Museum of Garden History
Lambeth Palace Road, SE1
Nearest Tube: Waterloo
This museum is a delight for garden lovers and is located in the de-consecrated St Mary-at-Lambeth Church, in the district of Lambeth. It is based on the lifework of John Tradescant and his son, who were gardeners to James I (1603-25) and Charles I (1625-49). The two men travelled the world in the 17th century bringing back botanical specimens from all over the world.
Nowadays the gardens are home to a wide display of plants and flowers, some dating right the way back to the Tradescants. And there is also a good exhibition of botanical paintings and horticultural tools from through the ages.
The Tradescants are buried in the church grounds, as is Captain Bligh of Bounty fame, who was also a plant collector. William Bligh's most famous adventure took place in 1789 and involved a mutiny by his crew on his ship The Bounty. He was cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but miraculously survived.
In the garden, Bligh's memorial is a sculpture of an eternal flame, whilst the memorial to the Tradescants includes the interesting combination of a seven-headed griffin surrounded by several crocodiles!
The museum is open every day except Saturdays from March to December. Opening hours are from 10.30am-4pm Mondays to Fridays and from 10.30am-5pm on Sundays. Entry is free and there is a café available for refreshments.
|
|
Click here for other parts of south-east London
Click here for other museums in London
Copyright © 1995 to 2016 Smooth Hound Systems
Smooth Hound Systems accepts no liability with regards to the accuracy of the information on this site.
Users are advised to double check information such as dates, times, prices etc.
