Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
| Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Reference | 1084 |
| Region** | Europe |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2003 (27th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are 121 hectares[1] of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. The director is Professor Stephen D. Hopper, who succeeded Professor Sir Peter Crane. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is also the name of the organisation that runs Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex. It is an internationally important botanical research and education institution with 700 staff and an income of £56 million for the year ended 31 March 2008, as well as a visitor attraction receiving almost 2 million visits in that year.[2] The gardens are a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Created in 1759,[3] the gardens celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2009.
The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is responsible for the world's largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is the largest in the world, has over 7 million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. The Kew site includes four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures in an internationally significant landscape.[4]
History
Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury. It was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, for whom Sir William Chambers built several garden structures. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.
The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson, in 1771.[5] In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden. Under Kew's director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 hectares (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 120 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith.
The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate house, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence.
Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber trees for cultivation outside South America.
In February 1913 the Tea House was burnt down by suffragettes Olive Wharry and Lilian Lenton during a series of arson attacks in London.[6]
In October 1987 Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987.
In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites[3] by UNESCO.
Professional activities
Herbarium
The Kew herbarium is one of the largest in the world with approximately 7 million specimens used primarily for taxonomic study.[7] The herbarium is rich in types for all regions of the world, especially the tropics.
The Harvard University Herbaria and the Australian National Herbarium co-operate with Kew in the IPNI database to produce an authoritative source of information on botanical nomenclature.
Seedbank
Kew is important as a seedbank. It co-sponsors the Millennium Seed Bank Project inside the Wellcome Trust Millennium Building at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
Despite unfavourable growing conditions (atmospheric pollution from London, dry soils and low rainfall) Kew remains one of the most comprehensive plant collections in Britain. In an attempt to expand the collections away from these unfavourable conditions, Kew has established two out-stations, at Wakehurst Place in Sussex, a National Trust property, and (jointly with the Forestry Commission) Bedgebury Pinetum in Kent, the latter specialising in growing conifers.
Library and archives
The library and archives at Kew are one of the world's largest botanical collections, with over half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, periodicals, and maps. The Jodrell Library was recently merged with the Economic Botany and Mycology Libraries and all are now housed in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Forensic horticulture
Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases.
Economic Botany
The Sustainable Uses of Plants group, (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany) focus on the uses of plants in the United Kingdom and the world's arid and semi-arid zones. The Centre is also responsible for curation of the Economic Botany Collection, which contains more than 90,000 botanical raw materials and ethnographic artefacts, some of which are on display in the Plants + People exhibit in Museum No. 1. The Centre is now located in the Jodrell Laboratory.[8]
Attractions
Alpine house
In March 2006 the Davies Alpine House opened, the third version of an alpine house since 1887. The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over the plants.
To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through a labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round.
Chokushi-Mon
Built for the Japan-British Exhibition (1910) and moved to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon is a four-fifths scale replica of the karamon (gateway) of the Nishi Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto. It lies c. 140 m west of the Pagoda, surrounded by a reconstruction of a traditional Japanese garden.
Compost heap
Kew has the largest compost heap in the world, made from green waste from the gardens and the waste from the stables of the Household Cavalry. The compost is mainly used in the gardens but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fund raising event for the gardens.
The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to the general public but a viewing platform has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle.
Guided walks
Free tours of the gardens are conducted by trained volunteers and leave from Victoria Gate at 11 am and 2 pm every day (except Christmas Day).
International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition
This competition is now an annual event with an outdoor display of entries during the summer months.
Kew Palace
Kew Palace is the smallest of the British royal palaces. It was built by Samuel Fortrey, a Dutch merchant in around 1631. It was later purchased by George III. The construction method is known as Flemish bond and involves laying the bricks with long and short sides alternating. This and the gabled front tend to give the construction a definite Dutch appearance.
To the rear of the building is the "Queen's Garden" which includes a collection of plants believed to have medicinal qualities. Only plants that were extant in England by the 17th century are grown in the garden.
The building underwent significant restoration before being opened to the public in 2006.
It is administered separately from the gardens and is the only permanently open attraction within the grounds that requires an additional fee to view.
Minka house
Following the Japan 2001 festival, Kew acquired a Japanese wooden house called a minka. It was originally erected in around 1900 in a suburb of Okazaki. Japanese craftsmen reassembled the framework and British builders who had worked on the Globe Theatre added the mud wall panels.
Work on the house started on 7 May 2001 and when the framework was completed on 21 May, a Japanese ceremony was held to mark what was considered an auspicious occasion. Work on the building of the house was completed in November 2001 but the internal artifacts were not all in place until 2006.
