L A M B E T H. 
Tn this parilh are fome hamlets and villages of note. 
That of Vauxhall is about three quarters of a mile north 
of the church. Tradition afcribes the name of this 
place to the mifcreant Guy Fawkes, who is laid to have 
reftded in the manor-houfe, the life of which is now oc¬ 
cupied by Marble Hall and the Cumberland tea-gardens. 
This tale, how'ever, has no better foundation than the 
coincidence of names; this manor being mentioned in a 
record of the twentieth of Edward I. under the denomi¬ 
nation of Fawkes-hall. After the manor-houfe was pull¬ 
ed down, the name appears to have been transferred to 
one which flood nearly oppofite; for, in the furvey taken 
by order of parliament, after the death of Charles I. the 
latter is called Vauxhall, alias Copped-hall. From this 
time it went by the name of Vauxhall-houfe, and was in 
the hands of various polfelTors. In 1675, fir Samuel Mor- 
land, a man of great eccentricity, and equal ingenuity, 
made many improvements in the houfe and gardens. 
Among his Angularities may be noticed a fountain,, which 
he had to play on the fide-table of his dining-room, 
where each drinking-glafs flood under a fmall ftream of 
water; and in his coach was a moveable kitchen, with 
clock-work machinery, in which he (for he was his own 
cook when he travelled) could make foup, broil (leaks, or 
roaft a joint of meat. The fite of thefe premifes is now 
occupied as a diftillery. 
Here is an almlhoufe for feven poor women, founded in 
1612, by fir Noel Carron, who was ambafiador from Hol¬ 
land to this country. Over the gate is a Latin infcription, 
importing that it was founded in the thirty-fecond year 
of his embafly, “asan infignificant monument of what he 
owed to the glory of God, in gratitude to the nation, 
and in munificence to the poor.” The prefent income of 
thefe houfes is 28k per annum, payable out of Caron Park, 
the villa of fir Charles Blicke, (exclufive of a legacy of 
nool. bequeathed to the almfpeople, in 1773, by the dow¬ 
ager countefs Gower.) Thefe women tnuft be parilhioners 
of Lambeth, and upward of fixty years old. They are 
allowed to get an addition to their income by the exer¬ 
tions of induftry. On the right-hand of the road to 
Wandfworth is a fine fpring, called Vauxhall Well; which, 
in the hardeft winter, is never known to freeze. 
Vauxhall Gardens, the moll celebrated public gardens in 
Europe, arefituate near the Thames, in the parilh of Lam¬ 
beth. The time when this enchanting place was firft 
opened for the entertainment of the public is not eafy to 
be afcertained. In the reign of queen Anne it appears to 
have been a place of great public refort; for in the Spec¬ 
tator, No. 383, dated May 20, 1712, Mr. Addifon has 
introduced his favourite character, fir Roger de Coverley, 
as accompanying him in a voyage from the Temple Stairs 
to Vauxhall. Long after, we find in the Connoiffeur, No. 
68, a very humorous defcription of the behaviour of an 
old citizen, who, notwithftanding his penurious difpofi- 
tion, had treated his family here with a handfome fupper. 
Mr. Jonathan Tyers, having taken a leafe of the premifes 
in 1730, opened Vauxhall (then called Spring Gardens) 
with an advertifement of a ridotto al frefco. The novelty 
of this term attracted great numbers; and Mr. Tyers was 
fo fuccefsful in occafional repetitions of the fame enter¬ 
tainments as to be induced to open the gardens every even¬ 
ing during the fummer. To this end, he was at a great 
expence in decorating the gardens with paintings, in 
which he was aflilled by the humorous pencil of Hogarth. 
He likewife erected anorcheftra, engaged a band of mufic, 
and placed a fine ftatue of Handel, by Roubiliac, in a 
confpicuous part of the gardens. 
The feafon commences about the 4-th of June (the king’s 
birth-day), and continues to the end of Auguft. But the 
gardens are open only three nights in a week, Mondays, 
Wednefdays, and Fridays. The admiflion is four (killings. 
