Royal Surrey Gardens
Encyclopedia
Pleasure gardens
A pleasure garden is usually a garden that is open to the public for recreation. They differ from other public gardens in that they serve as venues for entertainment, variously featuring concert halls or bandstands, rides, zoos, and menageries.-History:...
in Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the Victorian period, slightly east of The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
. The gardens occupied about 15 acres (6.1 ha) to the east side of Kennington Road
Kennington Road
Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, running south from Westminster Bridge Road to Kennington Park Road....
, including a lake of about 3 acres (1.2 ha). It was the site of Surrey Zoological Gardens and Surrey Music Hall.
The gardens were the grounds of the manor house of Walworth
Walworth, London
Walworth is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Southwark. Walworth probably derives its name from the Old English "Wealhworth" which meant Welsh farm. It is located south east of Charing Cross and near to Camberwell and Elephant and Castle.The major streets in Walworth are the Old...
. The site was acquired in 1831 by impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Edward Cross
Edward Cross (zoo proprietor)
Edward Cross was an English zoo proprietor and dealer in animals.Cross was born in London and baptised at St Andrew's, Holborn, presumably within days of his birth...
to be the location of his new Surrey Zoological Gardens, using animals from his menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
at Exeter Exchange
Exeter Exchange
The Exeter Exchange was a building on the north side of the Strand in London, with an arcade extending partway across the carriageway...
, in competition with the new London Zoo
London Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
. A large circular domed glass conservatory was built in the gardens, 300 feet (91.4 m) in circumference with more than 6000 ft2 of glass, to contain separate cages for lions, tigers, a rhinoceros, and giraffes. The gardens were heavily planted with native and exotic trees and plants, and dotted with picturesque pavilions.
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
, the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, or the storming of Badajoz
Battle of Badajoz (1812)
In the Battle of Badajoz , the Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieged Badajoz, Spain and forced the surrender of the French garrison....
, using large painted sets up to 80 feet (24 m) high, and spectacular firework displays, as had become popular at Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens was a pleasure garden, one of the leading venues for public entertainment in London, England from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, the site was believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660 with the first mention being...
before its demise. Later, it was used for promenade concert
Promenade concert
See The PromsAlthough the term Promenade Concert is normally associated today with the series of concerts founded in 1895 by Robert Newman and the conductor Henry Wood – a festival known today as the BBC Proms – the term originally referred to concerts in the pleasure gardens of London where the...
s. The gardens suffered intense competition from the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in 1851.
After Cross's death, the gardens were acquired by a company. The zoo had become run down, and the animals were sold off in 1856 to build Surrey Music Hall in the gardens. It was a large, rectangular building of three floors, with an arcade around the ground floor and two covered galleries above, and octagonal staircases at each corner with ornamental turrets. Like the Crystal Palace, it was largely constructed from cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, and was capable of holding 12,000 seated spectators, making it the largest venue in London. It was used to celebrate the return of soldiers at the end of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
in 1856, and for a four-day military festival from 27 July to 30 July 1857, to honour and raise funds for Mary Seacole
Mary Seacole
Mary Jane Seacole , sometimes known as Mother Seacole or Mary Grant, was a Jamaican nurse best known for her involvement in the Crimean War. She set up and operated boarding houses in Panama and the Crimea to assist in her desire to treat the sick...
. The French popular and eccentric conductor and composer of light music Louis Antoine Jullien
Louis Antoine Jullien
Louis Antoine Jullien was a French conductor and composer of light music.Jullien was born in Sisteron, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and was baptised Louis George Maurice Adolphe Roche Albert Abel Antonio Alexandre Noë Jean Lucien Daniel Eugène Joseph-le-brun Joseph-Barême Thomas Thomas Thomas-Thomas...
gave numerous very successful concerts in the Royal Surrey Gardens in 1855 and 1856 mixing classical and dance music.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
preacher, Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a large British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers"...
, because his audiences could not be contained in the New Park Street Chapel
New Park Street Chapel
The New Park Street Chapel was a Reformed Baptist church in Southwark in London built in 1833. The fellowship began worshipping together in 1650. Its first pastor was William Rider, and many notable others have filled the position since, including Benjamin Keach, Dr. John Gill, Dr. John Rippon, and...
. The first service was held on the evening of Sunday 19 October 1856, with an audience of 10,000 inside and as many outside unable to enter. It was, however, marred by tragedy when someone shouted fire
Shouting fire in a crowded theater
"Shouting fire in a crowded theatre" is a popular metaphor and frequent paraphrasing of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.'s opinion in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919...
, and a panic to escape ensued. Seven were killed in the crush, and many injured. Nevertheless, Spurgeon returned a few weeks later to hold morning services in November 1856. The services continued to be very well attended, with audiences exceeding 10,000. The proprietors decided to hold Sunday evening music concerts in the hall; Spurgeon objected to the entertainment being held on the Sabbath, and the last Sunday morning service was held on 11 December 1859.
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
was destroyed by fire in 1861, leading to a High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
legal case, Taylor v. Caldwell
Taylor v. Caldwell
Taylor v Caldwell 3 B & S 826; 122 ER 309; [1863] is a landmark English contract law case, with an opinion delivered by Justice Blackburn which established the doctrine of common law impossibility.-Facts:...
(1863) 3 B & S 328
Legal citation
Legal citation is the practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources. The most common sources of authority cited are court decisions , statutes, regulations, government documents, treaties, and scholarly writing....
, to recover the costs of printing posters for an event that could not be held at the hall as a result of its destruction. The case established the doctrine of impossibility
Impossibility
In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract, based on a change in circumstances , the nonoccurrence of which was an underlying assumption of the contract, that makes performance of the contract literally impossible...
in English contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
law.
The gardens returned to holding large public entertainments, but they were less successful than before, and the gardens finally closed in 1862. St. Thomas' Hospital moved to the site temporarily, while its new buildings at Lambeth Walk
Lambeth Walk
Lambeth Walk is a street in Lambeth, London, England, off Lambeth Road. It was an old street market and housing area.After some bomb damage during the Blitz in World War II on September 18, 1940, the area became rather run down and was subsequently rebuilt....
, near Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
, were constructed (its previous buildings having been sold to become London Bridge railway station).
The gardens were sold for the development of residential buildings in 1877. Whilst much smaller than the original gardens, Surrey Gardens re-opened as a public park in the 1980s, and is now known locally as Pasley Park.
External links
- Surrey Music Hall and Surrey Zoological Gardens, Kennington
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon Preaching at the Music Hall in the Royal Surrey Gardens
- Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens
- Surrey Music Hall and Zoo
- Spurgeon at Surrey Music Hall
- Louis-Antoine Jullien The French eccentric conductor and composer of light music who was considered as the "king of promenade concerts" and gave numerous concerts in the Royal Surrey Gardens