'The Italian Walk, Vauxhall Gardens', (c1878). By the late 1700s there were over 200 pleasure gardens in and around London, one of which was Vauxhall Gardens, south of the Thames, which opened in 1660. They were designed to offer the illusion of being in the country whilst at the same time being close to the fashionable centre. From Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, And Its Places. The Southern Suburbs, Volume VI, by Edward Walford. [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London, Paris & New York, c1878]