'Near the south east angle of the palace is a large building of red brick, forming part of Castle Square. This was, originally, the Castle Inn; but, it having been purchased by the Prince Regent, the Ball room was converted into a Chapel for the Royal household, soon after his accession to the Crown. It was consecrated with great solemnity, on the 1st of January, 1822, by the late Dr. John Buckner, Bishop of Chichester, in the presence of the King and his suite, and a numerous congregation. The interior forms a rectangle of eighty feet by forty; the height is about thirty feet. The Royal gallery, which is at the north end, is supported by fluted columns and pilasters, and hung with crimson drapery: it includes three divisions, the central one being for the sovereign, and those to the right and left, for the attendant ladies and gentlemen. At the south end is a large organ gallery, with seats for the household servants. The area is appropriated to a general congregation, but no person is admitted without a ticket: the number of tickets issued is about 400. The chapel is neatly wainscoted; and has two fire places on each side: it communicates with the Palace by a covered passage leading to an apartment adjoining the Banqueting room. The original Chapel Royal was in Prince's Place, North Street, at a short distance westward from the Pavilion; and it is still occupied as a Chapel of ease to Brighton. It was erected in 1793, under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, who deposited the first stone; and contains accommodation for about 1,000 persons.
'The Royal Stables.
'It has already been stated that the Pavilion Stables were erected from the designs of the late William Porden, Esqre, between the years 1803 and 1805. They stand on the northern side of the pleasure grounds, at the distance of about ninety or one hundred yards from the Palace itself, and occupy a part of the site of the Elm, or Promenade Grove, which had, for some years, been used as a place of public recreation, and was purchased by the Prince of Wales, in 1800. Shortly afterwards, the adjoining shrubberies and grounds of Grove House, belonging to the Duke of Marlborough, were also purchased; and, in consequence of those acquisitions, the New Road, connecting North Street with Church Street, was made. The thoroughfare connecting East Street with the North Steyne (which had, previously, run immediately behind the Pavilion) was then closed up, and the intervening space annexed to the demesne.
'The arrangement and construction of this extensive pile are highly honourable to the professional skill of its talented architect, who was the first person in this country that adopted the Oriental style in modern composition; at least, on an enlarged scale. In the boldness of the design, particularly of the dome crowned Rotunda, and in the judicious allocation of the parts, "which" (as was justly remarked by a contemporary writer), "while they produce all the conveniences in the contemplation of his Royal Highness, contribute, equally, to advance the general effect," the architect has been eminently successful; yet, as correct specimens of Oriental composition, neither the Pavilion, nor Stables, will be ever regarded as examples for imitation. The expense of erecting this building was upwards of £70,000.
'The principal entrance to the Royal Stables is from Church Street, and leads through a wide and lofty arch, of the pointed form, into a spacious quadrangular court, containing the coach houses, coach house stabling, and various servants' rooms and offices. Opposite to this, is another archway, conducting to the area of the Rotunda, which is a circle of 249 feet in circumference, surrounded by the stables for the saddle horses, and an open gallery; and the whole of which receives its light through the glazed compartments of the vast cupola by which it is surmounted. From the extent and height of this interior, and the lofty elevation of the four arches which open from it towards the cardinal points, an impressive effect, associated with surprise and admiration, is produced on the mind of every spectator.
'The Dome, or Cupola, which surmounts the Rotunda, combines strength and lightness in an extraordinary degree. Although upwards of eighty feet diameter in the clear, its thickness is only twelve inches at the bottom, and nine inches at the top. It is constructed on the same principle as was the celebrated Cupola of the Halle au Blé at Paris, and it was the first example of that mode of construction, in this country, upon a large scale. The main ribs, which are twenty-four in number, are twelve inches by nine inches at the bottom, diminishing to nine inches square at the top; they are each constructed of three thicknesses of fir planks, in lengths of nine feet, breaking joint, and firmly bolted together, every three feet; the whole planed smooth, and the heading joints fitted together with the greatest accuracy. Of the space between the ribs, by far the largest proportion is divided into sixteen glazed compartments, spreading fan wise, which diffuse an abundant light throughout the Rotunda. The remaining eight compartments are embellished with panels in stucco work, instead of glass, which adds variety, without destroying the symmetry, and relieves the eye from the repulsive glare that a skylight of that magnitude must, otherwise, produce. In the middle of the Cupola is a circular opening, surmounted by a lantern, which forms a ventilator for the Rotunda and Stabling, and is wrought, exteriorly, in the form of a coronet. Where not interrupted by the skylights, the ribs are connected by horizontal purlins, and further strengthened by iron chains surrounding the whole contour. The curvilinear plate, or curb, at the springing of the dome, measures twelve inches by nine inches, and that at the top, nine inches by nine; both are constructed in thicknesses in the same manner as the ribs above described.
'The great arches on the east and west of the Rotunda lead to the Riding House, and to a new wing of stablings, erected in 1832, for Queen Adelaide, on the site of what had been intended for a Tennis Court. They, also, contain the staircases connected with the gallery, around which are the Harness and Saddle rooms, and numerous apartments for the grooms and other servants. The southern arch opens to the pleasure grounds, and the view through the arches, from the entrance gateway, across the Rotunda, is singularly striking. The stables, surrounding the area, forty-four in number, are so arranged that, when the doors are open, a spectator, standing under the central part of the Cupola, may see into every stall, without changing his situation. The fronts of the stables, and the arcades of the surmounting gallery, are finished in a corresponding manner to the dome, and this gives an harmonious character to the whole interior.
'It has been frequently stated that the ventilation of the Royal stables, though aided by extensive archways connected with the Rotunda, was inadequate to disperse the heat attracted, and retained, by the glass and lead work covering the dome; and, that the health of all horses kept there for any length of time was much injured in consequence. These assertions, however, are contrary to facts; the writer having been recently assured by the chief groom, who has held his situation many years, that no stabling in the kingdom can be more healthful, nor better adapted for its purpose than this.
'The Riding House, which is to the west of the Rotunda, is a very capacious building; its length being 176 feet, its width 58 feet 6 inches, and its height 34 feet, in the clear. It is covered with a roof of a peculiar construction, differing, probably, from every other example. For the purpose of gaining as much height as possible, this roof was constructed without the beams, the main timbers, of twelve inches by nine inches scantling, being built in the form of an arch, of forty-seven feet six inches radius, in three thicknesses of fir plank; precisely in the same manner as the ribs of the dome, above described. These curvilinear beams rest on plates of fir, and are further strengthened by curvilinear oak struts, of ten feet three inches radius, forming the ceiling into an elliptical arch 58 ft. 6 in. in the span (as before stated), and of 15 feet rise; with groins 15 ft. 4 in. wide over each of the five windows on the west front, and corresponding groins on the east side. Over the arched beams are principal rafters, framed at the top with a king post, in the usual manner; and, at the bottom, forming tangents with the beams, and connected with them by keys and iron straps. The main trusses of the roof are 18 ft. 5 in. apart over the windows, and 6 ft. 9 in. over the piers, measuring from centre to centre; and the number of main beams is eighteen, or three over each pier.'