The Royal Pavilion Shop

The Royal Pavilion has all your usual gift shop memorabilia… or does it?! I bought a giant porcelain pineapple drink dispenser here which became the focal point of many a punch party. Museum shops always get me, there always seems to be something completely strange and implacable that screams ‘Get me, your whole reputation depends on it, why wouldn’t everyone want a wax sealed letter from you and isn’t a pencil sharpener that sings what everyone wants in for Christmas’. This particular place specializes in Orientalist stuff and things like period costume dolls.

The Royal Pavilion Shop is adjoined to the tourist information rooms that sit between it, and the Pavilion itself. This is a not too subtle move to try and get visitors to spend they’re pounds and pence on holiday goods to remember what a grand place Brighton is. For those of us living in Brighton then, its not exactly the local hangout, as we get a good helping of Brighton everyday… But even then, there are a few quirky ornaments and snacks that may make for fun birthday treats for friends and family, or for yourself if you suddenly find yourself in need of a calendar.
Its actually a surprisingly pleasant store to look around, as everything is organised and laid out to give a comforting sense. There’s no higgledy piggledy feel despite the presence of Tea and jewellery boxes alongside dragons and history books. Its certainly geared towards the older shopper, with focuses on gardening much more likely than the latest crappy «Indie» music… But this is a fact to embrace! So if you are visiting, pop down, and if you’ve lived here but never been, if only to see how Brighton represents itself, its an interesting place to swing by.

You need not enter the actual Royal Pavilion museum, in order to get into the shop (funny that eh… turns out they want to sell their knickknacks and stationary to everyone!). The Royal Pavilion is funny shop– there is shelf upon shelf of historical books, posters, tea towels and all manner of other memorabilia celebrating the Pavilion, mixed in with all sorts of Brighton tourist tack… snow globes, sticks of rock, pencils, fudge bars… essentially if you can wrap it in a ribbon that says ‘Brighton’, this shop will have it!
In addition to overpriced tourist merchandise, there is also a good collection of greetings cards, postcards and wrapping paper, as well as posh stationary and even chinaware. There are some really pretty floral tea sets, but be warned, they are quite pricey. As a resident of Brighton, I haven’t found much need for this shop as it is aimed so explicitly at visitors. I have bought a couple of really lovely art deco posters but that’s about it. I have seen a lot of stuff my mum would like though, including some interesting gardening books-there’s probably a few good mum and gran gift ideas in store. And if you’re interested in finding out more about the Pavilion and its Royal history, without paying to get in, this is obviously the place to do it!