Museum of Garden History
Encyclopedia
The Garden Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Garden History, is based in the deconsecrated parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth adjacent to Lambeth Palace
on the south bank of the River Thames
in London
, located on Lambeth Road
. The church originally housed the 15th and 16th century tombs of many members of the Howard family, including now-lost memorial brasses to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
(died 1524), his wife Agnes Tilney
, Duchess of Norfolk (died 1545) and is also the burial place of Queen Anne Boleyn's mother Elizabeth Boleyn, formerly Howard.
St Mary's, which was largely a Victorian
reconstruction, was deconsecrated in 1972 and was scheduled to be demolished. In 1976 John and Rosemary Nicholson traced the tomb of the two 17th century royal gardeners and plant hunters John Tradescant father
and son
to the churchyard, and were inspired to create the Museum of Garden History. It was the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of gardening. It is an independent charity and does not receive government funding.
In 2008 the interior of the museum had a total makeover and the renamed museum (now Garden Museum) opened to the public on 18 November of that year.
The museum's main gallery is the main body of the church. The collection comprises three main categories: tools, ephemera and a library. The tool collection includes items purchased at auction and donations from individuals and horticultural companies. The ephemera includeds items such as prints, photographs, bills, catalogues and brochures, and gives an insight into the social history of gardening as well as the practical aspects of the subject. The museum covers the whole range of gardening, from royal gardens to allotment
s.
In the early 1980s, a 17th century style knot garden
planted with authentic plants of the period was created in the churchyard. In its 25th anniversary year in 2002 the museum launched a campaign to raise at least £600,000 to pay for a general overhaul of its facilities.
In 2006 Christopher Woodward, formerly director of the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath, was appointed as the new Director of the organisation.
We are in the early stages of plans to complete the restoration of the ancient structure and its transformation into a Museum, after the success of Phase I in 2008: contemporary galleries and spaces for education and events were inserted into the historic interior in an award-winning design by Dow Jones Architects.
This next phase will double the space for display of the permanent collection, 95% of which is in store, and create extra space for our schools and community outreach work, in addition to a bigger café, and modern visitor services. At the core of the project is an aspiration to create the country’s first archive of garden and landscape design. Finally, we are in discussions with The Ashmolean Museum to recreate “Tradescant’s Ark” through the loan of the objects in Tradescant’s collection at Lambeth which were bequeathed to his neighbour, Elias Ashmole.
We are developing ideas on shared activities and programmes with three historic garden charities: the Garden History Society, the Association of Garden Trusts, and Parks and Gardens UK. We hope that the Museum will become a cause with a national resonance, celebrating and exploring the design, history, and art of gardens.
; John Tradescant the younger
with his two wives Jane and Hester, and his son, also called John, who died aged 19. The original 17th century design for the tomb is in the Pepys Library
, Cambridge, and an image of it may also be found at the National Portrait Gallery.
The present tomb is the third on the site of the Tradescant grave and replicates the original design. It was made by White of Vauxhall Bridge
Road in 1853 with stone from Darnley Dale in Yorkshire
.
On the east side of the tomb is carved the family arms, on the west side a skull and a seven-headed hydra
, on the south side broken columns, Corinthian
capitals, a pyramid and ruins, and on the north side shells, a crocodile, and a view of some Egyptian buildings.
The epitaph on the top of the tomb was written by Tradescant's friend, John Aubrey
(spelling modernised):
The church is the oldest structure in the Borough of Lambeth
, except for the crypt of Lambeth Palace
itself, and its burials and monuments are a record of 950 years of a community. But for the Palace it has perhaps the richest historical story of any building in the borough.
In 1062 a wooden church was built on the site by Goda
, sister of Edward the Confessor
; the Domesday Book
records 29 tenancies in her manor. Later in the century it was rebuilt as a stone church and appears to have been at its height of splendour and patronage in the twelfth century, when it functioned as the church to the Archbishop’s London lodgings next door.
The church was a place of burial until the churchyard was closed in 1854, and the level of the site has risen in consequence. It is estimated that there are over 26,000 burials. The continued prestige of the site is reflected in the wills of many citizens who ordered tombs for themselves, particularly in the Chancel. The most significant is the chantry tomb on its north wall to Hugh Peyntwyn (d. 1504), which is the earliest known example of a new design of wall monument associated with the royal workshops. Opposite is a monument of the same type to John Mompesson (d. 1524): St Mary’s is unique in having two monuments of this type.
