 A prospect of Vauxhall Gardens in 1751. 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. St. ...
Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity...
Kennington is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth. ...
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. John Evelyn (October 31, 1620 - February 27, 1706) was an English writer, gardener and diarist. ...
His Royal Highness The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis) (February 1, 1707 - March 31, 1751) was the only man of that name ever to hold the title Prince of Wales, and is best remembered as the father of King George III of the United Kingdom and as the...
// West End, see West End (disambiguation). ...
Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with a glimpse of Westminster Abbey behind the tower of Big Ben. ...
The Fireworks Music (also known as Music for the Royal Fireworks) was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the celebration fireworks occasion in Londons Green Park on 27 April 1749. ...
Sophia Baddeley (1745 - 1786), English actress and singer, was born in London, the daughter of a sergeant-trumpeter named Snow. ...
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 accomodated 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. Thomas Rowlandson (July 1756 - April 22, 1827) was an English caricaturist. ...
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (June 7, 1757 - March 30, 1806), born Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and mother of William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. ...
Samuel Johnson circa 1772, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. ...
James Boswell James Boswell (October 29, 1740 - May 19, 1795) was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...
The shilling (or informally: bob) was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ...
The Battle of Vitoria was fought on June 21, 1813 during the British, Portuguese and Spanish troops, with 96 guns, under The Duke of Wellington, and 58,000 French with 153 guns under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jourdan. ...
Map of the Waterloo campaign The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonapartes last battle. ...
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.
See also
External link - A selection of poems inspired by Vauxhall Gardens
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