Pleasure Garden. Has kind of a nice ring doesn’t it? I’ve seen it stated that pleasure gardens originated in England centuries ago. But as is so often the case when we start digging into the past, there are contradictions. And in this case, there are other historical accounts that claim they originated during the time of the Romans.

But hey, whatever the truth, pleasure gardens were a huge attraction. So much so that by the late 1700’s, there were reportedly dozens of these establishments with varying sizes and attractions in the vicinity around London.

And the name says it all.

Pleasure gardens were design to do one thing: give pleasure (and who doesn’t like that!). They served as places to escape and enjoy the beauty of nature and serve as a backdrop for a wide range of entertainment.

These locales often featured promenades, bandstands, boat rides, concerts, zoological attractions, water parks…and pretty much whatever else you can think of.

The most famous of these in Britain were probably Vauxhall Gardens, followed by Ranelagh Gardens, Marylebone Gardens and later Cremorne Gardens. I used Vauxhall as a setting in my book, A Gentleman’s Surrender, as do many authors in their historical works, because it was such a prominent source of recreation for all classes of people to mix and mingle and offered such diverse settings. Musical concerts and fireworks demonstrations were staples, and thousands flocked to see these exhibitions, which makes for a wonderful backdrop for historical romance stories.

Vauxhall’s venue was graced with beautiful paths, pavilions, statuary, and artworks by preeminent artists of the time. If the structures within Vauxhall Gardens were at all reminiscent of the many illustrations which depict them, the architecture alone was stunning.

The events held there were major productions (think of old Hollywood studio movies with a "cast of thousands"). Well, Vauxhall had its own version. As an example, in 1827 when the Battle of Waterloo was re-enacted there, there was a cast that included nearly one thousand soldiers!

And, yes, as the title of this post mentions, there were acrobats, tightrope walkers, and fire balloons. Oh my!

By the way, what are fire balloons?

Why, I’m so glad you asked! They were essentially hot air balloons filled with fireworks designed to carry the display high up into the air for extra drama.

With all of this in mind, I suppose you could say that Busch Gardens here in Florida is essentially a modern-day pleasure garden. It incorporates all manners of entertainment into a garden/aquarium and zoological setting.

And in the past, Cypress Gardens could also have been deemed a pleasure garden. Like the pleasure gardens of the Regency though, its gentler and old-fashioned charms fell victim to changing times and it became Legoland several years ago. While the entertainment area of the new Legoland park has been revamped, at least the botanical gardens have been preserved. So, I guess it remains a form of a pleasure garden to some degree.

Guess we all like a little pleasure, huh? (-;