ON THIS DAY IN THE VERSAILLES CENTURY (1682-1789)

3 April 1776 

On this day, following on from yesterday’s visit to the faisanderie, the Duc de Croÿ goes with the Abbé d’Arvillars to see M Boutin’s pleasure garden.* 

Simon Gabriel Boutin (1720-1794) is the wealthy son of a farmer-general. He has been working for a decade on a pleasure park that features gardens and follies in various styles, including in the new English style. He calls his garden Tivoli, but it is commonly called the Folie-Boutin. Poor M Boutin dies on the guillotine, but his park becomes a public attraction under the Tivoli name and later moves to another location nearby. There are at this date several pleasure parks in the area, a trend started by the Duc de Richelieu in the 1730s.

*Journal of the Duc de Croÿ

Pictured: The Place de l’Europe-Simone-Veil today occupies the original site of the Folie-Boutin.

Credit — CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=438239

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