ABSTRACT
In the early 1750s, Dr Richard Russell (originally a resident of Lewes, some 8 miles from Brighton) opened a practice at Brighthelmstone (as Brighton was then known) to advance his sea water treatments. On the basis of his book on sea water cures, Russell had acquired a reputation of sufficient standing to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1752, and people of wealth from all over England were attracted to his practice. Amongst these patrons were several lesser members of the royal family, including two of King George III’s brothers, the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland, the latter of whom became a frequent visitor after 1771. The presence in the town of people of influence drew other members of fashionable society and ensured that by the time of the first visit of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) in 1783, many of the trappings of a fashionable spa were already in place, including an assembly rooms presided over by a Master of Ceremonies. The Prince of Wales continued to make annual visits to Brighton until three years before his death in 1830 and, as his stays might last anything up to three months, he arranged for the construction of the Brighton Pavilion as a summer residence. This famous building was started in 1787 although not completed until 1820.
