Vauxhall Gardens

Vauxhall Gardens was one of the leading venues for public entertainments serving London, England from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century. It was located in Kennington on the south bank of the Thames, which was not part of the built up area of the metropolis until towards the end of the Gardens existence. Vauxhall Gardens was known as New Spring Gardens until 1785 and part of the site is now a small public park called Spring Gardens.

Related Topics:
London - England - Kennington

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The Gardens are believed to have opened just before the Restoration of 1660. They consisted of several acres laid out with walks. Initially admission was free, the proprietors making money by selling food and drink. John Evelyn described it as a "very pretty contrived plantation" in 1661. Popular with all classes of society, the Gardens were a noted venue for romantic assignations in the "dark walks". In 1732 their fashionable status was confirmed by a fancy dress ball attended by Frederick, Prince of Wales. At that time access from the West End was by water, but the opening of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s made access easier. In 1749 a rehearsal of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks attracted an audience of 12,000, and in 1786 a fancy dress jubilee to celebrate the proprietor's long ownership was thronged with 61,000 revellers. Many of the best known musicians and singers of the day performed at the Gardens, for example Sophia Baddeley.

Related Topics:
John Evelyn - Frederick, Prince of Wales - West End - Westminster Bridge - Music for the Royal Fireworks - Sophia Baddeley

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The main walks were lit at night by hundreds of lamps. Over time more features and eyecatchers were added: supper boxes, a music room, a Chinese pavillion, a gothic orchestra that accommodated fifty musicians, and ruins, arches, statues and a cascade. An admission charge was introduced in the 1730s and later James Boswell wrote: "Vauxhall Gardens is peculiarly adapted to the taste of the English nation; there being a mixture of curious show, - gay exhibition, musick, vocal and instrumental, not too refined for the general ear; - for all of which only a shilling is paid." The new name Vauxhall Gardens, long in popular use, was made official in 1785. After Boswell's time the admission charge rose steadily: to 2 shillings in 1792, 3 shillings and 6 pence in the eay 19th century, and 4 shillings and 6 pence in the 1820s. Entertainments in this period included hot air balloon ascents, fireworks, and tightrope walkers. In 1813 there was a fete to celebrate the Battle of Vittoria, and in 1827 the Battle of Waterloo was reenacted by a thousand soldiers.

Related Topics:
James Boswell - Shilling - Battle of Vittoria - Battle of Waterloo

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Vauxhall Gardens passed through several hands. In 1840 the owners went bankrupt and all the Gardens closed. They were revived the following year, and again in 1842 under new management, but in 1859 they closed for good.

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