Dances
The influx of affluent guests to the Lake District during the summer season meant an increase in the leisure activities available in tourist hotspots like Keswick and Windermere. Along with regattas, guided walks, boat rides and theatrical productions, other events such as balls and fetes were also held. These occasions would have allowed the visiting gentry to display their wealth and prominence with fine clothing, and socialising with others of similar class and tastes, as they enjoyed an evening of music and dancing.
These events were held in local inns and hotels and sometimes even in theatre buildings, such as the permanent theatre at Whitehaven. In 1825 the Cumberland Pacquet advertised a Valentine’s masquerade and fancy dress ball at the Whitehaven theatre stating that it would be decorated “in a similar style to the Argyle Rooms, London” with evergreens, flowers, variegated lamps and Chinese lanterns fit for the purpose. Music would be organised by Mr. H. Johnstone, who would arrange an “efficient band”, but amateurs were also encouraged to get involved and partake in “Songs, Duets, Glees &c”.
For those without adequate clothing the theatre also rented out dresses, with attendees advised to secure gowns on the Friday and Saturday before the ball. The advertisement ends with the pronouncement that the festivities would commence with a rousing rendition of “GOD SAVE THE KING”.
Such balls would have been part of a larger social calendar which consisted of numerous events planned and advertised by local businesses hoping to profit from the tourists. Providing evening entertainment for the gentry was a further opportunity for local businessmen to profit from the ever-increasing number of visitors to the Lakes.
An invitation to Mr Lishman's Ball in Mr Yewdale's
Large Room, Keswick, for Friday Evening, March 29, 1822, photocopy,
The Wordsworth Trust.