It's already a well loved and familiar sight in Brighton - now the Royal Pavilion has been voted one of the nation's favourite icons.

Thousands of people named the extravagant palace one of their top ten architectural structures in the UK in a poll commissioned by Channel 4 and Mercedes-Benz.

It beat landmarks such as Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, Hadrian's Wall and the Albert Dock to make it into the shortlist.

Originally built in 1784, the Royal Pavilion grew over 35 years from a simple farmhouse to a spectacular palace.

It was architect John Nash who used new technology between 1815 and 1823 to transform the Pavilion into the Indian-style building that exists today.

He enlarged the building and added the domes and minarets that characterise his design and give the palace its mythical symbolism.

Since last August, visitors to Channel 4's web site have been asked to select their favourite icons out of a list of 100 structures ranging from the ancient to the contemporary.

Durham Cathedral and Hampton Court stood alongside London Zoo and the new Wembley Stadium as examples of the best of UK architecture.

Sussex buildings on the list included the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, Saltdean Lido and the Jubilee library in Brighton, as well as the Royal Pavilion.

The ten architectural structures chosen as the best are a mixture of old and new, including the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Selfridges department store in Birmingham, the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, the London Eye, Battersea Power Station, St Paul's Cathedral and Canary Wharf Underground Station.

Brighton and Hove City Council's culture representative and deputy leader Sue John said: "The reason people love the Pavilion so much is because it is everybody's idea of a fairy tale palace. It is a fantasy of most people's to spend a weekend in surroundings like that."

Juliette Stead, commercial executive of Channel 4 New Media, said: "Architecture should not be elitist and this allowed everyone to take part."