HOLLAND, HENRY

born July 20, 1745 died June 17, 1806, London, Eng. English architect perhaps best known for building the original Marine Pavilion (178687) at Brighton, Sussex, for the prince regent, later King George IV. His elegant, simple Neoclassicism contrasted with the more lavish Neoclassical style of his great contemporary Robert Adam. Beginning as an assistant, Holland later became the partner and son-in-law of the landscape architect Lancelot (Capability) Brown. Among his works in London were Brooks's Club (177678) and two major remodelings, neither presently extant: Carlton House (from 1783; demolished 1826), town residence of the prince of Wales, and the Theatre Royal, also known as the Drury Lane Theatre (179194; burned 1809), commissioned by the dramatist and impresario Richard Brinsley Sheridan. At Brighton, Holland built an addition to an existing villa owned by the prince, connecting the two sections with a rotunda having a low dome and two wings of two stories each. This building, now called the Royal Pavilion, was rendered unrecognizable by William Porden's addition (180408) and John Nash's remodeling (1815c. 1822), both in what was called a Hindoo (South Asian) style (actually derived from Islamic architecture in India).