Ranelagh Gardens
Ranelagh Gardens was an 18th century public pleasure garden in London . It was in Chelsea and stretched out to the banks of the Thames . Today the garden is part of the gardens of the neighboring Royal Hospital Chelsea .
In 1688, Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh began construction of Ranelagh House as the official chamberlain residency for the neighboring hospital, which opened in 1691 as a home for disabled and elderly soldiers. Ranelagh died in debt in 1712, after which his house and the surrounding garden fell into disrepair. In 1741 the house and property were leased to a company that wanted to create a public pleasure garden on the site. The architect William Jones was commissioned to redesign the garden. Jones put the focus of the facility on the construction of a mighty, domed hall, the rotunda . Inside the rotunda contained two-story galleries, visitors could stroll and there was musical entertainment; In 1765, nine-year-old Mozart performed here . In addition to the rotunda, the garden contained a number of elements of garden architecture such as a canal, a pond, an avenue of linden trees, a Chinese bridge and ornamental temples. Although the garden was dominated by the rotunda, the garden was suitable for both promenades and walks and was extremely popular with visitors until the end of the 18th century. In terms of popularity, it could rival the much older Vauxhall Gardens , which opened in 1660 . The garden was closed in 1803, Ranelagh House and the rotunda were demolished in 1805, and the gardens became part of the hospital again.
Between 1859 and 1866 the garden was redesigned by the landscape architect John Gibson, who was also involved in the construction of Battersea Park on the opposite bank of the Thames. Since then it has been designed in the style of an English landscape garden with artificial hills, winding paths and trees and bushes .
Canaletto painted the rotunda inside and out.
literature
- Bamber Gascoigne: Encyclopedia of Britain . BCA, London, New York, Sydney, Toronto 1993, ISBN 0-333-54764-0 , p. 525.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 10 ″ N , 0 ° 9 ′ 22 ″ W.