The King and Queen (also known as Ye Olde King and Queen and The King and Queen Hotel) is a pub in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the city of Brighton and Hove. The present building, a "striking" architectural "pantomime" by the prolific local firm Clayton & Black, dates from the 1930s, but a pub of this name has stood on the site since 1860—making it one of the first developments beyond the boundaries of the ancient village. This 18th-century pub was, in turn, converted from a former farmhouse. Built using materials characteristic of 16th-century Vernacular architecture, the pub is in the Mock Tudor style and has a wide range of extravagant decorative features inside and outside—contrasting with the simple design of the neighbouring offices at 20–22 Marlborough Place, designed a year later. English Heritage has listed the pub at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
History Brighton developed into a fashionable resort in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Old Steine as one of its focal points. This was at the southern end of a large area of poorly drained, low-lying open space that later became known as Valley Gardens. The first residential development outside the four-street boundary of the ancient village was in 1771–72, when North Row was built on the west side of the open land. It was renamed Marlborough Place in 1819. One old building was incorporated into the street: a farmhouse which was refronted in the Georgian style and became the King and Queen pub in 1779. The name commemorated King George III and Queen Charlotte. Brighton was well provided with inns and beerhouses at this time: the town had 41 by 1800, or one for every 30 households, and many private houses sold unlicensed alcohol. At first the inn catered mostly for agricultural workers from the surrounding farms, although players and spectators involved in cricket matches on the adjacent open land also used the inn. (This trade ceased when the area was enclosed in 1817 to form parkland now known as Victoria Gardens.) An army barracks stood behind the pub, and for many years its soldiers were supplied with alcohol through a secret hole and passageway in the rear wall. The barracks, originally for infantry and later the home of the 1st Sussex Rifles and 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers regiments, closed in 1870; the Blenheim Hotel and the town's first courthouse now occupy the site. The inn's importance increased further in the early 19th century when Brighton's corn market was established there: it moved from another Brighton inn, the Old Ship Hotel, in or before 1822, and was held every Thursday. On 1 October 1868 it moved again to the former riding school of the Royal Pavilion, built in 1803–08 by William Porden. Other 19th-century events included the inquest of a man killed during rioting in Old Steine in 1817.
The pub and most of the buildings north of it, as far as the junction with Church Street, were rebuilt in the 1930s. Prominent local architecture firm Clayton & Black were commissioned to redesign the inn in 1931. Their chosen style for the rebuilding was Mock Tudor, which was fashionable at the time, and the bow-fronted two-storey Georgian exterior was completely changed to form a "striking interwar interloper" amongst neighbouring buildings such as the Neo-Georgian Allied Irish Bank branch and a series of four-storey offices. The interior was also altered to the design of Ashby Tabb of the interior design firm Heaton Tabb & Company, who added stained glass and a barrel-vaulted wooden ceiling at first-floor level, where a "children's room" was created. This later became a general function room. Clayton & Black extended the pub to the north in 1935–36, adding a two-storey section. Although the King and Queen name was retained, the monarchs represented were changed at this time to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and their images were painted beneath one of the gables. A contemporary report in the Brighton Herald newspaper praised the rebuilt pub, stating that it was "something more than a handsome, spacious building ... it is a gorgeous flight of architectural imagination".
The interior was altered in 1967, when the original three-room space was reconfigured to form a single room "in the form of a spacious medieval nobleman's hall". This made it suitable for hosting large events, such as "Miss Miniskirt" contest finals (for several years) and revues; Margaret Thatcher visited one unannounced in 1982 while in Brighton for the Conservative Party conference. There is a large courtyard and garden area, first used in 1968 when a new owner laid on regular barbecues. The pub markets itself as a sports bar, with large screen televisions and several pool tables, and as a music venue; local DJ Fatboy Slim has played there, and there is a regular karaoke night. The pub was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 19 March 1997. This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove. It is also within the Valley Gardens Conservation Area, one of 34 conservation areas in Brighton and Hove. On 24 October 2015 it was registered as an asset of community value by Brighton and Hove City Council.
Architecture
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
