The Colonnade

BRIGHTON

TQ3103NE MADEIRA DRIVE 577-1/47/412 (North side) 08/12/97 The Colonnade

II

Shopping arcade. 1927-1929. Designed by borough engineer David Edwards as part of the corporation's expansion of The Aquarium, Madeira Drive (qv). Artificial stone. EXTERIOR/PLAN: shops set behind a single storey colonnade of 25 bays, all of identical width except for the first, 5th, 21st and 25th bays which are broader than the rest and project slightly forward; these broad bays are defined by a Tuscan distyle-in-antis portico, and their placement serves to accent the termini of what would otherwise be an uninflected composition. The rest of the vertical supports are plain Tuscan columns. There is a continuous entablature with projecting cornice, and above this a balustrade which encloses a raised walkway. This walkway links the roof terrace of the Aquarium with the Covered Walk, Madeira Drive (qv). The shop fronts along Madeira Drive are rather plain, most being framed only by the shallow responds of the Tuscan colonnade; between the 11th and 14th bays of the colonnade, however, can be found the public conveniences, the elevation of which is articulated by Tuscan pilasters flanking a flat-arched entrance. Included in this listing is the shelter to the roof; of the same date as the colonnade, this structure consists of 6 thin, cast-iron colonnettes supporting a concave metal roof which abuts the concrete embankment to Marine Parade. According to a plaque nearby, this shelter stands very nearly on the site of the original Chain Pier, erected in 1823 and destroyed by a storm in 1896.

Listing NGR: TQ3166103849