Garden Museum

Over het museum

The Garden Museum occupies the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, next to Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the Thames. A wooden church is said to have been built on the site in 1062, the stone tower dates from 1377, and the aisles and nave were rebuilt in 1851 to 1852. The churchyard was closed to burials in 1854, and the church was deconsecrated in 1972 and threatened with demolition.

In 1976 Rosemary Nicholson found the church boarded up. She set up the Tradescant Trust, won a 99-year lease and saved the building, which opened in 1977 as the world's first museum of garden history. The churchyard was redesigned as a garden, and the museum honours the plant collector John Tradescant, who created Britain's first public museum at his Lambeth home in the 17th century.

A redesign by Dow Jones Architects reopened the museum in 2008, and in 2015 to 2017 a second phase restored the historic structure with Heritage Lottery Fund support and added new galleries. In 2016 builders found a vault holding 30 coffins, including those of five Archbishops of Canterbury. The Archive of Garden Design opened in 2019. Today the museum shows the history of British gardening and also runs exhibitions, a café and a shop.

Hoogtepunten

• Collection Gallery on British gardening from the 16th century to today, with displays on designers such as Gertrude Jekyll and Humphry Repton
• Wolfson Ark Gallery about John Tradescant and his early museum, with loans from Oxford collections
• Tool gallery and the story of the nursery trade
• Courtyard garden and the Garden Café
• Free digital guide with audio description

Vaste collectie

• Collection Gallery – Displays on British gardening from the 16th century to the present, including garden designers, the nursery trade and a gallery of tools.
• Wolfson Ark Gallery – Presents John Tradescant, who founded Britain's first public museum at his Lambeth house, with objects on loan from Oxford museums.

Opgericht

1977

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices may change. Free entry for Friends and Patrons, carers and members of the Community Access Scheme; Lambeth community organisations get free entry through the Neighbours scheme. The Nave can be entered without a ticket.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie

Level entry through the Garden Café; the permanent collection on the first floor is reached by lift (contact the museum beforehand to check it is working). Accessible toilets with baby changing are on the ground floor; there is no Changing Places toilet on site. A hearing loop is installed in the Clore and Nave spaces, and large print labels are available at the front desk. Guide, hearing and assistance dogs are welcome. Explorer and Sensory Explorer backpacks can be borrowed from the front desk. A parking permit for the Lambeth Palace forecourt next to the entrance can be arranged with advance notice by email.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte

A free trail booklet for ages 4 to 10 comes with paid entry, and explorer and sensory explorer backpacks can be borrowed. Tuesday Tots (term-time, 10:30 to 11:30) and Sunday Sessions for ages 3 and over are free drop-in sessions, and holiday workshops run at half-term, Easter and in summer. Books and toys are available in the Nave, and the upstairs galleries have interactive activities.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is inside the Congestion Charge zone. Cycle racks are provided.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel
• Garderobe: niet aanwezig

Award-winning Garden Café with a seasonal menu and a courtyard garden; shop selling gardening tools, books and gifts. There is no cloakroom, although small bags and coats may be left at the front desk at staff discretion; large bags and suitcases are not accepted.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Privéfeesten
• Zakelijke evenementen
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

Tot 200 personen.

The Nave holds up to 200 standing or 140 seated; the Garden Café and courtyard hold 140 standing; the Clore Learning Space holds 50 standing.

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