Pleasure Gardens
Pleasure gardens were the great melting pots of eighteenth-century society. London pleasure gardens in particular were phenomenally successful. First opened in 1746, Ranelagh pleasure gardens in Chelsea boasted acres of formal gardens with long sweeping avenues, down which pedestrians strolled together on balmy summer evenings. Other visitors came to admire the Chinese Pavilion or watch the fountain of mirrors and attend musical concerts held in the great 200-foot wide Rotunda. Novelist Tobias Smollett described how the nightly illuminations and magic lanterns at Ranelagh ‘made me almost think I was in some enchanted castle or fairy palace’. Originally designed to appeal to wealthier tastes, pleasure gardens soon became the haunt of the rich and poor alike, where both aristocrats and tradesmen enjoyed the rural retreat side by side.
This was so interesting to watch! I loved how they said the gardens were a way to escape reality. I love going to greenhouses to do just that. It reminds me of the show Bridgerton with the gardens and polite society.
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This video also reminded me of the show Bridgerton, where the main character often runs away to gardens to escape those watching her. I think that gardens are commonly considered feminine and represent fertility. Lastly, these places are symbols of happiness, salvation, and purity. Gardens are used to create peace between people because they represent inclusion and community. -Julia Drazin
ReplyDeleteI may be incorrect in my knowledge, but from what I know of the 18th century, classism ran rampant and the melding of social class and status was incredibly uncommon. That said, it's interesting to see how something that was originally constructed for the wealthy and upper class became a sort of escape for both the wealthy and poor alike.
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