Winter Gardens Pavilion

An impressive pavilion in Bath stone, classical style. The domed convex façade of the main pavilion, with round-headed windows set between attached, unfluted Doric columns is flanked on either side by Doric colonnaded wings with gardens behind. The design is said to have been influenced by the Bank of England as shown on the 1920s pound note. The main entrance to the Pavilion, on the sea front, included a ‘carriage sweep’. Originally the seating in the elliptical pavilion (now the ballroom with a movable thrust stage) was for 1000, 800 in the stalls, and 200 in the promenade, which was laid out during non-performance time as a cafe with cane furniture. In the gardens was a fine Portland stone screen with statuary representing the four seasons, a lily pond 108ft long and an alpine garden. A nineteenth century lead fountain which was later donated came from the garden of ‘Herontyre’ in East Grinstead. The Starlight Room was added in 1963. The colonnades were glassed in in 1970 and 1979 as catering facilities were improved. In 1992/3 an extensive £5.5 million renovation and modernisation programme was carried out to give the Winter Gardens full conference facilities, which included the addition of the Prince Consort Hall with a concert stage. The facade was carefully restored along with the interior features of the ballroom, and the Italian Gardens. Insufficient demand for the conference and wedding facilities resulted in the freehold being sold to Weston College for £1 to permit nearly £15m of investment from the Local Enterprise Partnership. Planning permission was granted in 2015 for a new legal and professional services academy on the site after listed status was declined by English Heritage. No alterations will be made to the original structure. The pavilion and ballroom will be restored and refurbished but remain as a community facility. A 1980s single storey flat roofed building to the north east will be demolished to allow a new two-storey extension containing lecture theatres, seminar rooms, meeting and conference spaces, offices and associated facilities. The Prince Consort Hall will be split into two to make way for a court room and large lecture theatre. The new building will host the centre’s entrance foyer and new cladding will improve the centre’s overall look and insulation.