For a few years subsequent to 1714 the place appears to have fallen into neglect; but it afterwards was once more frequented, and in 1720 the author of May Day[29] writes:—
Now nine-pin alleys, and now skettles grace,
The late forlorn, sad, desolated place;
Arbours of jasmine fragrant shades compose
And numerous blended companies enclose.
On May-day the milkmaids and their swains danced in the gardens to the music of the fiddler. Holiday folk flocked to test the virtues of the spring, and from this time onwards, the London Spa enjoyed some degree of popularity. In the summer of 1733, Poor Robin’s Almanack records how—
Sweethearts with their sweethearts go
To Islington or London Spaw;
Some go but just to drink the water,
Some for the ale which they like better.