Vast space of the Brighton Corn Exchange

I have been photographing the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange redevelopment over the past few months. The Corn Exchange is a magnificent former riding house built for King George IV around 1805, when he was still the Prince of Wales. The room is 178 by 58 feet with a 34-foot high unsupported roof. I am listing these statistics because it can be hard to perceive quite how large this space is. To get an idea, if you search this photo carefully you might be able to spot the single tiny workman in the distance.

On my most recent visit I was taken onto the roof by way of the southern end of the building. As I climbed up each level of scaffolding, I attempted to photograph through very dusty old windows. I could see the spectacular view in front of me but I couldn’t get the shot. Finally, at the top of the central arched window I found a single broken pane of glass in the very middle of the building. This allowed me to get a clear shot of the entire room just below ceiling height. You can find more photographs from this project here.