Royal Flora Gardens facts for kids

The Royal Flora Gardens were fun pleasure gardens located in Camberwell, which is now part of London. They were open for a short time, from 1849 to 1864. Later, they were also known as the New Vauxhall Gardens. These gardens offered a place for people to relax and enjoy themselves.

How the Gardens Started

The land where the Royal Flora Gardens were built has a long history. It was once part of a large estate owned by the Bowyer family since 1583. A lane called Bowyer Lane still exists today in Camberwell.

In the late 1700s, this area was mostly open fields and farms. It was a quiet country spot. By the early 1800s, the Wyndham Road area, where the gardens would be, had become a bit run-down. A school report from 1818 even called the area "proverbial for its depravity."

However, a piece of land on Wyndham Road remained empty. In 1849, this land was transformed and opened with great excitement as the Royal Flora Gardens.

Who Owned and Ran the Gardens

The first owner of the Royal Flora Gardens was T.P. Hemmings. The gardens faced financial trouble and closed in 1850. There was a plan to reopen them to help pay off debts.

In 1851, James Ellis took over running the gardens. He was also involved with the famous Cremorne Gardens in Chelsea.

By 1856, Courtney Stacey and Tom Stowell were in charge. Then, in 1858, a Mr. Helwell owned the gardens. In 1859, another well-known pleasure garden, the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, closed down. The people running the Flora Gardens decided to use this to their advantage. They changed the name to the New Vauxhall Gardens to attract more visitors.

What You Could See and Do

The Royal Flora Gardens were very large and could hold up to 20,000 visitors at once. They had a huge tent called the 'monstre marquee' that was 100 feet long and 40 feet wide.

The gardens were beautifully designed with:

• Classical statues
• Fake old ruins
• Flower beds with rare and exotic plants
• Greenhouses filled with unusual flowers
• Cozy summer houses
• Cages with foreign and local birds, and even monkeys
• Fountains and waterfalls

They even advertised for a gardener in 1862 who knew how to grow grapevines. Entry to the gardens cost sixpence, which was a low price. They made money from a bar and a 'Grand Parisian Bazaar' inside.

Under James Ellis's management from 1851, the gardens focused more on evening shows. These included:

• Hot air balloon flights (tied down)
• Carnivals with a Venetian theme
• Concerts
• Amazing firework displays
• Mr. W. Kite, who drove a chariot pulled by cats!

Ellis also brought in other exciting acts, like a ballet called The Wood Nymphs, or The Enchanted Dell. There were also big concerts and outdoor dances. Madame Genieve, who was said to be the first tightrope dancer in the world, performed ascents and descents. The gardens also featured bright lights and grand firework shows.

In 1852, an advertisement for the gardens described them as a rival to the famous Vauxhall Gardens. It said the grounds cost thousands of pounds to create. They included a theatre, a dancing hall, a shooting gallery, refreshment rooms, conservatories, and a lake with waterfalls and fountains. Everything was arranged in a very artistic way.

Why the Gardens Closed

Even with the new name, New Vauxhall Gardens, people were becoming less interested in pleasure gardens. The gardens were sold in 1861 to Henry King and John David Wale.

Sadly, the Royal Flora Gardens closed for good in 1863. On August 16, 1864, a big farewell party was held for the gardens. This event was to benefit William Walter Wale, who was the brother of one of the previous owners.

Later in 1864, houses were built on the site of the gardens. These houses were very close together. By 1892, a social reformer named Charles Booth described the area as standing out in a bad way, compared to the nicer areas around it.

What Remains Today

After the gardens closed, the site was redeveloped. A pub called The Warrior was built there, along with the Wyndham Road Mission. The pub lasted until the early 1970s. The Mission was replaced by a new church, St Michael and All Angels Church, Camberwell.

In the early 1970s, the area was redeveloped again. A new school, Archbishop Michael Ramsey School (later St Michael's Academy), and another new St Michael and All Angels Church were built.

In 2014, these buildings were replaced once more. A new school, ARK All Saints Academy, and a new St Michael and All Angels church were built. A special needs school, Highshore School, also moved to the site. The 2014 church was designed by Peter Mayhew, with a style similar to Tadao Ando's Church of the Light in Japan.

For a long time, the Royal Flora Gardens were mostly forgotten. They were only briefly mentioned in a 1907 book by Warwick Wroth. However, in 2017, Jonathan Gregson wrote an article about them for a local journal, bringing their story back to light.