The Aylesbury Society....
caring for all the town's built environment.
COACH TRIP TO BEXHILL-ON-SEA
By Madeleine Collier.
Bright and early on Saturday, the 1st July, members and friends of The Aylesbury Society set off on their annual coach trip to ‘pastures new’; this time to Bexhill-on-Sea.
It was a beautiful day, pleasantly warm and very sunny. We soon reached Bexhill and were delighted to find a small, pretty and quiet seaside town. Proudly positioned on the promenade sits the De La Warr Pavilion, a large white painted steel and glass Modernist style building. This is the most famous building in Bexhill.
During the Second World War the Pavilion was closed and for many years after the war used as Council Offices and storage. Partitions were erected and much of the fabric of the building fell into disrepair. However now The De La Warr Pavilion has been largely restored to its former glory, with still some work to do.
Following the renovations of the building, tours are available and many of us took the pre-arranged tour of the De La Warr Pavilion, whilst others explored the town. The first thing our guide told us was how to pronounce De La Warr – the same as the American State of Delaware – which was founded by the family of this name from Bexhill. Delaware state capital is Dover!
In the early 1900s, the people of Bexhill were asking for the old Colonnade building to be replaced by an entertainment hall. However it was not until the 9th Earl De La Warr became Bexhill’s first Socialist Mayor in 1932 that this idea was championed. In 1933 he proposed a competition, to be organised by the RIBA, for a design of a new building. The first prize of £150 was won by Erich Mendelsohn, a trained architect and a Jew, who had fled Germany in the 1930s, and Serge Chermayeff, who was more a designer than architect; he came from Chechyna and had worked for some time at Waring & Gillow.
The De La Warr Pavilion was the very first steel frame building in the country. It took eleven months to build and cost £70,000, the money being raised from mainly public money with some private investment. The foyer is spacious and light, leading on to the theatre itself, which displays a very large span ceiling, made possible only by the steel construction. It has seating for up to 1050 people, including the balcony. The theatre has windows, from floor to ceiling, on two sides. The two other interior walls are clad with Bakelite with Australian Walnut veneer and the floor is sprung for use as a ballroom.
We then ascended via the west stairs, which are sited in a clear glass round tower to the outside of the pavilion, protruding at 1st floor level above the pavement. The steps and landing were beautifully terrazzo tiled with central heating pipes running around the framing of the tower. In fact the whole building was centrally heated and the theatre even had extractor vents for air conditioning. From the landing we had a lovely view of the town.
Then on to the roof space, this time treading a cork tile floor on the upper landing, to be presented with a breathtaking view of the sea and beach; the sea was sparkling blue against the paler blue of the sky! To the front of the pavilion, facing the sea, we looked down on a large terrace with the most attractive white Rotundas, these Rotundas having been built by the Victorians and newly renovated. On the terrace we saw people partaking of coffee from the restaurant of the Pavilion. At other times concerts are held on the terrace.
The whole experience was of steel and glass, with tremendous views throughout. The chrome light fittings were ultra modern. We even peeked into the roof itself to see steel rafters and trusses!
Our guide was so enthusiastic and as a modernist building the Pavilion is a fine example. However, at the time the building received very mixed reviews from the people of Bexhill. From a personal point of view I feel that seaside towns are best suited to Modernist style buildings and I do actually love the rounded seaside buildings of the 1930s.
We then enjoyed a coffee in the lovely Pavilion restaurant and set off to explore the town. However, as time was short we enjoyed a quick lunch in a local pub and then headed back to the coach for further adventures .. .. .. ..
Many thanks to Roger for yet another enjoyable day out.
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