Pavilion

When looking through the history of any town, there is usually a building or group of buildings that have a particular interest to its residents.  Bognor Regis has its fair share of such buildings, but there is one in particular which evokes so many memories simply by the mention of its name – The Pavilion.

It was situated in West Street, at the northern end of Waterloo Square on a site that was for numerous years adjacent to the Merchant Taylors Convalescent Home.  There was in fact a small road linking West St. and Crescent Road in this area. At the end of the First World War seaplanes were no longer required in such numbers, and because of a number of cancelled orders the Norman Thompson Seaplane Factory in Middleton on sea, became unnecessary. As a result the hangers became available for purchase.

I recently came across a report of a Mr. Gibbs who reported that he went to look at ‘aeroplane sheds belonging to the Norman Thompson Flight Company, and there was a particular one for sale at £1,000.”  In 1921 the Bognor Urban District Council purchased the largest and had it re-erected at the north of Waterloo Square and this

 was to become the very popular Pavilion. Interestingly around this time the government had required the council to ‘erect a certain type of house, the cheapest possible.”  The council rejected this requirement.  When it was confirmed that the Pavilion was purchased and would be erected on this site, there was great opposition to its proposed site.

In the Observer & West Sussex Recorder, April 1923, there is a detailed description of the ‘new’ pavilion by Oswald A. Bridges, the Engineer & Surveyor of the Bognor Urban district Council, in which he recalls that “Bognor is one of the few towns which have benefited by the purchase and adaptation of buildings used in the Great War.”  The Council had originally considered having a Pavilion in the town in 1914, on newly purchased property near the Rock Buildings.

The 1923 newspaper report told that the building measured 173 feet in width and 142 feet in length and contained 23,900 feet of floor space.  It could seat 3,500 people in comfort and had a ballroom for 1,500 people with the best dance floor in the South of England.  From conversations I have had with local people, it would also appear that when the dances were at their height, the majority of Bognor residents met their partners there – where do they go now? 

The Pavilion was to be host to all the entertainment events in the town during the 1930s and included all the popular stars of the time such as, Gracie Fields, Paul Robeson, Max Miller and the Western Brothers. 

It was such a popular venue that in addition to concerts, exhibitions and most other town events were also staged there.  Many of the artists who visited stayed across the road at The Gables Hotel.

The Pavilion catered for many people with a sports interest, even throughout the winter providing indoor bowls, and badminton. Many people have memories of the Pavilion, including one lady who in 1980 wrote a poem about it, which included a memory that ‘Inside the ceiling was hung with looped silk and the great dance floor was polished like glass.’  Her poem describes the Council meetings, choral events, stage shows and boxing in addition to the gala nights.

‘Views of the Pavilion” was one of the most popular postcards sent from the town and one such sent in August 1928 remarked, “The Pavilion here has the best dance floor in the south.  The interior is very artistically decorated.  I am sure you would like a hop around it.” I am sure they did!  However by 1946 there were reports in the local paper talking of the Pavilion as a ‘white elephant.’ This was costing the rate payers too much money.

The Pavilion continued to be very popular, especially with their party catering, until 1948 when disaster struck. On July 12th a fire started in the base of one of the towers, and it spread to the right hand side of the roof before the fire brigade managed to get it under control.  The town’s people, who could not believe what was happening, watched in amazement. One 15 year old young man who had returned from his school in Chichester by train, recalled seeing the black smoke whilst they waited for their train in Barnham, wrote in his diary, “at 4 o’clock the Bognor Pavilion caught fire, after school I went to watch it.  Terrific lot of flames.  Hundreds of people watching.  I helped to clear things away from the Pavilion.  Firemen got it under control about 5.30 p.m.” For the next 16 months there were many discussions with the Council on the future of the Pavilion including a reconstruction scheme costing in the region of £76,000. However none of the plans came to fruition and eventually it was sold, prior to its demolition in 1949.

However it is not only The Pavilion that evoked so many memories, there were other features around this area, namely the boating pool in the shape of England and Wales.  The Marchioness of Cambridge had first visited the town in 1929 and eventually bought a property in Craigweil.  She was accompanied by her daugher Lady Mary Cambridge when she opened this new pool on April 12th 1937. The first model yacht to be launched was named “Lady Mary.” The pool was to be named the ‘Princess Elizabeth Boating Pool,’ and was to be enjoyed by children for many years.

The pool in the shape of England and Wales was actually a Council Enterprise to celebrate King George VI’s Coronation and the Marchioness planted a maple tree to commemorate this event.  Even in 1937 there was apparently vandalisum as the first tree was destroyed by children and had to be replaced, however this was also to succumb to childhood pranks. Ultimately another tree was planted by Mr. Seymour whose premises overlooked the pool and he felt he was able to keep an eye on his tree, which survived until 1962 when Crescent Road was widened.

By the 1970s the pool had been neglected by all the boys with their boats, and it was soon to become the resting place for rubbish, however the Council completely renovated the pool and it was used from the summer of 1979 this time mainly by children who used to paddle there, but finally boats left and shopping trollies replaced them. The pool, which had contained 31,400 gallons of water, was to be closed and replaced by a car park.  Thus taking away children’s enjoyment of the water, and also the ability to race around the map of England, looking at the names of seaside resorts captured in small coloured tiles.

Another feature within the Pavilion Gardens in the northwest corner was a sunken garden, where a fountain played into a lily pond. This had been formed in the mid 1930s when two 18th century terraces, which faced the Salvation Army Hall, were demolished and the area became part of the Pavilion Gardens.   Above this was a rustic bridge, and it was often written that this was a “beautiful area and a joy just to be able to sit.”

Regretfully by the 1960s there was only a broken base to the original fountain to be viewed; no water; no flowers and no rustic bridge, just a derelict site.  A new playground was to be set elsewhere in the Pavilion gardens, which was opened in July 1966 by Mr. Frank Phillips, a former Councillor who was Chairman of the Park Committee.  The Bognor Regis Council’s Park Committee had been responsible for this playground being built and maintained.  After the opening ceremony Mr. Phillips inspected the nearby, almost derelict, sunken garden with a view to converting the former lily pond into a children’ paddling pool. Sadly this never occurred. In addition there was also a smaller yachting pool, around a roof seating area in the southwest corner of the Pavilion grounds.
In addition to the above, there was also a refreshment area and very pleasant restaurant, which was attached to the side of the Pavilion and was much frequented by town people and holidaymakers alike.  I was not in the town when all the facilities were available, but am bowled over by the amount of memories that are always evoked 57 years later, by the mention of the name – The Pavilion.

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