Visit to Brighton Pavilion
Tour of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton – emphasising its Indian-influenced architecture, and its time as a WW1 War Hospital for Indian Army soldiers.
Thursday 18th June 2026 at 11.30am
The Royal Pavilion was extended in 1815 in an Indo-Saracenic style by John Nash, with Mughal inspired features such as bulbous domes, chattri-topped minarets and cusped arches. Its exterior is a tour de force, or an aberration in taste, depending on your point of view. Its interiors, designed by Frederick Crace, are lavish, with, among others, Indian and Chinese influences.
hospital set up inside the Royal Pavilion estate between December 1914
and February 1916.
(The Royal Pavilion and Museum, Brighton & Hove)
During the First World War the Pavilion was offered by King George V as a military hospital for troops of the Indian Army wounded on the Western Front. As a result of the inevitable fatalities among some of the patients, a cremation site was set up on the South Downs just north of Brighton where the remains of Hindu and Sikh soldiers could be cremated (Muslims were buried at the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking). After the war, the site was turned into a war memorial with a Chattri at its centre. It is a very moving place.
(mybrightonandhove.org.uk)
Our tour of the Pavilion will begin at 11.30am. We will meet at the entrance (detailed instructions will be sent to those who have signed up in the week leading up to the event). Inside the Pavilion, we will visit, amongst other places, the Indian Hospital Gallery.
On exiting the Pavilion we will look at the Indian Gate, the southern entrance to the Royal Pavilion estate, ‘the gift of India in commemoration of her sons who – stricken in the Great War – were tended in the Pavilion in 1914 and 1915’.
Lunch: will follow the tour. There are a large number of eating places close by. If you wish to lunch in a group, probably over a curry, this can be arranged closer to the time. Please note that the price of lunch is not included in the charge for the tour.
(Phil Duffy MusePhotographic)
After lunch, for those who are interested, a visit is proposed to the Chattri War Memorial. Please note that this involves a walk of about a mile (so 2 miles roundtrip) over flat downland. Whilst not unduly strenuous, it is not on a metalled path, so suitable footwear is advisable.
Travel: You will be expected to make your own way to Brighton. If coming by train, it is a 15 minute walk from the station to the Pavilion, downhill (but uphill on the way back). There is plenty of parking available in Brighton but it is not cheap. If numbers are sufficient for the proposed visit to the Chattri, we may hire some form of transport or take public transport. Any cost will be additional.
Price: The price of the tour is £15. However, in addition to this, you will have to pay for entry into the Royal Pavilion. Normal admission is £21.50, but we are being offered a special price of £18.50.
There are various other discounts available:
•If you are a member of the Art Fund, entry is free.
•If you travel by rail to Brighton, you can purchase two entry tickets for the price of one (£21.50) on production of your rail ticket. (You will have to do this yourself, either on the Royal Pavilion’s website or at the ticket office on arrival).
Booking:
•The price for the BACSA tour plus admission to the Pavilion (but excluding lunch and a trip to the Chattri) is £33.50.
•(If you intend to use either the 2-for-1 rail ticket or Art Fund concessions for Pavilion admission, please pay £15 for the BACSA tour).
Please book via the Events tab on the BACSA website. You can pay via the website using a credit card or by bank transfer; or send an e-mail to events@bacsa.org.uk.
Paul Dean, BACSA Chairman
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(Suggestions for BACSA website news items, volunteering opportunities and diary entries, are always welcome – please send them to ‘comms@bacsa.org.uk’).