Ancient times The depiction of entertainment in nature has been documented as far back as 1500 BC, with depictions of garden scenes with guests entertained by musicians and dancing girls. In
ancient Rome, the
landscaped Gardens of Sallust (
Horti Sallustiani) were developed as a private garden by the historian
Sallust. The gardens were acquired by the
Roman Emperor Tiberius for public use. Containing many pavilions, a
temple to
Venus, and
monumental sculptures, the gardens were open to the public for centuries. A
paradeisos was a playground for the Persian nobility, combining parklands, orchards and hunting grounds. In 321 BC the
Partition of Triparadisus was signed at Triparidisus in Syria, a vast pleasure grounds complex in Syria. Formal, extravagant pleasure gardens came to Roman Britain in the 1st century AD, such as can now be seen at
Fishbourne Roman Palace. Such gardens were typically decorated with statues, columns, fountains and frescoed walls, as well as decorative stonework. They would likely have been used for hosting and entertaining Roman-born officials and merchants, as well as the native, Romanized British upper classes.
Marylebone Gardens was visited by
Samuel Pepys on 7 May 1668: "And we abroad to Marrowbone, and there walked in the garden, the first time I ever was there, and a pretty place it is".
Cuper's Gardens, on the southern bank of the
River Thames, opened in the 1680s. These both expanded their areas greatly in the 18th century, the heyday of the pleasure garden. New openings in the 18th and 19th centuries in London included
Cremorne Gardens,
Ranelagh Gardens,
Royal Surrey Gardens,
Vauxhall Gardens and
Royal Flora Gardens. Other cities, in England and abroad, acquired their own, such as
Holte Bridgman's Apollo Gardens in
Birmingham (1740s) and
Leeds Royal Park in 1858. Most modern gardens would have been called "pleasure gardens", especially in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many contained large concert halls, or hosted
promenade concerts; some lesser discussed pleasure gardens were home to haberdasheries and harems. A smaller version of a pleasure garden is a
tea garden, where visitors may drink
tea and stroll. The rise of the suburban, private garden in the 20th century coincided with and influenced the decline of the public pleasure garden. ==See also==