If it wasn’t for the Royal Pavilion, the Dome would be the dominant building in the centre of Brighton. But if it wasn’t for the Pavilion, the Dome wouldn’t be there at all.

It was built in 1806 as stables for the Pavilion and was at the time one of the largest domes in the world.

At its peak during the reign of William IV it was used by 44 horses. The designer, William Porden, took as his inspiration the Corn Market in Paris.

When the Royal Pavilion estate was sold to the town in 1851, the Dome was converted into a concert hall by Philip Lockwood, the borough surveyor, who also designed the terraces at Madeira Drive,

The chief feature internally was an enormous gas chandelier suspended from the ceiling which had 1,300 jets.

There was a further redesign in 1934 when Robert Atkinson gave the hall a distinctly Art Deco feel. Atkinson was also responsible for the Regent cinema in Queen’s Road.

Sixty years later the Dome was refitted again. This time space formerly used as part of the neighbouring museum was added to provide a proper bar and meeting place.

The Dome has for many years been the main venue in Brighton for concerts and the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra has been based there for most of its life.

Many world famous musicians have performed there including Daniel Barenboim and Jacqueline Du Pre while Sir Thomas Beecham heads a list of great conductors.

The Dome was probably seen by more people on one night than ever before in 1974 when theEurovision Song Contest was staged there. The winning song was Waterloo byAbba.

Hundreds of well-known pop stars and comedians have appeared at the venue over the years ranging from Frankie Howerd to Leonard Cohen. It has also been used for pantomimes and summer shows.

For many years after the Second World War the weekly variety show Tuesday at the Dome took place there and it broke records for longevity.

The stair turn was organist Douglas Reeve who later look over as manager for the owners, Brighton Council.

Election results were declared from the Dome giving a touch of theatre to the proceedings with as many as 1,000 people in the audience. Brighton used to have annual council elections and the general elections sometimes kept party supporters up all night.

The biggest names in entertainment now tend to perform at the Brighton Centre which has more than twice as many seats but the acoustics there are not good enough for classical music.

Political meetings and conferences also used to be held at the Dome but they too have moved to the centre. Winston Churchill was made a freeman of Brighton at a ceremony in 1947.

The Dome is now run by the Brighton Festival and has flourished under the new management. It is remarkably well used throughout the year.

It is hard to imagine the horses there now and one regret about the remodelling of the interior is that the full extent of Porden’s magnificent dome cannot be seen.