King William IV Gate Brighton Royal Pavilion Gardens

Print description

Also referred as the North Gate, is an impressive gateway at the northern entrance of the Royal Pavilion, dating back to 1832, is often overlooked and underappreciated among Brighton’s architectural gems.

Designed by architect and surveyor Joseph Henry Good, it was constructed during the early years of the brief reign of William IV, the brother and successor of George IV.

William IV had ambitious plans for the Royal Pavilion and commissioned Good to survey the entire estate, adding various structures, including grand gates at both the northern and southern entrances.

Good created an impressive 46 different designs for the North Gate alone, with the earliest drafts dating back to September 1830. His surviving architectural plans reveal his experimentation with different styles, including ideas like cladding part of the gate in blue and white tiles.

The final design features a grand, symmetrical gate with a central arch, topped with minarets and a copper dome that has since developed a striking green patina. (ref.: Alexandra Loske.)

Print details

I created this print from my original ink drawings to which I apply colour digitally. Printed on fine art paper using archival inks. I issue the formats A0, A1 & A2,A3 and A4  as limited editions of 100 where I individually sign and number each print.

Regency architecture. Brighton Royal Pavilion.

John Nash remodelled The Brighton Royal Pavilion into what we can see today in glorious  Indo-Saracenic style. The works of the Marine Pavilion began in 1815 and took seven years to complete. George chose architect John Nash who proposed an Indian style in response to the design of the new stable block. Nash was also inspired by landscape gardener Humphrey Repton (who had published designs for a new palace based on Indian architectural forms) and based many of his ideas on a publication called Oriental Scenery by Thomas and William Daniell (1795-1808).

The complex composition of domes, towers and minarets created a romantic exterior. Either side of the central large dome are two towers that serviced the interior rooms over the Saloon, one with a staircase, the other with a hoist. To achieve a picturesque effect the rendered surfaces of the Royal Pavilion were painted to create a unified vision of a building made of Bath stone.