet diameter in the clear, its thickness is only twelve inches at the bottom, and nine inches at the top. It is constructed on the same principle as was the celebrated Cupola of the Halle au Blé at Paris, and it was the first example of that mode of construction, in this country, upon a large scale. The main ribs, which are twenty-four in number, are twelve inches by nine inches at the bottom, diminishing to nine inches square at the top; they are each constructed of three thicknesses of fir planks, in lengths of nine feet, breaking joint, and firmly bolted together, every three feet; the whole planed smooth, and the heading joints fitted together with the greatest accuracy. Of the space between the ribs, by far the largest proportion is divided into sixteen glazed compartments, spreading fan wise, which diffuse an abundant light throughout the Rotunda. The remaining eight compartments are embellished with panels in stucco work, instead of glass, which adds variety, without destroying the symmetry, and relieves the eye from the repulsive glare that a skylight of that magnitude must, otherwise, produce. In the middle of the Cupola is a circular opening, surmounted by a lantern, which forms a ventilator for the Rotunda and Stabling, and is wrought, exteriorly, in the form of a coronet. Where not interrupted by the skylights, the ribs are connected by horizontal purlins, and further strengthened by iron chains surrounding the whole contour. The curvilinear plate, or curb, at the springing of the dome, measures twelve inches by nine inches, and that at the top, nine inches by nine; both are constructed in thicknesses in the same manner as the ribs above described.
'The great arches on the east and west of the Rotunda lead to the Riding House, and to a new wing of stablings, erected in 1832, for Queen Adelaide, on the site of what had been intended for a Tennis Court. They, also, contain the staircases connected with the gallery, around which are the Harness and Saddle rooms, and numerous apartments for the grooms and other servants. The southern arch opens to the pleasure grounds, and the view through the arches, from the entrance gateway, across the Rotunda, is singularly striking. The stables, surrounding the area, forty-four in number, are so arranged that, when the doors are open, a spectator, standing under the central part of the Cupola, may see into every stall, without changing his situation. The fronts of the stables, and the arcades of the surmounting gallery, are finished in a corresponding manner to the dome, and this gives an harmonious character to the whole interior.
'It has been frequently stated that the ventilation of the Royal stables, though aided by extensive archways connected with the Rotunda, was inadequate to disperse the heat attracted, and retained, by the glass and lead work covering the dome; and, that the health of all horses kept there for any length of time was much injured in consequence. These assertions, however, are contrary to facts; the writer having been recently assured by the chief groom, who has held his situation many years, that no stabling in the kingdom can be more healthful, nor better adapted for its purpose than this.
'The Riding House, which is to the west of the Rotunda, is a very capacious building; its length being 176 feet, its width 58 feet 6 inches, and its height 34 feet, in the clear. It is covered with a roof of a peculiar construction, differing, probably, from every other example. For the purpose of gaining as much height as possible, this roof was constructed without the beams, the main timbers, of twelve inches by nine inches scantling, being built in the form of an arch, of forty-seven feet six inches radius, in three thicknesses of fir plank; precisely in the same manner as the ribs of the dome, above described. These curvilinear beams rest on plates of fir, and are further strengthened by curvilinear oak struts, of ten feet three inches radius, forming the ceiling into an elliptical arch 58 ft. 6 in. in the span (as before stated), and of 15 feet rise; with groins 15 ft. 4 in. wide over each of the five windows on the west front, and corresponding groins on the east side. Over the arched beams are principal rafters, framed at the top with a king post, in the usual manner; and, at the bottom, forming tangents with the beams, and connected with them by keys and iron straps. The main trusses of the roof are 18 ft. 5 in. apart over the windows, and 6 ft. 9 in. over the piers, measuring from centre to centre; and the number of main beams is eighteen, or three over each pier.'