£3 members/£5 non-members

This illustrated lecture will analyse the social dynamics of London’s most popular and celebrated Pleasure Garden in Vauxhall, which flourished between 1732 and its final closure in 1859. It pioneered the commercialisation of mass entertainment and the eroticisation of the leisure industry. In other words, it blended timeless human interests in sex and good company with the allure of celebrity culture plus the provision of a great range of leisure services in an organised and inclusive style. No wonder that countless similar urban Gardens across Britain, in Paris and, eventually, in cities around the world, were named after Vauxhall.

Penelope J. Corfield is an expert on Georgian urban, social and cultural history; and is currently researching the dynamics of inter-personal greetings in the long eighteenth century. She is Professor Emeritus at Royal Holloway, London University; Research Fellow at Newcastle University; and President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

The talks starts at 6.30pm. Joining details will be sent to attendees the day before.

Georgian Group members are eligible for a discount on their ticket by entering GGMEMBER at the checkout.

***This talk will be recorded. The recording will be available to all those who have purchased a ticket for a limited period of time after the event takes place***

Please read our Terms and Conditions before booking

This lecture is part of our Georgian Gardens and Landscapes series. The full list of lectures in the series is as follows:

Tuesday 2 March – Hidden Horticulturists

Tuesday 9 March – Marble Hill – A Garden of Grottos and Groves

Tuesday 16 March – William Kent: Garden Designer, Architect, Interior Designer

Tuesday 23 March – Vauxhall, Sex & Entertainment: The Invention of the Urban Pleasure Garden

Tuesday 30 March – Welsh Gardens and the Grand Tour

Tuesday 6 April – Follies: An Architectural Journey

Tuesday 13 April – The English Landscape Revolution