Ranelagh Gardens

Ranelagh Gardens was a public pleasure garden located in Chelsea, then just outside London, England in the 18th century.

Related Topics:
Chelsea - London - England

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The Ranelagh Gardens were so called because they occupied the site of a house built by Lord Ranelagh in about 1690. In 1741 the house and grounds were purchased by a syndicate led by the proprietor of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and Sir Thomas Robinson MP, and the Gardens opened to the public the following year. Ranelegh was considered more fashionable than its older rival Vauxhall Gardens; the entrance charge was 2 shillings and six pence, compared to a shilling at Vauxhall. Horace Walpole wrote soon after the gardens opened, "It has totally beat Vauxhall... You can't set your foot without treading on a Prince, or Duke of Cumberland."

Related Topics:
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Thomas Robinson - Vauxhall Gardens - Shilling - Horace Walpole

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The centrepiece of Ranelagh was a rococo rotunda with a diameter of 120 feet (37 metres) which was designed by William Jones, a surveyor to the East India Company. The central support housed a chimney and fireplaces for use in winter. In 1765 the nine year old Mozart performed in this showpiece. There was also a Chinese pavilion, which was added in 1750, as well as an ornamental lake and several walks. Ranelegh was a popular venue for romantic assignations. Edward Gibbon wrote that it was, "the most convenient place for courtships of every kind - the best market we have in England."

Related Topics:
Rococo - Rotunda - William Jones - East India Company - Mozart - Edward Gibbon

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The rotunda was closed for in 1803 and demolished two years later. The site is now part of the grounds of Chelsea Hospital.

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