32 CONTEXT 184 : JUNE 2025 EDWARD LEWIS and OLIVIA STITSON Replacing Brighton Museum’s roof lantern With a design from the 1870s no longer suitable in an age of climate change, it was decided to replace the museum’s time-expired rooflight with an insulated solid roof. Brighton and Hove Museums is re-roofing its 20th Century Gallery in a project led by Donald Insall Associates (DIA). The replacement of the rooflight with an insulated solid roof and redesigned rainwater drainage is currently under construction. The project will reduce operational carbon emissions and maintenance costs while supporting a stable environment for the museum collection, and significantly improve climate resilience. DIA has challenged the like-for-like approach often applied to historic buildings and has instead, demonstrated that historic buildings need to continually evolve as they always have. The Grade II* listed Brighton Museum is set within the grounds of the Grade I-listed Royal Pavilion and Gardens. The museum building was formerly the pavilion’s stables, built between 1803 and 1805 for the Prince of Wales (later George IV) in a style almost as extravagant as the pavilion itself. With time, and the pavilion’s fall from royal use, Queen Victoria eventually sold the stables and pavilion to the town in 1850. Debate ensued as to the buildings’ future use. The west half became a performing arts venue now known as Brighton Dome, and in 1873 the east portion, known as the Adelaide Stables, was converted into Brighton Museum to designs by Philip Lockwood, the Brighton Corporation surveyor. It is one of the earliest purpose-built public museums in the country. Lockwood roofed over the stables’ main courtyard; his design featured a patent glazed roof lantern and slate roofing, with cast-iron and lead gutters, protecting the building from the elements. Below this, the ceiling is dominated by a separate coffered oak-and-glass laylight with cast-iron grilles to its perimeter, surrounded by lath-and-plaster barrel vaulting which meets the masonry walls. The design makes for a beautiful composition, creating a long, top-lit, double-height exhibition space with first floor galleries at each end. Known as the museum’s 20th Century Gallery, its An aerial view of the lantern before renovation works. (Photo: Donald Insall Associates) An interior view of the lantern with the laylight below (Photo: Donald Insall Associates)
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