The Minka house is located within the bamboo collection in the West central part of the gardens.
Marianne North Gallery
The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia to paint plants in a time when women rarely did so. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. The paintings were left to Kew by the artist and a condition of the bequest is that the layout of the paintings in the gallery may not be altered.
The Marianne North Gallery reopened in October 2009 after refurbishment and restoration of paintings.
Museums
Near the Palm House is a building known as "Museum No. 1" which was designed by Decimus Burton and opened in 1857. Its aim was to illustrate humans' dependence on plants, housing Kew's economic botany collections including tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines. The building was refurbished in 1998. The upper two floors are now an education centre and the ground floor houses the "Plants+People" exhibition which highlights the variety of plants and the ways that people use them.
Admission to the galleries and museums is free after paying admission to the Gardens.
Nash Conservatory
Originally designed for Buckingham Palace, this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV.[9] It currently houses an exhibition related to rainforests.
Orangery
The Orangery was designed by Sir William Chambers, and was completed in 1761. It measures 28 m x 10 m. After many changes of use, it is currently used as a restaurant.
Pagoda
In the South East corner of Kew Gardens stands the Great Pagoda (by Sir William Chambers), erected in 1762, from a design in imitation of the Chinese Ta. The lowest of the ten octagonal storeys is 49 feet (15 m) in diameter. From the base to the highest point is 163 feet (50 m).
Each storey finishes with a projecting roof, after the Chinese manner, originally covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons; a story is still propagated that they were made of gold and were reputedly sold by George IV to settle his debts.[10] The truth is that the dragons were made of wood painted gold, and simply rotted away with the ravages of time. The walls of the building are composed of brick. The staircase, 253 steps, is in the centre of the building. The Pagoda was closed to the public for many years, but reopened for the summer months in 2006. Renovation is under way for permanent opening to the public to celebrate Kew's 250th birthday in 2009.
During the Second World War a hole in each floor was cut so there was a hole running down the inside from top to bottom. Model bombs were then dropped to test the way that they fell.[11]
Princess of Wales conservatory
Kew's third major conservatory, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta's associations with Kew.[12] The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants.
Queen Charlotte's Cottage
Within the conservation area is a cottage that was given to Queen Charlotte as a wedding present on her marriage to George III. It has been restored by Historic Royal Palaces and is separately administered by them.
It is open to the public on the May Day and August bank holidays and at weekends during July and August.
Rhizotron
A rhizotron opened at the same time as the "treetop walkway" giving visitors the opportunity to investigate what happens beneath the ground where trees grow. The rhizotron is essentially a single gallery containing a set of large bronze abstract castings which contain LCD screens that carry repeating loops of information about the life of trees.
Sackler Crossing
The Sackler Crossing bridge made of granite and bronze opened in May 2006. Designed by Buro Happold and John Pawson, it crosses the lake and is named in honour of philanthropists Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler.
The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2008.
Shirley Sherwood Gallery
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art opened in April 2008, and holds paintings from Kew's and Dr Shirley Sherwood's collections, many of which had never been displayed to the public before. It features paintings by artists such as Georg D. Ehret, the Bauer brothers, Pierre-Joseph Redouté and Walter Hood Fitch. The paintings and drawings are cycled on a six monthly basis. The gallery is linked to the Marianne North Gallery (see above).
Temperate House
This greenhouse has twice the floor area of the Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. It contains plants and trees from all the temperate regions of the world.
There is a viewing gallery in the central section where visitors may look down on the collection there.
Treetop walkway
A new treetop walkway[13] opened on May 24, 2008. This walkway is 18 metres (59 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) long and takes visitors into the tree canopy of a woodland glade. Visitors can ascend and descend either by stairs or by the use of a lift. The floor of the walkway is made from perforated metal and flexes as it is walked upon. The entire structure sways in the wind.
The image to the left shows a section of the walkway and the steel supports that were designed to rust to a tree-like appearance to help the walkway fit in with its surroundings.
There is a short film detailing the construction of the walkway available online.[14]
Vehicular tour
Kew Explorer is a service that takes a circular route around the gardens, provided by two 72-seater road trains that are fueled by Calor Gas to minimise pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops.
A map of the gardens is available at Map of Kew Gardens
Waterlily House
The water lily house is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of waterlily, surrounded by a display of economically important heat-loving plants.
