“The Band Stand, Cremone Gardens” by Walter Greaves, 1846-1930

The Band Stand, Cremone Gardens

Walter Greaves, 1846-1930

Watercolour, pencil and pen and ink

27.00 x 21.00cm (10.63 x 8.27 inches)

Signed

Paul Rabbitts writes: "Cremorne dazzled and its biggest draw was the orchestra housed in a carved illuminated pagoda.... This tiered and fretted building where the orchestra played was at the heart of Cremorne’s night life" (35). Commentary continues below.

Cremone Gardens

Photographs and caption material courtesy of Sarah Colegrave, London, which retains copyright. Readers of the Victorian Web may wish to consult the gallery's site (link). — George P. Landow. Commentary added by Jacqueline Banerjee.

One of the first bandstands specifically designed for such a purpose, this became more and more of a confection as the years passed:

As its popularity grew, the pagoda and dancing platform were frequently refurbished and upgraded. In 1851 the pagoda was enlarged; the ground-level tier was opened up and more ornate fretwork was added to create a rest area imeterat the centre of the circular dancing platform. This platform was also enclosed by elaborate wrought-iron railings and candelabra around the perimeter dancing area. These alterations created a much stronger demarcation between the space of the dancing platform, with the pagoda at its centre. Within the enclosure, the dancers themselves became a side-show that visitors could go and view. [Rabbitts 35-36]

Pleasure gardens themselves fell out of fashion, partly because they tended to attract a less than salubrious clientele. But bandstands became an important feature in public parks and at the seaside. Here, rather ironically, the provision of facilities for music was seen to be good for the moral health of the general populance (see Dobraszczyk 156-58). These bandstands, of course, were less elaborate and fanciful confections, but their ironwork could still be very attractive.

Bibliography

Dobraszczyk, Paul. Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment. London and New York: Routledge, 2016. [Review]

Rabbitts, Paul. Bandstands: Pavilions for Music, Entrtainment and Leisure. Swindon: Historic England, 2018.

Last modified 8 March 2016