The Pepper Pot, also known as the Pepperpot, originally called the Pepper Box and sometimes called The Tower, is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the Queen's Park area of the English city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

. It was designed and built in 1830 by architect

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...

in the grounds of a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

, which was built for the owner of Queen's Park. It survived the villa's demolition and is now one of its only surviving remnants. Its original purpose is unknown, but several possible explanations have been given for its construction. It has had a wide variety of uses in the 20th century, and is now owned by

Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...

, protected as a Grade II

History

Queen's Park was designed and laid out in 1824 in the east of Brighton, which had developed as a fashionable resort over the previous century as it developed a reputation as a healthy

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

patronised by the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

, other members of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

and

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

in general. In 1825, Thomas Attree—a property owner and developer in this part of Brighton—bought the park (at that stage known as Brighton Park) from its first owner, and employed architect

to design a villa for him on the edge of the park. The Attree Villa, as it became known, stood in substantial grounds north of the park and was one of the earliest

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

buildings in England. Barry designed the square building in the

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

style; it was intended to be one of several around the park, but no more were built. Between 1909 and 1966 it was a Xaverian Roman Catholic college, but it fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1972 despite being a Grade II* listed building. Few structural elements of the villa remain, but the Pepper Pot—which originally stood in the western part of the grounds—remains intact. It was built at the same time as the villa, but its original function is uncertain: theories include a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

for the villa, a

vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

for the network of large

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

sewers beneath Brighton, an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

or even a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

. Research in 2011, based on a record in the ''Arcana of Science and Art'' (published in 1836), suggested that the tower stood above a well and housed a steam engine which drew the water out. Its name was given in the ''Arcana'' as "Belvedere Tower." Its present name, which has historically been used locally and has now been adopted more generally, makes reference to its shape. Since it passed out of Attree's ownership, the structure has had a remarkable variety of uses. George Duddell bought Attree's

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

in 1863, and used the Pepper Pot to print and publish his local newspaper, the ''Brighton Daily Mail''. Three years later, it (along with the park, the villa and all associated buildings) had passed to the Brighton Corporation, the municipal forerunner of the present city council. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the military used the structure as an observation post. Later uses included the headquarters of a

Scout troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted i ...

, an artist's studio and—after an extension was built in the base in the 1960s—a public toilet. The Pepper Pot was designated a Grade II listed building on 13 October 1952.

Architecture

The Pepper Pot is a ten-sided, cylindrical structure, tall and standing on an octagonal base. It is topped by a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

and a green metal urn. There are 11

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

around the exterior. The tower rises in four stages. The lowest is the octagonal

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

which was extended to the north in the 1960s when toilets were installed. The short second stage is circular; its upper boundary is defined by a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. The columns extend all the way up the third stage; at the top of this section, between each column, is a small window. An

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and

rest on top of the column and marks the division with the uppermost stage, which has 11

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s directly above the columns. Another entablature sits between the pilasters and the circular cupola. The design is based on the

Choragic Monument of Lysicrates The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the ''Choregos (ancient Greece), choregos'' Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus, to commemorate the prize in the dithyram ...

in Athens, which was widely copied by British

neoclassical architects Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...

. The main building material was said to be cement by English Heritage in its listing description, but research undertaken during the 2011 restoration work discovered that the core of the Pepper Pot is made of a pioneering type of concrete known as "Ranger's Artificial Stone" or "Ranger's Lime Concrete"—making it one of the oldest buildings in England to use this material. William Ranger, a builder from the nearby village of

Ringmer Ringmer is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. The vi ...

, invented this in the early 19th century.

Restoration plans

The Friends of the Pepperpot group was formed in January 2010 to promote the conservation of the Pepperpot and try to get it back into use. In May 2011, Brighton and Hove City Council undertook a £50,000 restoration of the exterior. In the same month, the Friends of the Pepperpot announced that three new uses were being considered for the building—conversion into a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

, a community centre or a café—and that they were in negotiations with the city council about the possibility of taking over the ownership of the building. In September 2011, it was stated that more structural work was needed and that the final cost could be £100,000, or even more if the interior was restored. Heritage bodies such as

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, The Georgian Group, The Regency Society and The

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

consulted with the Friends of the Pepperpot and the city council to decide what should happen.

References

Notes

Bibliography