The Orchestra and Organ buildings in 1751, with fashionable visitors listening to the music
For all of the details below, and for the illustations, I am indebted to David Coke, the author of Vauxhall Gardens – a splendid book about the pleasure gardens that is sadly now out of print. However, all is not lost as he runs a fascinating website where, under Brief History, you will find a much more detailed account than that below. If you are at all interested I would really recommend you spend 15 minutes reading it.
For the programme on April 8th and to book – go here.
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, originally known as The New Spring Garden, operated over the summer months from the early 1660s (when both John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys visited) until the 1850s. But the time that we are particularly interested in is from 1729 to 1792 when they were run by Jonathan Tyers and his son, another Jonathan. Over those years they could be expected to entertain over 1,000 visitors every night of the season, each paying one shilling (£10-15 in today’s money) for their evening’s entertainment.
The Tyers
Jonathan Tyer was an entrepreneur of no mean order. Coming from a family of leather workers, in 1729 he got the opportunity to take the lease of the Spring Gardens – a twelve acre woodland grove just south of the river at Vauxhall, that had been laid out a century before with sycamore, lime and elm trees criss crossed by walkways. A charming place to go for a stroll during the day, and the haunt of ladies of dubious reputations at night.
‘Early eighteen century London was a noisy, dangerous, smelly and violent place, riven with corruption and wickedness of all sorts’ – not at all appealing to gentler folk. Tyers, who was a social reformer at heart, saw the gardens as an opportunity to create a more genteel place of entertainment that would appeal to the fashionable beau monde but also to ladies and to families.
His first master stroke was to persuade the Prince of Wales, the leader of the fashionable set and, as it happened his landlord, to become the garden’s patron – and to provide the prince with an open loggia in the gardens for his personal use. Where the Prince led, the fashionable world would follow.
Master stroke number two was to open up a large section of the gardens into a piazza or ‘grove’ where the beau monde could mingle, parade and dance, and to surround it with booths and supper boxes where they could dine, be seen and watch the activities in the piazza.
And master stroke number three was linking up with the theatrical scene painter Francis Hayman and the artist and cartoonist William Hogarth – another social reformer but one who realised that humour was a more effective route to reform than preaching. Hayman was to become Tyers’ artistic director designing decorations for each of the supper boxes and a number of larger paintings for Tyers’ main buildings.
The music
But arguably Tyers’ most inspired idea was to join forces with the music world – in the person of George Frederick Handel, the most successful musician of mid 18th century London.
Louis Francois Roubiliac’s statue of Handel commisioned by Tyers in 1738 and stategically placed to be seen as you entered the gardens – a white carrara marble reminder to all of the gardens’ support of the arts – and a fine bit of publicity for Handel.
He then signed up the composer Thomas Arne as his director of music and built a special ‘orchestra stand’ reserving the first floor for his orchestra, who he retained throughout the season. Raised above the crowds they played a regularly changing programme of music, much of it composed especially for them the only stipulation being that the music should be by British composers and focus on British themes. Handel, although German by birth, was by now accepted as an adopted Brit. and contributed generously. The rehearsal of his Fireworks Music took place in the gardens and drew a crowd of many thousands – although the claims of 12,000 attendees seems optimistic even for the Pleasure Gardens.
In due course song was added to orchestral music – not the Italian operatic arias of the opera houses but pastoral ballads, love songs and patriotic airs – think Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill, or Sally in our Alley! These were not only written by English composers but were sung in English – while published song sheets were widely marketed around the country to spread the fame of the gardens.
The food
But Tyers was not yet done. The milling throngs who visited his gardens needed to be fed – a profitable source of income especially as the food was notoriously expensive – and meagre. Suppers, which along with everything else in the gardens, were resolutely English were served from about 9pm. They consisted of thinly carved cold meats (so thinly carved it was claimed that you could read the paper through them) and salads, pastries, cake, wines, ciders and punch.
On a separate page on the Vauxhall Gardens site David Coke has reproduced copies of two bills of fare – some of the foods obviously being supplied by outside suppliers. Even so, given that upward of 500 meals were served every night during the season, this was a catering operation of no mean proportions – especially given Tyers’ total lack of experience as a caterer!
The illuminations
Tyers’ final coup de grace were his illuminations. At a whistle signal while the suppers were being served the lamp lighters stationed around the central Grove would light cotton wool fuses which had been set up during the day to guide the flames from one oil lamp to another. ‘In this way, it was said, thousands of lamps could be lit in an instant’ – an effect which in the days before electricity must have been staggering.
With so many attractions on offer it is not surprising that Jonathan Tyers’ Pleasure Gardens were such a roaring success. Tyers senior died in 1767 and while his son had little of his father’s entrepreneurial flair, he was a good manager and the gardens continued to flourish until his death in 1792 when they were taken over by his son-in-law.
Our basset horns
The visit of the three Czech basset horn players to the garden in 1791 on which our concert on April 8th is based came right at the end of the Tyers’ reign at Vauxhall. But no doubt they would still have been playing in the raised band pavilion – and supping on paper thin slices of ham!
Our supper on April 8th may include paper thin slices of ham – but we promise that there will be plenty of them!
For the programme on April 8th and to book – go here.
Meanwhile…..
I am both delighted (for us) and sorry (for anyone who was hoping to come but has not booked) to say that the London Chamber Ensemble concert on 8th March is now sold out. However, there is a waiting list in case we get any returns.
Please sign up here to go on the waiting list.
However, we do still have tickets for Declan Hickey and Sophia Elger – guitarist and saxophonist – the following Sunday, March 17th at the next Highgate Society Lunchtime concert.
£15 to include a glass of Bucks Fizz. Book here or pay on the door.
Leave a Reply