BRUNSWICK GARDENS (OR VAUXHALL PLEASURE GARDENS), VAUXHALL

'These beautiful grounds, once the resort of Royalty' were opened by a Mr. King in 1839 and flourished for a few years, till about 1845. Their famous neighbour 'Vauxhall' was no longer what it had been and in 1840 was actually closed for a year. There was thus an opening for a 'Minor Vauxhall' with summer concerts a la Musard.
. . . The admission was a shilling or sixpence, with refreshments and in 1840 the experiment was tried of admitting ladies free.
'The resort of Royalty' to the gardens was legitimately inferred from the fact that the grounds were at the bak of Brunswich House, the former residence of the Duke of Brunswick. The local resident entered his pleasure-garden from the Wandsworth Road and respectfully skirted the house and its private grounds till he reached a spacious lawn at the back. This was bordered on two sides by rustic boxes and refreshment bars, and by an orchestra and assembly-room. The pleasantest feature of the garden was a promenade platform erected on piles over the Thames. Close by was the river entrance and the pier of the Vauxhall Hotel, at which the steamboats from Hungerford Market and the City landed visitors at about seven o'clock.
    Brunswick House, an ugly but spacious brick mansion (No.54 Wandsworth Road) is still standing, and is now used as a Club for the employés of the London and South Western Railway. The garden space is absorbed by yards and wharves.

Warwick Wroth, Cremorne and the later London Gardens, 1907