John Tradescant was buried in the church in 1638, his son, also John, in 1662 and Elias Ashmole
in 1692. Later burials include the soprano Nancy Storace
in the church, and in the churchyard John Sealy of the Coade Stone
Manufactory and Captain Bligh of The Bounty. It is exceptional for three Grade II* tombs (Tradescant, Sealy and Bligh) to be in a single small churchyard. Lambeth expanded quickly in the nineteenth century, and 15,900 burials are recorded in the two decades after 1790. The churchyard was enlarged in 1814 but closed in 1854.
In 1377 the stone tower was built; it was repaired in 1834 – 35 but is otherwise intact. The body of the church was continually rebuilt and enriched over the centuries but, decisively, in 1851 – 2 the aisles and nave were rebuilt by Philip Charles Hardwick
(1822 – 92), an architect prominent in the construction of banks and railway stations but not considered to be in the “first rank” of his generation; it was his father, Sir Philip Hardwick
, who designed the Euston Arch
. It is described by Museum of London Archaeology Service “as an almost complete rebuilding of the old body of the church”. The most eye-catching survivals are four of eight corbels in the ceiling of the nave. These are a mix of medieval and Victorian construction.
One of the few twentieth-century interventions took place in c. 1900 with the insertion of an immersion font, said to be one of only two examples in Anglican churches in England, and a baptistery at the base of the Tower
In the Second World War the stained glass was badly damaged by bombs, and in the 1950s the stained glass was replaced by either plain glass or panels by Francis Stephens (1921–2002), including a replica of the “Pedlar’s Window”. The bombs also broke up the altar donated in 1888 by Sir Henry Doulton
as a memorial to his wife; Doulton’s factory of ornamental ceramic ware stands 300 metres to the south.
In 1972 the church was made redundant in consequence of its dilapidation and gloom, and also because of changes in the population settlement of the parish: the area by the riverside had become derelict and under-populated, and the Vicar wanted a church closer to where the congregation lived. In 1969 Lambeth Council designated the area around Lambeth Palace as one of the borough’s first conservation areas.
Soon after the Church Commissioners obtained the necessary consents for demolition; the altar, bells, and pews were removed. In 1976 Rosemary Nicholson visited the site to see the tomb of John Tradescant
and was shocked to discover the church boarded-up in readiness for its demolition. She established the Tradescant Trust, which was awarded a 99-year lease from the Diocese of Southwark, who continue to own the land. The Trust’s rescue and repair of the structure became one of the great architectural conservation causes of its time, and the church started its journey as a Museum.
Local Lambeth legend states that if the tomb is danced around twelve times as Big Ben strikes midnight a ghost appears.
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
on the south bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, located on Lambeth Road
Lambeth Road
Lambeth Road is a road in Lambeth and Southwark , London running between Lambeth Bridge over the River Thames at the western end and St George's Circus at the eastern end. The road is designated the A3203....
. The church originally housed the 15th and 16th century tombs of many members of the Howard family, including now-lost memorial brasses to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal , styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1514, was the only son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine Moleyns...
(died 1524), his wife Agnes Tilney
Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk
Agnes Howard was the second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Two of King Henry VIII's Queens were her step-granddaughters, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard...
, Duchess of Norfolk (died 1545) and is also the burial place of Queen Anne Boleyn's mother Elizabeth Boleyn, formerly Howard.
St Mary's, which was largely a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
reconstruction, was deconsecrated in 1972 and was scheduled to be demolished. In 1976 John and Rosemary Nicholson traced the tomb of the two 17th century royal gardeners and plant hunters John Tradescant father
John Tradescant the elder
John Tradescant the elder , father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England...
and son
John Tradescant the younger
John Tradescant the Younger , son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent and educated at The King's School, Canterbury...
to the churchyard, and were inspired to create the Museum of Garden History. It was the first museum in the world dedicated to the history of gardening. It is an independent charity and does not receive government funding.
In 2008 the interior of the museum had a total makeover and the renamed museum (now Garden Museum) opened to the public on 18 November of that year.
The museum's main gallery is the main body of the church. The collection comprises three main categories: tools, ephemera and a library. The tool collection includes items purchased at auction and donations from individuals and horticultural companies. The ephemera includeds items such as prints, photographs, bills, catalogues and brochures, and gives an insight into the social history of gardening as well as the practical aspects of the subject. The museum covers the whole range of gardening, from royal gardens to allotment
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
s.
