Cremorne Gardens
In 1843 Nicholson purchased a 12-acre (0.049 km2) rural sporting arena in Chelsea, London, on the banks of the River Thames, that had opened eleven years earlier. It featured entrances from King's Road and the River Thames. Originally an unremarkable location, Nicholson made drastic changes soon after his purchase, including a large pagoda that was surrounded by a large dancing platform and housed a large orchestra. The facility was surrounded by gardens. Nicholson added refreshment booths and tables so guests could sit and eat at the gardens. While most of the contemporary pleasure gardens were exclusive venues, Nicholson envisioned Cremorne Gardens as a popular amusement park for common people.
Nicholson's financial situation soon deteriorated, and he was forced to sell the gardens. By this time Nicholson was well known for the licentiousness of The Town and the Judge and Jury Society performances. Because of this association, Cremorne Gardens also came to represent sexual immorality. Even after he sold Cremorne Gardens, it retained its reputation, and the name "Cremorne" later became a general term used in London to signify sexual excesses.
Read more about this topic: Renton Nicholson
Famous quotes containing the word gardens:
“The ocean is a wilderness reaching round the globe, wilder than a Bengal jungle, and fuller of monsters, washing the very wharves of our cities and the gardens of our sea-side residences. Serpents, bears, hyenas, tigers rapidly vanish as civilization advances, but the most populous and civilized city cannot scare a shark far from its wharves.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)