THE REGENCY TOWN HOUSE, HOVE
Upon leaving the Royal Pavilion, we'll be traveling to nearby Hove for a tour of the Regency Town House. I visited a few years ago when the project's originator, Nick Tyson, was still at the beginning of a scheme to restore the Town House to it's original state. Nick led our tour group through the rooms which were being stripped of years of paint and wallpaper, with each layer being analysed for decorative research. The restoration process is still ongoing and you can read an interview with Nick in which he discusses present and future plans for the Town House here.
From the Regency Town House website:
The objectives of the Regency Town House are threefold:
- Raise the profile of Brighton and Hove as a historic location.
- Encourage the better preservation of the city's built heritage.
- Foster a wider appreciation of Regency architectural and social history.
To these ends we are working to provide visitors with a traditionally refurbished historic home, to offer a programme of events about the history and architectural heritage of Brighton and Hove, and to develop digital resources relating to life in the Regency period.
Each year we run a variety of courses aimed at providing building professionals and the occupants of historic buildings with a better understanding of the issues surrounding the conservation and upkeep of Georgian and Victorian property.
Their collections include the Bevan and Dewar family letters:
Provided to us by Patrick Baty, a descendant of the Bevan family, these letters give a fantastic insight into family life in the Regency period, covering topics from the everyday domestic, to war and the death of a child. Here we have reproduced the letters together with transcriptions undertaken by volunteers.
I happen to follow Patrick on Twitter, an historical paint consultant who has worked on many stately homes and historically significant properties, including Apsley House. Patrick also has a fantastic blog where you'll find many articles of interest.
Our visit to the Regency Town House will provide our tour group with the rare opportunity to look behind the walls of a period home and to learn more about the preservation of historic properties.
You can watch a holiday "At Home" with the volunteers at the Regency Town House here in order to get an idea of the current state of the Town House.
To appreciate the enormity of the task ahead of the Regency Town House group, you can watch this clip from one of my favourtie shows, Grand Designs, featuring the restoration of a Georgian Town House in London. (55 minutes)
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