The North Gatehouse And Attached Walls Piers And Railings

The North Gatehouse and attached walls, piers, and railings were built around 1774 and significantly redecorated and extended in 1832. The building is constructed of stucco, with brick in Flemish bond to the single-storey north porch, flint with brick dressings, and a tile roof. It was designed in an exotic Asian style to complement the North Gate and Royal Pavilion.

The main east-facing elevation features three storeys and two dormers over a basement, with a single-storey porch extension to Church Street. The central ogival-arched entrance is set within an aedicule that echoes the design of the nearby gateway, displaying octagonal corner pilasters, pinnacles, and a lotus parapet. Flanking the entrance are full-height canted bays with tripartite windows; the ground and first-floor windows are flat arched, while the others are ogival arched. Orientalizing patterns define the cornice and sill bands on the bay windows. The left return has only one ground-floor window, with the remainder of the elevation covered in two stages of blind ogival arches and corner pilasters. The return to Church Street is similarly decorated with blind ogival arches, featuring two ogival-arched windows to the first floor.

The single-storey porch on Church Street has an ogival-arched entrance with decorative overlighting, octagonal corner piers topped with minaret-like forms, a cornice band, and a lotus parapet. A single-storey wing with a lotus parapet connects the Gatehouse to the Art Museum and Library. Along Church Street, the wall features flint pebbles and brick lacing courses, stone coping, and brick quoin strips. A pair of octagonal stone piers frame an alleyway walkway between the Gatehouse and the main gate.

Originally built as part of a terrace of ten units called the Marlborough, numbers 1-4 were demolished in 1820, numbers 5-7 in 1821, and number 9 (owned by a blacksmith) when Church Street was widened. In 1830, William IV gifted the Gatehouse to his sister, Princess Augusta, who subsequently had it redecorated. Since 1930, it has served as offices for the Royal Pavilion, Museum, Art Gallery, and Library. The building forms an important component of the group value context alongside the Royal Pavilion.