The Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens were located in London on the south bank of the River Thames. The gardens were only accessible by boat until the Vauxhall Bridge was constructed in 1816. Vauxhall Gardens covered 12 acres and was considered one of the largest entertainment venues during Regency England. It’s also the place where my heroine comes face to face with her abductor in Turbulent Beginnings.
Originally the site was a garden with walking paths and flowerbeds. It officially became Vauxhall Gardens in 1785 when admission was charged for its attractions. The price of admittance was one shilling and later rose to three shillings. Season tickets to the gardens were offered for a guinea. Season ticket holders received a metal tag embossed with a mythological scene on one side and the ticket holders name on the other side. Amateur musicians would often perform in the gardens and the gardens were open to all social classes.
Vauxhall Gardens was opened seasonally, usually from May to August. At one time it was open everyday of the week, but the gardens began to close on Sundays in the 1760’s. According to the Microcosm of London (1808-10) Vauxhall was only open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The gardens were lit up by hundreds of variegated glass lanterns hanging from the trees, which added more mystery and a festive flare to the gardens. Concerts were usually held in the daylight and took place around 5pm. Fireworks were often displayed at Vauxhall. The park was filled with picnicking families in the daytime, but once nighttime hit the walks could be dangerous. The gardens were also an ideal place for prostitution and pickpockets. It was not unheard of to witness scandalous behavior occurring in the dark. For well over a century, Vauxhall was the biggest commercial attraction in the country. During the Georgian era the gardens could accommodate more than 60,000 people.
The gardens held a variety of walks, fountains, and stone and thatched pavilions. The architecture was often Roman in design, where colonnades, walls, and the surrounding trees formed a quadrangle. The South Walk held three towering arches made to emit a realistic painting of the Ruins of Palmyra. The Grand Walk was a wide avenue that was 900 feet long and lined with towering elm trees. The distance between the two walks was an area known as the Grove, which housed numerous pavilions with supper boxes. The Dark Paths, one of which was called “Lovers Walk” were dimly lit pathways and known for secret rendezvous and licentious behavior. The paths were graveled and often meandered in a serpentine pattern. There were many structures to admire in the gardens like arches, folly ruins, statues, and a cascade. A canal ran through two elegant cast-iron bridges done in a Chinese motif. The gardens boasted supper boxes, a music room, a Chinese Pavilion, a rococo “Turkish tent” and a gothic orchestra that held 50 musicians.
Food offered in 1817, consisted of thinly sliced ham and two small chickens for 11 shillings. Dessert consisted of tarts, custards, and cheesecakes, which cost another 4 shillings. The gardens were known to serve arrack punch, a type of rum drink.
There were a least five dozen pleasure gardens commercialized by the end of the 18thcentury that were located in and around London. These included Marylebone Gardens (1737) Ranelagh Gardens (1742) and Vauxhall Gardens. Vauxhall Gardens underwent a transformation when it became a more commercialized venue for hot air balloon flights, fireworks, circus performers, and musical bands. The Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens were closed and the structures were demolished in 1859 to make way for housing.
A special thank you to: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/vauxhall-pleasure-gardens, https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/tag/vauxhall-gardens/, https://www.regencyhistory.net/2019/01/vauxhall-gardens-in-regency.html
