Vauxhall Gardens wine account book

The Royal Vauxhall Gardens in Lambeth was possibly the most famous pleasure garden in 19th century London, famed for artificial illuminations. These Victorian gardens combined music, drinking, socialising and spectacular entertainments, like a combination of a modern nightclub and theme park.
However, by 1838, the date of this manuscript, Vauxhall Gardens was about to begin a decline which would lead to its closure in 1859. In 1821 Thomas Bish and Frederick Gye had bought the lease to the Gardens from Jonathan Barret. By 1825 Richard Hughes had joined the partnership and Thomas Bish had left, with the remaining pair, Gye and Hughes, continuing the management of the Gardens together until they were declared bankrupt in 1840. The wine account book therefore dates to the very end of the Gye and Hughes period.

During this time Vauxhall Gardens was well-known for fireworks, spectacular entertainments, music and ballooning. The account book contains a number of references to the popular balloon ascents held at the Gardens, together with rough caricatures, such as this picture of ‘Mr Green, Sr’. This is probably Charles Green (1785-1870) who had started ballooning from Vauxhall in 1826. By the time of the account book both Charles Green, his son George, and his brother were engaged in balloon ascents, including balloon races.
In 1836 Gye and Hughes funded the construction of Charles Green’s ‘Royal Vauxhall’ balloon. During that year it made a record-breaking journey as far as Weilburg in Nassau, Germany, and in celebration of the achievement the balloon was renamed the ‘Great Nassau’. The Great Nassau features several times in the wine account book, for example, on Monday 25th June there is a note that it was the “first day fete and first ascent of the Nassau this season, with the first inflation of the balloon by V[auxhall] Gardens gasworks”.
Although the author of the ledger is unknown it is likely to have been a member of the management. It also appears from the text the author was present on some of the balloon flights. After the flight on 25th June he notes that the balloonists were “invited by Mr Roche to Sir William Ellis’s and sat down to supper with 11 or 12 invited nobility at one of the most splendid mansions in England – the residence of Lucien Buonaparte [Napoleon's brother] during his stay in England – Denham Court.”
Likewise on 17th July the note says that “Marshall Soult came on the ground to the Balloon start and seemed to be well pleased. Descended 3 miles beyond Kelvedon… were left by our companions de voyage who appropriated our Post Chaise and were obliged to accept an invitation to sleep at the hall the seat of Lord Western who entertained us in the most hospitable manner possible.” Clearly the person who wrote this must have been more than just a junior member of staff.
The occupants of the balloon on this occasion are listed in An essay on aerial navigation, pointing out modes of directing balloons, by Joseph MacSweeny (1844) as “Messrs. Green, Power, Carnegie, Tennyson, Hughes, Gye and Parbury”.
The only identifying mark in the book is that the image of R. Banford is initialled ‘F.G. Aug 27th 1839’. As the account book was donated to the London Museum by a member of the Gye family, it is possible the author was Frederick Gye himself or, perhaps more likely, his son, Frederick.
Frederick Gye the younger (1810-1878) worked for his father in Vauxhall Gardens from about 1830 to 1840, and in 1838 would have been of an age to enjoy being “smashed in the countenance” with the rest of the drunken crew. The page describes Billy (queerish), Green (very queerish), R.H.J. (drunk) and R. Webb (beastly drunk). Alternatively, if F.G. is Frederick Gye Senior, then all the depictions of Dick asleep could be of Richard Hughes, his business partner. In this case, it is hardly a surprise that the pair were declared bankrupt the following year.