On entering the great gate, to which you are.conducted 
by a (hort avenue from the road, the firft fcene that fa- 
Jutes the eye is a noble gravel-walk, nine hundred feet 
long, painted on each fide with a row of (lately elms, 
103 
which form a fine villa, terminated by the reprefentation 
of a temple, in w’hich is a tranfparency, emblematic of 
gratitude to the public. Advancing a few fteps, we be¬ 
hold, to the right, a quadrangle, called The Grove. In 
the centre is a magnificent Gothic orcheftra, ornamented 
with carvings, niches, &c. The ornaments are plaftic, a 
compofition fomething like plaller of Paris. In fine wea¬ 
ther the mufical entertainments are performed here by a 
band of vocal and inllrumental performers. At the up¬ 
per extremity of this orcheftra is a fine organ ; and, at 
the foot of it, are the feats and defies for the muficians, 
placed in a femicircular form, leaving a vacancy at the- 
front for the vocal performers. The concert is opened 
with inllrumental mufic at eight o’clock, after which the 
company are entertained with a fong; and in this manner 
other fongs are performed, with concertos between each, 
till the clofe of the entertainment, which is at eleven. 
In the front of a large timber building, which you ap¬ 
proach from the middle of the great room, is a painted 
landfcape, called The Day Scene. At the end of the firft 
act this is drawn up, to exhibit an artificial cafcade, with 
a very natural reprefentation of a water-mill, and a bridge, 
with a mail-coach, a Greenwich long llage, &c. In ten 
minutes it is down again, and the company return to hear 
the remaining part of the concert. A glee and catch, in 
three or four parts, are performed in the middle and at 
the end of the mufical bill of fare, which always conlifts 
of fixteen pieces. 
In the grove, fronting the orcheftra, tables and benches 
are placed for the company; and Hill further from the or- 
cheltra, is a pavilion built for the late prince of Wales. 
The afeent is by a double flight of Heps. Behind it is a 
draw’ing-room ; to which is an entrance, from the outfide 
of the gardens, for the admittance of any of the royal 
family. It has lately been much improved, and orna¬ 
mented with luftres of uncommon brilliancy. Several 
thoufand variegated lamps have alfo been added to the 
colonnades, pavilions, &c. in other parts of the garden, 
all difpofed with the utmoft tafte and elegance. 
In cold or rainy weather the mufical performance is in 
the rotunda, which is feventy feet in diameter, and nearly 
oppofite the grand orcheftra. Along the front, next the 
grove, is a colonnade, formed by a range of pillars, un¬ 
der which is the entrance from the grove. Within this 
room is the little orcheftra. The roof is a dome. Hated 
on the outfide, and made to reprefent a magnificent Per- 
fian pavilion, the roof of which is of blue and yellow filk 
in alternate ftripes; it feems to be fupported by twenty pil¬ 
lars, reprefenting Roman fafees gilt, and bound together 
by deep rofe-coloured ribbons, with military trophies in 
the intervals. The fidesof the tent being drawn up, and 
hanging in the form of felloons, the rotunda has the beau¬ 
tiful appearance of a flower-garden; the upper part being 
painted all round like a Iky, and the lower part, above 
the feats, withihrubs, flowers, and other rural decorations. 
At the extremity of this rotunda, oppofite the orcheftra, 
is a faloon, the entrance of which is formed by columns of 
the Ionic order, painted in imitation of fcagliola. In the 
roof, which is arched and elliptic, are two little cupolas 
in a peculiar Hate; and from the centre of each defcer.ds a 
large glafs chandelier. Adjoining to the walls are ten 
three-quarter columns for the fupport of the roof; they 
are of the Ionic order, pointed in imitation of fcagliola. 
Between thefe columns are four pictures, in magnificent 
gilt frames, by the mafterly pencil of Mr. Hayman. The 
firft reprefents the furrender of Montreal, in Canada, to 
general Amherll. On a Hone, at one corner of the picture, 
is this infcription : “ Pozthr exerted, Conquejl obtained, Mercy 
Jhown! 1760.” The fecond reprefents Britannia, holding a 
medallion of his prefent majefty, and fitting on the right- 
hand of Neptune, in his chariot drawn by fiea-horfes. In 
the back-ground is the defeat of the French fleet by fir 
Edward Hawke, in 1759. Round the chariot of Neptune 
are attendant fea-nymphs, holding medallions of the molt 
diftinguilhed admirals in that glorious war. . For that of 
lord 
