places in the forest area to which the public could resort, but amenities
for providing teas and other refreshments expanded and tea-gardens
sprang up overnight like mushrooms. Such places were usually on a
small scale and unable to cope with the influx of large parties from
schools, Sunday schools, Bands of Hope, Mothers Meetings and other
bodies connected with the church and charitable institutions. Similarly
trade unions and other organisations arranged outings for various
groups, not only poor and deprived children and the elderly but also
for their own membership; firms arranged outings and beanfeasts for
their employees and all looked upon the forest as a handy and suitable
place to which to take such parties.
There was an obvious need for spacious well-ordered refreshment
places which could provide meals at reasonable cost for several
hundred persons at a sitting. John Riggs supplied the answer. He had
been a builder at Haggerston in east London where he had raised a
family of three sons and one daughter. Riggs built what he termed
"Retreats" at various celebrated beauty spots in the forest. They
consisted of commodious wooden pavilions with the necessary
facilities for feeding very large numbers. The important feature was
that they were purely on a temperance basis and no alcoholic refresh-
ments were available. Naturally this aspect coincided with the principles
of the various church and charitable organisations who made good
use of the retreats. Riggs himself turned caterer to furnish the meals
and refreshments at the retreats. At some, but not all, there were
extra amenities in the form of coco-nut shies, roundabouts, swings,
helter-skelters and donkey or pony rides.
The immediate success of Riggs Retreats led many others to
copy his example, and some of the tea gardens, even small ones,
added the name "retreat". These retreats constituted yet another
set-back for the inns and public-houses, who responded by opening
their own temperance tea-gardens adjacent to the licensed premises.
Some of them also installed bands to entertain the customers and
others like some of the retreats provided swings, donkey-rides and
similar side-shows. Competition was fierce and prices were cut to the
bone. It was quite usual to be able to get an "ordinary" on Sunday for
as little as 1/- or 1/6d 'including pastry'. One public-house served an
ordinary on Sundays at 2 o'clock at 2/- per head, but a "cut from the
joint and vegetables at one o'clock at 1/- per plate" with a varied and
elaborate menu including ale at varying prices according to choice.
Others who started "retreats" provided differing facilities. Several
offered to supply free on loan to the Superintendents of schools and
Sunday schools patronising the retreat "Cricket sets and skipping
11