The London pleasure gardens of the eighteenth centuryWroth, Warwick William
History
The London pleasure gardens of the eighteenth century
Wroth, Warwick William
London (England) -- History -- 18th century; Parks -- England -- London -- History
Vincent Lunardi, the first man in England to make a balloon ascent,[72]
made an unexpected appearance at the Adam and Eve Gardens on 13 May,
1785. He had ascended from the Artillery Ground about one o’clock, but
the balloon, being overcharged with vapour, descended in about twenty
minutes in the Adam and Eve Gardens. “He was immediately surrounded by
great numbers of the populace, and though he proposed re-ascending,
they were not to be dissuaded from bearing him in triumph on their
shoulders.”[73]
[Illustration: ... _et se Protinus æthereà tollit inastra
via_.
VINCENT LUNARDI ESQ^r.
_Secretary to the Neapolitan Ambassador and the first aerial
Traveller in the English Atmosphere Sept^r. 15. 1784._
Publish’d Oct^r 5^th 1784 by John Bell British Library Strand]
Towards the end of the eighteenth century[74] the Adam and Eve began
to be hemmed in by buildings; by Brook Street (now Stanhope Street)
on the west, and by Charles Street (now Drummond Street, western
end) on the north. The gardens however appear to have retained their
old dimensions,[75] and at that time extended as far north as Charles
Street.[76]
The thousands of honest holiday-makers who visited the gardens had,
however, towards the end of the eighteenth century, been replaced by a
motley crew of highwaymen, footpads and low women,[77] and in the early
years of the present century (before 1811) the magistrates interfered:
“the organ was banished, the skittle grounds destroyed, and the gardens
dug up for the foundation of Eden Street.”
About 1813 the Adam and Eve Tavern and Coffee House, once more
respectably conducted, was a one-storied building. Part of it fronted
the New (Euston) Road, while an archway in the Hampstead Road led to
the other parts of the premises. A detached gabled building, originally
part of the domestic offices of the old Tottenhall Manor House, was
still standing at this time and was used as a drinking parlour in
connection with the Adam and Eve. Six small houses and shops also
adjoined the tavern and brought the proprietor about £25 each a year in
rent, though they are said to have been partly constructed out of the
boxes in the old tea-gardens.
The large public-house called the Adam and Eve, which now stands on the
old site at the corner of the Euston and Hampstead Roads, was built in
1869.
Near the Adam and Eve was the Cold Bath in the New Road. It was in
existence in 1785, when it was advertised[78] as in fine order for the
reception of ladies and gentlemen. The bath was situated in the midst
of a pleasant garden, and was constantly supplied by a spring running
through it. The water was described as serviceable to persons suffering
from nervous disorders and dejected spirits.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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