PLEASUREGARDENS
PLEASURE GARDENS
See Also: ENTERTAINMENT, DISAPPEARED; LIGHTING Pleasure Gardens; GARDENS & PLANTS; MUSIC VENUES, DISAPPEARED; NIGHTCLUBS, DISAPPEARED; PARKS; RAILWAY STATIONS Vauxhall Railway Station; VISITOR ATTRACTIONS, DISAPPEARED; MENU
Belsize House
In 1720
Belsize House on the lower reaches of Hampstead Hill changed from being a
private residence into being a pleasure garden.
In June 1721 the Prince and Princess of Wales enjoyed its diversions and
dined there.
In 1721
James the Welsh Ambassador Howell, the proprietor of Belsize pleasure garden,
gave a plate that was worth several guineas to the winner of a race that was
run in its grounds by eleven footmen.
Other foot races, both running and walking, were held there.
In May
1722 the Middlesex bench of magistrates took actions that sought to counter the
illegal gambling that had been taking place at Belsize House.
Location:
Close to Peter's Church, Belsize Square, NW3 4HJ. Belsize Avenue was laid along the site of an
avenue of elms that led to it.
Cremorne Gardens
Chelsea
Farm was the home of Theophilus Hastings the 9th Earl of Huntingdon
(1696-1746). Subsequently, the property
was acquired Thomas Dawson 1st Viscount Cremorne (1725-1813). It became known as Cremorne House.
In 1832
the property was opened by Charles Random de Berenger as the Cremorne Stadium,
which sought to promote a range of physical exercises. The venture did not prove to be a success. In the 1840s the twelve-acre site was
reopened as a pleasure garden. It
attracted a daytime clientele.
In 1877
Cremorne Gardens was sold to property developers.
The
site of the Cremorne Gardens came to be largely occupied by the Lots Road Power
Station.
Location:
Lots Road, SW10 0SW (red, blue)
Marylebone
Grotto
Passage in Marylebone commemorates a pleasure garden that was in Marylebone.
Location:
Grotto Passage, W1U 4JZ (blue, turquoise)
Ranelagh Gardens
During
the 1670s the 1st Earl Ranelagh manipulated the Irish government s
finances to generate funds for the cash hungry King Charles II. In 1685 the monarch's brother and successor,
King James II, appointed the peer as the Paymaster-General of the English
Forces. This was an office that enabled
the earl to treat the Army's pay-roll as his own personal property just so long
as he eventually paid out what he was legally obligated to. The following year Ranelagh was appointed as
the Treasurer of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea. James was deposed by the Revolution of
1688. The earl succeeded in ingratiating
himself with the new regime and retained his post as Paymaster-General. In 1690 he leased seven acres to the east of
the Hospital's grounds. On this he
planned to build a country house. Three
years later he leased a further fifteen acres.
In 1702
Queen Anne succeeded to the throne.
Ranelagh was again continued as Paymaster-General. However, as a result of his being caught in
the cross-fire of a spat between some politicians, attention was drawn to his
repeated failure to deliver a set of accounts for his office. His possession of his position became
increasingly untenable. At the end of
the year, he resigned. Despite
continuing to enjoy the goodwill of the crown, he experienced (relative)
financial hardship during his final years.
In 1741
Ranelagh House and its grounds were bought by a consortium, the members of
which included James Lacy, who was the patentee of Drury Lane Theatre. The following year the group opened on the
site Ranelagh Gardens, a pleasure gardens.
Its centre-piece was a large rotunda in which concerts and other
entertainments were mounted. Ranelagh
became London's the most fashionable pleasure ground.
In 1764
the eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert at Ranelagh Gardens.
In 1803
Ranelagh Gardens closed. The rotunda was
demolished. During the 19th
and 20thCs The Ranelagh name continued to associated with a number
of leisure ventures and sporting clubs
Location:
Chelsea Bridge Road, SW3 4SR (purple, red)
7 St
James's Square, SW1Y 4JU. The townhouse of Earl Ranelagh. (purple,
orange)
See
Also: THE ARMY
The Royal Hospital Chelsea
Website:
www.ranelagh-harriers.com www.ranelagh-sc.co.uk
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
The
Spring Gardens pleasure gardens opened in Vauxhall in 1661. With time the Gardens had fallen into both
disrepair and disrepute. In 1728 the
entrepreneur Jonathan Tyers bought the site's lease. He renamed the venue Vauxhall Pleasure
Gardens and turned it into a fashionable place of diverse entertainments. In order to draw and to retain public attention,
he commissioned numerous original musical compositions and works of art, from
the likes of Thomas Arne and William Hogarth.
Vauxhall
attracted an evening clientele.
Location:
Vauxhall
Walk, SE11 5EL. The road runs along what was the northern
side of the site. St Oswald's Place,
Kennington Lane, and Goding Street stand on the other sides. (red, pink)
See
Also: WILLIAM HOGARTH
Website:
www.vauxhallgardens.com
European
Vauxhalls
In 1770
Michael Maddocks appeared at The Haymarket Theatre as a type rope
walker. He went on to found a Vauxhall
Gardens in Moscow.
See
Also: RAILWAY STATIONS Vauxhall Railway Station
David
Backhouse 2024