De La Warr Pavilion

The De La Warr Pavilion stands on Bexhill’s seafront in East Sussex, a grade I listed Modernist building of concrete and steel. Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff designed it in 1935 as the first UK public structure in the International Style. A welded steel frame and vast metal-framed windows give the pavilion its streamlined look. The Duke and Duchess of York opened it in December 1935, just months before war broke out across the Channel. During the Second World War the building served the military, and the comedian Spike Milligan worked here. A later council era saw car-boot sales inside and the loss of original signage before restoration began. The pavilion’s 2005 reopening created one of the south coast’s largest contemporary art galleries. Historic England restored the original design while adapting it for modern use. A £6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council of England funded the work. Playwright David Hare proposed turning it into an arts centre rather than allowing private redevelopment. The De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust now manages the site, supported by figures such as Antony Gormley and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Visitors find galleries, terraces and a restaurant inside the light-filled building. The wide windows frame views over the English Channel and the promenade. The restored interiors reveal original details alongside new art displays. A small bandstand once stood near the entrance until Storm Eunice destroyed it in 2022. The pavilion’s clean lines and open spaces still echo the architects’ holiday-resort vision from the 1930s.