In the run up to our Pleasure Garden Ball event at the Museum of London on Tuesday 14 February, we’ve put together a quick blog post that should tell you everything you need to know about the pleasure garden!
As London became more built up in the 17th and 18th centuries, Londoners began to need open spaces to relax in. Pleasure gardens were built at the edge of the city and were privately run. The most famous were the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
![Vauxhall, 1785 by Thomas Rowlandson]( "Vauxhall, 1785 by Thomas Rowlandson")
Vauxhall, 1785 by Thomas Rowlandson
Vauxhall Gardens opened to visitors in 1661 under the name ‘New Spring Gardens’. As well as providing an opportunity to parade the latest styles, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens provided ‘fresh air’ for its visitors. Breathing fresh air and taking gentle exercise were thought to maintain good health, a matter that was a concern for all classes at that time. Visitors could combine this health trip with meeting friends and family, seeing well-known society figures or maybe even a meeting with a secret admirer.
Pleasure gardens competed for visitors, vying with each other to offer evermore exciting entertainments. Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens offered a wide variety of entertainment, including lion-tamers, trampoline clowns, fortune tellers, ventriloquists, monkeys, dogs, jugglers, horses who danced to a waltz and fire walkers.
![Tournaire's Equestrians, Vauxhall Gardens; 1846]( "Tournaire's Equestrians, Vauxhall Gardens, 1846")
Tournaire's Equestrians, Vauxhall Gardens, 1846
Despite their appearance, not everything was perfect in the gardens. Visitors often included both the highest in society, such as members of the royal family, as well as pickpockets and prostitutes. Women had to be careful of ‘overly-friendly’ men and watchmen were employed to try to stop the pickpockets. Samuel Pepys wrote in 1667 that there were ‘…young gallants misbehaving, breaching supper boxes uninvited and insulting the ladies’.
![Costumes from the Museum of London’s pleasure gardens]( "Costumes from the Museum of London’s pleasure gardens")
Costumes from the Museum of London’s pleasure gardens
The development of the railways in the 1840s allowed Londoners to travel further to enjoy the fresh air of the countryside and seaside and by 1859 other gardens, such as
Cremorne, had become more fashionable than Vauxhall. Attendance dwindled at the almost 200 year old venue and on Monday 26 July 1859 the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens closed for good.
Indulge in the delights of the pleasure garden this Valentine’s Day at the Museum of London!
![The Museum of London’s pleasure gardens]( "The Museum of London’s pleasure gardens")
The Museum of London’s pleasure gardens
Pleasure garden ball
Tue 14 Feb, 6.45-9.45pm
Book in advance £6 (concs £5)
Enjoy a night of dancing, drinking and decadence as we recreate Georgian London’s quintessential pastime – the pleasure garden. Learn to dance with an 18th century girl band, watch risqué poetry and theatrical performances, discover dandy fashion, then design and wear your own alluring masquerade mask. Costumes are encouraged but not required!
In partnership with Write Queer London and The Mask of Joy
