The Colonnade

The Colonnade is a shopping arcade located on Madeira Drive in Brighton, built between 1927 and 1929. It was designed by borough engineer David Edwards as part of the expansion of The Aquarium. The structure is made of artificial stone.

The exterior features a single-storey colonnade with 25 bays, all of the same width except for the first, fifth, twenty-first, and twenty-fifth bays, which are wider and project slightly forward. These broader bays are highlighted by a Tuscan distyle-in-antis portico, enhancing the overall design. The remaining vertical supports consist of plain Tuscan columns. A continuous entablature with a projecting cornice runs along the top, above which is a balustrade that encloses a raised walkway. This walkway connects the roof terrace of The Aquarium with the Covered Walk on Madeira Drive.

The shop fronts along Madeira Drive are relatively simple, framed mainly by the shallow responds of the Tuscan colonnade. Between the eleventh and fourteenth bays, there are public conveniences, which are distinguished by Tuscan pilasters flanking a flat-arched entrance.

Also included in this listing is a shelter on the roof, built at the same time as the colonnade. This shelter features six thin cast-iron colonnettes supporting a concave metal roof that meets the concrete embankment of Marine Parade. A nearby plaque indicates that this shelter is located very close to the original Chain Pier, which was constructed in 1823 and destroyed by a storm in 1896.