Work and Play in in the emerging neighbourhood of Vauxhall

Home of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens from the 17th to the 19th century,Vauxhall has been a place of entertainment associated with music, singing and dancing across the classes both local and outsiders across the centuries.Yet the area along and just behind the Thames at Vauxhall has also been a place of souless work and grew to be one of the most polluted places in 19th and early 20th century London.

This walk explores the universal themes of work and play in the local setting of Vauxhall as it emerged as a neighbourhood with the coming of the railway in Victorian times and on into the present day.

The railway had a huge influence on the area, and still dominates the landscape of this walk but today 20th and 21st century social and economic factors have now come into play as well, with huge regeneration projects springing up locally, changing the nature of the neighbourhood once more.

The route has been chosen to demonstrate,the importance of the railway to the identity of the area, the types of industry and employment historically attracted to the area, the role of the social employer and the different types of music/ entertainment which took place here or which were associated with this area, where toil and pleasure have existed side by side over time.

The walk is a circular walk,will take 90 minutes and is step free and accessible by public transport and is walkable from the Westminster side of the river, just the other side of Vauxhall Bridge.

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Host or Publisher Barbara Wright