In the early 1980s, a 17th century style knot garden
Knot garden
A knot garden is a garden of very formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary, Calendulas, Violas and Santolina...
planted with authentic plants of the period was created in the churchyard. In its 25th anniversary year in 2002 the museum launched a campaign to raise at least £600,000 to pay for a general overhaul of its facilities.
In 2006 Christopher Woodward, formerly director of the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath, was appointed as the new Director of the organisation.
Phase I
In 2008 the interior was transformed into a centre for exhibitions and events by the construction of contemporary gallery spaces. Three exhibitions each year explore the making of British gardens, and a programme of over 30 talks and interviews celebrates heroes and heroines from the forgotten plant-hunters and gardeners of the past to the designers and writers in fashion today. Visitors will also see a permanent display of paintings, tools, ephemera and historic artefacts: a glimpse into the uniquely British love affair with gardens.Phase II
The Museum is an independent charity and does not receive any public funding. We depend for our existence and development on Friends, Patrons, and charitable Trusts, in addition to income from admission and events.We are in the early stages of plans to complete the restoration of the ancient structure and its transformation into a Museum, after the success of Phase I in 2008: contemporary galleries and spaces for education and events were inserted into the historic interior in an award-winning design by Dow Jones Architects.
This next phase will double the space for display of the permanent collection, 95% of which is in store, and create extra space for our schools and community outreach work, in addition to a bigger café, and modern visitor services. At the core of the project is an aspiration to create the country’s first archive of garden and landscape design. Finally, we are in discussions with The Ashmolean Museum to recreate “Tradescant’s Ark” through the loan of the objects in Tradescant’s collection at Lambeth which were bequeathed to his neighbour, Elias Ashmole.
We are developing ideas on shared activities and programmes with three historic garden charities: the Garden History Society, the Association of Garden Trusts, and Parks and Gardens UK. We hope that the Museum will become a cause with a national resonance, celebrating and exploring the design, history, and art of gardens.
Tomb of the Tradescants
Five members of the Tradescant family are buried here: John Tradescant the elderJohn Tradescant the elder
John Tradescant the elder , father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England...
; John Tradescant the younger
John Tradescant the younger
John Tradescant the Younger , son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent and educated at The King's School, Canterbury...
with his two wives Jane and Hester, and his son, also called John, who died aged 19. The original 17th century design for the tomb is in the Pepys Library
Pepys Library
The Pepys Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge, is the personal library collected by Samuel Pepys which he bequeathed to the college following his death in 1703....
, Cambridge, and an image of it may also be found at the National Portrait Gallery.
The present tomb is the third on the site of the Tradescant grave and replicates the original design. It was made by White of Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a south–east north–west direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank...
Road in 1853 with stone from Darnley Dale in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
On the east side of the tomb is carved the family arms, on the west side a skull and a seven-headed hydra
Lernaean Hydra
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even...
, on the south side broken columns, Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
capitals, a pyramid and ruins, and on the north side shells, a crocodile, and a view of some Egyptian buildings.
The epitaph on the top of the tomb was written by Tradescant's friend, John Aubrey
John Aubrey
John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
(spelling modernised):
- Know, stranger, ere thou pass, beneath this stone
- Lie John Tradescant, grandsire, father, son
- The last dy'd in his spring, the other two,
- Liv'd till they had travelled Orb and Nature through,
- As by their choice Collections may appear,
- Of what is rare in land, in sea, in air,
- Whilst they (as Homer
HomerIn the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's IliadIliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
in a nut)- A world of wonders in one closet shut,
- These famous Antiquarian
AntiquarianAn antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
s that had been- Both Gardeners to the Rose and Lily Queen,
- Transplanted now themselves, sleep here & when
- Angels shall with their trumpets waken men,
- And fire shall purge the world, these three shall rise
- And change this Garden then for Paradise.
St Mary's at Lambeth
The Garden Museum is housed in the medieval and Victorian church of St Mary’s at Lambeth. The first church on the site was built before the Norman Conquest, and was integral to the religious centre established by the Archbishops of Canterbury in the twelfth century. The structure was deconsecrated in 1972 and rescued from demolition by the founder of the Museum, Rosemary Nicholson. The structure of the church was repaired, holding small exhibitions such as The Tradescant Story from 1979. The Museum opened in 1977 as the world’s first museum of garden history; the churchyard was re-designed as a garden.The church is the oldest structure in the Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
, except for the crypt of Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
itself, and its burials and monuments are a record of 950 years of a community. But for the Palace it has perhaps the richest historical story of any building in the borough.
