DLWP Model
The original model for DLWP recently returned to Bexhill from the Architecture Galleries at the V&A as part of the refurbishment of Bexhill Museum. Julian Porter, the Museum’s Curator tells us a little about it...
The De La Warr Pavilion Model
One of the star exhibits at Bexhill Museum is the original architect’s model of the De La Warr Pavilion. It is extremely rare for an original model of an International Modernist style building to survive and it is particular significant because the Pavilion is such an important example.
The model was made in 1934 and exhibited in Bexhill so that residents and visitors could see what their new entertainment pavilion was going to look like. It was on show at the Cooden Beach Hotel when King George V and Queen Mary visited the 9th Earl De La Warr at the start of 1935 and they were so impressed by it that they asked for an unofficial tour of the building site.
The model is also important because it shows the full extent of the proposed scheme, including a modern statue by Sir Frank Dobson, circular swimming pool within a modernist replacement for the Colonnade, a two level pergola which linked this to the Pavilion and a multilevel mini-pier with diving boards. It is also interesting to see the use of colour on the model as certain features are picked out in red, yellow and blue.
Within the museums collection are three alternative sea front sections for the model, an amphitheatre, a stepped terrace and a modest landscaping proposal. Although there is no documentation to explain their significance it seems likely that they were made in an attempt to bring the development back on budget as the scheme had run over by about £10,000. The saving was made by dropping the seafront redevelopment altogether which is why the 1911 Colonnade survives to the present day.
Learn more about the De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill Museum.
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