Vauxhall Gardens was a significant element in the social lives of Londoners for the best part of two centuries, from the 1660s until 1859. Jonathan Tyers, its greatest proprietor, was not only a brilliant businessman but also one of the most important patrons of the arts in Georgian Britain. Without him and his successors, British music, art and entertainments would be significantly poorer. As a result, the serious study of Vauxhall and the other London pleasure gardens is at last becoming a reputable pursuit.

This book is a compilation of some of the essays written following the publication of David E. Coke and Alan Borg’s Vauxhall Gardens: A History (2011). One of the most problematic and painful aspects of preparing that book, Coke says, was the necessity to edit it down to a manageable size, which of course meant losing many of the most fascinating topics and stories. So this sequel was conceived partly to expand subjects only mentioned in the book, and partly to explore those subjects that the book had to lose altogether, or even subjects the author was unaware of at the time of publication. Although intended as pendants to the 2011 book, the six essays included here stand on their own quite happily.

Six Essays on Vauxhall Gardens will add to the growing body of knowledge around Vauxhall, and may even prompt further research and writing on the subject.