2012 September Irene London Party 004

Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens were once the best place in London for those who wanted to party – rich and poor – from 1661 to 1859 everyone, –  from the Prince of Wales, Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens down to the servants below stairs would go to the gardens for entertainment – if they could afford the shilling entrance fee they too could hob-nob with the rich and famous!

Those days came to a sad end for the Vauxhall Gardens in 1859 , when the coming of the railways and the embankment effectively created a barrier between the gardens and the river. The gardens fell out of favour and the business – which had effectively reinvented itself and remained successful over two centuries – finally collapsed and the orchestra, once beloved of Handel for previews of his latest works,  fell silent forever.

Now all the stalls and orchestra stands have been demolished and the area razed to the ground twice – first when the business collapsed, and then again during WW2 when the houses built on the reclaimed land in 1862 took a hit from a V2, so nothing at all remains of the glory that once made Vauxhall THE place to be seen and catch up with the gossip and the latest fashions- a sort of Hello magazine – LIVE!! .

However recently there has been a renewal of  interest and Vauxhall Society and the Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens  have persuaded the Council to put up some illustrated plaques to mark out the area and remind people of the history of the area. They have also created an imposing entrance to the park as it now is to remind people of the glory that it once was!

For definitive information about Vauxhall Gardens I thoroughly recommend a marvellous book by David Coke and Alan Borg called simply Vauxhall Gardens – A history – available through recommended reading on my site from Amazon!

Another recent improvement (Pace Queen Anne!) to the park has been the transformation of the old Queen Anne public house and gentleman’s entertainment area into the Vauxhall Tea House Theatre. They have transformed a really ugly old Victorian Public House that opened in 1886 into a cosy nest where they serve some of the best loose leaf teas available, with proper (huge)  sandwiches and chunky home-made cakes

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Lisa outside the Tea House Theatre

They also throw a mean party , Harry the owner ~manager, is still an actor at heart and his wife is a theatre costumier, so the Tea House is much, much more than just a tea-house – usually providing live music, poetry readings and this weekend – for my friend Irene and I a Murder Mystery party with a plot written and devised around our friends, family and the location.

Harry with David and Irene

2012 September outside the tea house London Party 01

2012 September outside the tea house London Party 017

2012 September inside the tea house London Party 017

The Tea House outside and in – actors scene setting and vying for our attention!

canapés and fizz and setting the scene

canapés and fizz and actors  all over the place setting the scene

2012 September ILondon Party 008

Miss Kathleen Dyer – a cheeky cockney most of the time – flirts with Louis!

Miss Kathleen Dyer – a cheeky cockney most of the time – flirts with Louis!

Louis also got regaled by the odious Alistair McGill

Louis with Alistair McGill

John and Penny in costume

John and Penny in costume

Irene with bosses past and present

Irene with bosses past and present

John, Debs and Ashley – a toast to the actors

John, Debs and Ashley – a toast to the actors

Sue looking splendid in Edwardian costume

Lady Fairfax our gracious hostesss  -“oh my dears – I’m really not feeling too well!

Ladty Fairfax our gracious hostess

Putting on a brave face before she dies!

Lady Fairfax

David and Sarah – part of the sleuth team of 70 !

Jenny still smiling even after the sugar glass champagne bottle has been smashed over her head- at least she got a real one as a prize for guessing the  real murderer and why they did it!

Jenny still smiling even after the sugar glass champagne bottle has been smashed over her head!

Sorry for any guests not featured – if any other of you has any other interesting photos to add please send them to me asap –

Many thanks from both Irene and I to everyone to came to join us and helped us try to solve the puzzle -the actors said they loved the interaction !

2012 September Irene and Penny after London Party