Ranelagh Gardens

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Ranelagh Gardens, usually seen as the most august and respectable summer-time pleasure garden of Georgian London, was opened in Chelsea in 1742, in direct competition with its rather less reputable counterpart, the hugely successful Vauxhall Gardens, just over the river Thames in south Lambeth. Ranelagh's proprietors sought not only to exploit Vauxhall's success, but also to learn by its mistakes; their strategy was to construct, in a garden previously laid out for the Earl of Ranelagh by George London and Henry Wise, a gigantic round building or Rotunda where visitors could promenade, take refreshments, and listen to music without worrying about the cold, wet or windy weather that was such a problem for Vauxhall. Situated on the riverside, just to the east of the Chelsea Royal Hospital,…

696 words

Citation: Coke, David Edward. "Ranelagh Gardens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 September 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=7203, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7203 Ranelagh Gardens 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.