ng, as in the Council
Chamber in Chelsea College."

Lord Ranelagh died in 1712, and with him the earldom became extinct. The
Ranelagh property passed to his unmarried daughter, Lady Catherine Jones.
In 1715 King George I. was entertained by her at Ranelagh House, together
with a great number of lords and ladies. In 1730 the property was vested
in trustees by an Act of Parliament; the greater part of it was bought by
Swift and Timbrell, who afterwards leased it to Lacey, the patentee of
Drury Lane Theatre. They proposed to turn it into a place of public
amusement, but soon abandoned the idea, and relet it. In 1744 one
Crispe, who then held the lease, became bankrupt, and the property was
divided into thirty-six shares of L1,000 each.

It was in the time of Crispe that the great rotunda was built. This
rotunda was 150 feet in interior diameter, and was intended to be an
imitation of the Pantheon at Rome. The pillars which supported the roof
were of great magnificence, painted for half their height like marble,
and the second half fluted and painted white; they were crowned by
capitals of plaster of Paris. The orchestra was at first in the centre,
but was afterwards removed to one of the porticos, and the centre was
used for a fireplace, which, if the old prints are to be trusted, was
large enough to roast half a score of people at once. We have "A
Perspective View of the Inside of the Amphitheatre in Ranelagh Gardens,"
drawn by W. Newland, and engraved by Walker, 1761; also "Eight Large
Views of Ranelagh and Vauxhall Gardens," by Canaletti and Hooker, 1751.
The roof of this immense building was covered with slate, and projected
all round beyond the walls. There were no less that sixty windows. Round
the rotunda inside were rows of boxes in which the visitors could have
refreshments. The ceiling was decorated with oval panels having painted
figures on a sky-blue ground, and the whole was lighted by twenty-eight
chandeliers descending from the roof in a double circle. The place was
opened on April 5, 1742, when the people went to public breakfasts,
which, according to Walpole, cost eighteenpence a head. The gardens were
not open until more than a month later. The entertainments were at first
chiefly concerts and oratorios, but afterwards magnificent balls and
fetes were held.

Walpole, writing to Sir Francis Mann, says: "Two nights ago Ranelagh
Gardens were opened at Chelsea. The Prince, Princess, Duke, and much
nobility