Plant collections at Kew
The Aquatic Garden
Celebrating its centenary in 2009 the Aquatic Garden provides conditions for aquatic and marginal plants. The large central pool holds a selection of summer-flowering waterlilies whilst the corner pools contain plants such as reed mace, bulrushes, phragmites and smaller floating aquatic species.
The Arboretum
The arboretum at Kew covers over half of the total area of the site and contains over 14,000 trees of many thousands of varieties.
The Cacti collection
This is housed in and around the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Carnivorous Plant collection
This is housed in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Grass Garden
Created on its current site in the early 1980s to display ornamental and economic grasses. It was redesigned and replanted between 1994 and 1997. It is currently undergoing a further redesign and planting. Over 580 species of grasses are displayed.
The Herbaceous Grounds (Order Beds)
The Order Beds were devised in the late 1860s by Sir Joseph Hooker, then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so that botany students could learn to recognise plants and experience at first hand the diversity of the plant kingdom. The collection is organised into family groups. Its name arose because plant families were known as natural orders in the 19th century. Over the main path is a rose pergola built in 1959 to mark the bicentennial of the Gardens. It supports climber and rambling roses selected for the length and profusion of flowering.
The Orchid collection
The orchid collection is housed in two climate zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory. To maintain an interesting display the plants are changed regularly so that those on view are generally flowering.
The Rock Garden
Originally built of limestone in 1882 it is now constructed of Sussex sandstone from West Hoathly, Sussex. The rock garden is divided into six geographic regions: Europe, Mediterranean and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America. There are currently 2,480 different 'accessions' growing in the garden.
The Rose garden
The rose garden, which is behind the palm house, is being replanted.
Other collections
Other collections and specialist areas include; the bonsai collection, the rhodedendron dell, the azalea garden, the bamboo garden, the juniper collection, the berberis dell, the lilac garden, the magnolia collection, and the fern collection.
TV / DVD
There have been three series of "A Year at Kew" filmed in the gardens for BBC television. These have been released on DVD, including a box set of all three programmes.
Transport
Public transport
The nearest combined rail and London Underground station is Kew Gardens (District Line and London Overground) to the east of the gardens. To the north, Kew Bridge railway station is about 10–15 minutes from the main entrance, with trains to Clapham Junction and Waterloo. There are two bus route suitable for the gardens, 65 and 391
Cycle and Car
There are cycle racks located just inside the Victoria Gate, Main Gate and Brentford Gate entrances to the park. For those arriving by car there is a 300-space car park outside Brentford Gate.[15]
Gallery
 Dale Chihuly glass art at the exhibition of his work in 2005 |
 Henry Moore statue at the exhibition of his work in 2007 |
 Titan arum in the Princess of Wales Conservatory |
 The Alpine House and Princess of Wales Conservatory in polar coordinates |
 The Kew Mural by Robert H. Games |
See also
- Botanists active at Kew Gardens
- Joseph Dalton Hooker who succeeded his father as director in 1865.
- The Great Plant Hunt – a primary school science initiative created by Kew Gardens, commissioned and funded by the Wellcome Trust
References
- ↑ "Kew, History & Heritage". http://www.kew.org/ksheets/pdfs/k16kewhistory.pdf.
- ↑ Annual Report, pages 11 and 33
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". World Heritage. UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1084. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ↑ Director of Royal Botanic Gardens
- ↑ Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- ↑ "Suffragists burn a pavillion at Kew; Two Arrested and Held Without Bail -- One Throws a Book at a Magistrate". The New York Times. February 21, 1913. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0DE5DA133BE633A25752C2A9649C946296D6CF.
- ↑ Kew website, Herbarium Collections
- ↑ Kew Economic Botany
- ↑ Official Kew website
- ↑ Kew, History & Heritage
- ↑ Google Books
- ↑ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Augusta, Princess of Wales. Retrieved 6 October 2005.
- ↑ Treetop Walkway
- ↑ The making of the Treetop Walkway
- ↑ "How to find us". http://www.kew.org/visitor/findkew.html.
External links
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Official website
- Millennium Seed Bank Project
- Kew on Facebook
- Kew on YouTube
- Kew on Twitter
- Kew on Flickr
- The International Plant Names Index
- BBC A Year at Kew documentary behind the scenes at Kew Gardens
- Explore Kew Gardens Virtual tour including 360° panoramas, mini-movies, maps and full text for the hearing-impaired
- Images and some highlights of Kew
- The Pagoda reopens to the public at Kew Gardens
- Macros pictures of flowers and plants in Kew
- A short movie about Kew Gardens
- Sky News pictures and video introducing Treetop Walkway
- 1903 illustrated article – The Days Work in Kew Gardens
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