In 1062 a wooden church was built on the site by Goda
Goda of England
Goda of England or Godgifu; was the daughter of King Ethelred the Unready and his second wife Emma of Normandy, and sister of King Edward the Confessor...
, sister of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
; the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records 29 tenancies in her manor. Later in the century it was rebuilt as a stone church and appears to have been at its height of splendour and patronage in the twelfth century, when it functioned as the church to the Archbishop’s London lodgings next door.
The church was a place of burial until the churchyard was closed in 1854, and the level of the site has risen in consequence. It is estimated that there are over 26,000 burials. The continued prestige of the site is reflected in the wills of many citizens who ordered tombs for themselves, particularly in the Chancel. The most significant is the chantry tomb on its north wall to Hugh Peyntwyn (d. 1504), which is the earliest known example of a new design of wall monument associated with the royal workshops. Opposite is a monument of the same type to John Mompesson (d. 1524): St Mary’s is unique in having two monuments of this type.
John Tradescant was buried in the church in 1638, his son, also John, in 1662 and Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
in 1692. Later burials include the soprano Nancy Storace
Nancy Storace
Nancy Storace , , was an English operatic soprano...
in the church, and in the churchyard John Sealy of the Coade Stone
Coade stone
Lithodipyra , or Coade stone, was ceramic stoneware that was often described as an artificial stone in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was used for moulding Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments that were both of the highest quality and remain virtually...
Manufactory and Captain Bligh of The Bounty. It is exceptional for three Grade II* tombs (Tradescant, Sealy and Bligh) to be in a single small churchyard. Lambeth expanded quickly in the nineteenth century, and 15,900 burials are recorded in the two decades after 1790. The churchyard was enlarged in 1814 but closed in 1854.
In 1377 the stone tower was built; it was repaired in 1834 – 35 but is otherwise intact. The body of the church was continually rebuilt and enriched over the centuries but, decisively, in 1851 – 2 the aisles and nave were rebuilt by Philip Charles Hardwick
Philip Charles Hardwick
-Life:Philip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...
(1822 – 92), an architect prominent in the construction of banks and railway stations but not considered to be in the “first rank” of his generation; it was his father, Sir Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...
, who designed the Euston Arch
Euston Arch
The Euston Arch, built in 1837, was the original entrance to Euston station, facing onto Drummond Street, London. The Arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone was later located—principally used as fill in the Prescott Channel—and proposals have...
. It is described by Museum of London Archaeology Service “as an almost complete rebuilding of the old body of the church”. The most eye-catching survivals are four of eight corbels in the ceiling of the nave. These are a mix of medieval and Victorian construction.
One of the few twentieth-century interventions took place in c. 1900 with the insertion of an immersion font, said to be one of only two examples in Anglican churches in England, and a baptistery at the base of the Tower
In the Second World War the stained glass was badly damaged by bombs, and in the 1950s the stained glass was replaced by either plain glass or panels by Francis Stephens (1921–2002), including a replica of the “Pedlar’s Window”. The bombs also broke up the altar donated in 1888 by Sir Henry Doulton
Henry Doulton
Sir Henry Doulton was an English businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery, instrumental in developing the firm of Royal Doulton....
as a memorial to his wife; Doulton’s factory of ornamental ceramic ware stands 300 metres to the south.
In 1972 the church was made redundant in consequence of its dilapidation and gloom, and also because of changes in the population settlement of the parish: the area by the riverside had become derelict and under-populated, and the Vicar wanted a church closer to where the congregation lived. In 1969 Lambeth Council designated the area around Lambeth Palace as one of the borough’s first conservation areas.
Soon after the Church Commissioners obtained the necessary consents for demolition; the altar, bells, and pews were removed. In 1976 Rosemary Nicholson visited the site to see the tomb of John Tradescant
John Tradescant the elder
John Tradescant the elder , father of John Tradescant the younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England...
and was shocked to discover the church boarded-up in readiness for its demolition. She established the Tradescant Trust, which was awarded a 99-year lease from the Diocese of Southwark, who continue to own the land. The Trust’s rescue and repair of the structure became one of the great architectural conservation causes of its time, and the church started its journey as a Museum.
Local Lambeth legend states that if the tomb is danced around twelve times as Big Ben strikes midnight a ghost appears.