18th C Hand Colored Engraving of The Rotunda at Ranleagh Gardens After Canaletto

Ranelagh Gardens was one of several pleasure gardens in London, and opened in 1741. Its principal attraction was an heated rotunda designed by William Jones, modelled on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople with a diameter of 150 feet. The print shows the central fireplace with revellers eating their breakfast around it, and the dais holding musicians to the left with a large organ.

The rotunda helped make Ranelagh more popular than its rival in Vauxhall, which had no indoor concert area. Ranelagh also had a better reputation, because the entry fee was higher at two shillings and sixpence, attracting a smarter clientele. Ranelagh Gardens often hosted famous visiting musicians, including the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1764.

The print was made after a painting by Canaletto, commissioned by his patron Thomas Hollis, a political philosopher, who had met the painter while making the Grand Tour. Canaletto visited Britain repeatedly from 1746, building on contacts he had made in Italy and painting many scenes of British urban life.

Ranelagh Gardens was built on a site east of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the location of a house built for Lord Ranelagh in the 1690s.

It was heated by a central fireplace with an orchestra, an organ and 52 candle lit boxes around the walls where guests could take refreshments. Once admitted crowds could promenade around the central fireplace.
The gardens opened on 22 April 1742 for concerts and public breakfasts for three days per week, admission was 12 pence. Although initially popular, they were soon seen as monotonous and rather staid and new features were added to make the venue more interesting, including a canal and Chinese House.
There were masquerades, gaming tables, dancing, and later lotteries and balloon ascents. Entertainments included the young Mozart, performing in 1764. In 1803, the rotunda was used for the final time and Ranelagh Gardens was demolished two years later.