The Pavilion's Curiosities

If you have ever been to Brighton, chances are you’ve visited the fabulous Royal Pavilion, the eye-catchingly exotic former holiday home of the Prince Regent, who later became George IV.

Built in stages between 1787 and 1823, the extravagant pleasure house has been many things in its lifetime: Palace, Museum and even a war-time hospital.

The story of the Pavilion is fascinating in its own right, but I want to tell you about two things in particular.

The Pavilion has some hidden tunnels that run under the Gardens. According to some people in Brighton, the tunnels can be accessed not just from the basement in the Pavilion but from the Museum and Art Gallery‘s basement too.

Rumour has it that the tunnels were constructed so that George VI could visit his mistress, Maria Fitzherbert, who lived conveniently close by and is now commemorated with a pub bearing her name not too far from the Pavilion… but is this true?

We do know that the tunnel links the Royal Pavilion with Brighton Dome, the former stables.

The tunnel was built at a time when George IV was grossly overweight and unpopular with his subjects. He used the tunnel to cross the estate without being seen, so he could visit his beloved horses in private.

George the pavilion cat:

Last year when I visited Brighton for the first time I bought a little book about a cat that used to live in the Royal pavilion.

As a cat lover I obviously was very interested in this story and wanted to find out more about this cat named George.

George walked into the pavilion one day in 1968 where the carers of the museum took care of George as well. He lived in the museum for 12 years catching mice until his death in 1980.

Even after his death George has a great final resting place in the gardens of Preston manor, a little outside of Brighton’s city centre.