The De La Warr Pavilion: the back story

About The De La Warr Pavilion: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The De La Warr Pavilion, designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff after an international competition, opened on 12 December 1935. Grade I listed since 1986, it reopened in October 2005 after restoration and is now a centre for the arts, with galleries, performances and a café bar. Bexhill is about an hour from Brighton by direct train.

Arrive at Bexhill on a bright day and the De La Warr Pavilion seems to float above the promenade: a long, low building of concrete, steel and glass, facing the sea.

A seaside competition

The pavilion is named after the 9th Earl De La Warr, the driving force behind it, who persuaded Bexhill’s council to hold an international competition for a seaside pavilion. The winners were two architects, Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff.

Take tea on the terrace above the sea after the galleries.

Glass, concrete and steel

Built of concrete and steel with great windows of glass, the pavilion opened to the public on 12 December 1935. In 1986 it was upgraded to Grade I, the highest category of listing.

Restored and reborn

The pavilion closed in 2003 for a restoration led by John McAslan + Partners and reopened on 15 October 2005, with two art galleries, a new café bar, a shop and a foyer; the roof terrace and the sun parlour were restored too.

Visiting

Today the De La Warr Pavilion is a centre for the arts, with an ever-changing programme of exhibitions, performances and learning. See dlwp.com for what’s on.

Our advice: take the direct train from Brighton, about an hour, and combine the pavilion with a walk along Bexhill’s seafront.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The De La Warr Pavilion: the back story before you go.