Royal Pavilion Garden celebrates 176 years of public access with first annual Garden Party
Historic archive discovery inspires annual celebration as restoration project enters a new chapter
Brighton & Hove Museums will launch what is set to become a new annual tradition celebrating the Royal Pavilion Garden, as they prepare to welcome visitors to a Garden Party this Sunday, 28 June.
The event, which this year is called Pavilion Garden Get Together, will be held to mark what researchers now believe is the 176th anniversary of the Garden opening to the public, following the discovery of a newspaper report from 1850 announcing the occasion.
The archive cutting, dated 29 June 1850, provides compelling evidence that the Garden first opened to the public the day prior, following the purchase of the Royal Pavilion Estate by the town from the Crown. It describes crowds enjoying the newly accessible gardens, listening to music from the band of the 8th Royal Irish Hussars and exploring what the newspaper called ‘the beauties of the place’.
Inspired by this discovery, Brighton & Hove Museums plans for the Garden Party to become an annual event celebrating the Garden’s unique history while encouraging people to discover the fascinating stories, wildlife and heritage found within one of the city’s most treasured public spaces.
To be held on the North Lawn, this year’s inaugural event will invite families, local residents and visitors to explore the Garden through creative activities, archive displays, wildlife walks, botanical art sessions, storytelling and pop-up talks led by historians, ecologists and volunteer Garden Greeters.
The celebration will also mark an important milestone for the ambitious £6.4 million restoration project that is helping to uncover new evidence about the Garden’s past while securing its future.
Supported by a £4.37 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, alongside investment from Brighton & Hove City Council and generous support from charitable trusts and foundations, the three-year project will restore one of Britain’s rare surviving Regency Picturesque gardens. Brighton & Hove Museums continues to raise the remaining funding needed to deliver the full vision.
The restoration, which is planned to begin in autumn 2026, is urgently needed because the Grade II listed Garden is currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. Research undertaken by archivists, gardeners, landscape specialists and ecologists is informing every stage of the work, ensuring that decisions about planting, pathways, views, historic features and biodiversity are rooted in historical evidence wherever possible.
The project will reinstate historic flower beds, repair and conserve heritage features, improve accessibility, protect important wildlife habitats and create new opportunities for learning, volunteering and community participation, ensuring the Garden remains a welcoming public space for the estimated 1.5 million people who visit each year.
Hedley Swain, CEO of Brighton & Hove Museums, said:
“The discovery of this newspaper report has given us a wonderful opportunity to reconnect people with a pivotal moment in the Garden’s history. Knowing when the Garden first opened to the public has inspired us to create a new annual tradition that celebrates not only its past, but its future.
“Research is at the heart of the Royal Garden Restoration. Every new discovery helps us build a clearer picture of how the Garden looked and functioned during the Regency period, allowing us to restore it with greater accuracy while protecting the wildlife and community value that make it such an important place today.”
The restoration has been designed so the Garden remains a free public space throughout the programme of works. While some areas may be temporarily affected as improvements are carried out, visitors will continue to have access to the Garden, ensuring it remains at the heart of city life while its historic landscape is restored.
The Pavilion Garden Get Together is on Sunday 28 June from 11am-3pm in the Royal Pavilion Garden.
Free, drop-in. All ages