Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (also known as Kew Gardens), Greater London, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:   

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The new Palace of Sheen surrounded by a new royal park was created under Henry V and Henry VI about 1414-1454, the palace being rebuilt for Henry VII after a fire destroyed it in about 1499. A new and larger royal park, known as the New Park, was created by James I in 1603, on former Charterhouse lands and the site of the earlier royal park. It is thought that Solomon de Caus may have worked on the gardens of Richmond Palace between 1603 and 1612 (The Old Deer Park 1990). A hunting lodge, Richmond Lodge, was built for James in about 1605-1606. The park became known as the Old or Little Park when, in 1637, Charles I (1600-1649) created his New or Great Park (now known as Richmond Park) about 1 kilometre to the south.

In about 1721 the Richmond Lodge estate was acquired by George Augustus, Prince of Wales, and became the centre of the Royal Court. Five years later, after his accession to the throne, George II gave the estate to Queen Caroline and it became the favourite residence of the royal family. By 1727 Caroline had already made several embellishments to the grounds, employing Charles Bridgeman (d 1738) in favour of Stephen Switzer (1682-1745). William Kent (1684-1748) was also employed at Richmond from about 1730 and designed first a Grotto or Hermitage and by 1735, Merlin's Cave.

In 1731 Frederick, Prince of Wales acquired White House, Kew, to the north of Richmond Lodge, and employed William Kent to work on the house and garden. Frederick indulged in his taste for exotic buildings which included Chinese and Indian houses and in the last years of his life began a collection of exotic plants at Kew. Under the care of the Dowager Princess the gardens at Kew developed and were extended. The Princess used Sir William Chambers as her architectural advisor, with Lord Bute providing advice on the botanical collection.

Richmond Lodge estate was inherited in 1760 by George III and became the summer residence of the King and Queen Charlotte. In 1764 George III appointed Lancelot Brown (1716-1783) Royal Gardener, and one of his first tasks was alterations to the Richmond Lodge estate. By 1767 the ha-ha had been constructed and by 1770 most of the works of Bridgeman and Kent had been removed, as had the village of West Sheen which stood in the Old Deer Park. The Lodge was found to be too small for the royal family and they moved to the White House. Although members of the royal family had lived in the neighbouring Dutch House (built 1631 by Samuel Fortrey) from 1734 onward, it was not until 1781 that George III bought the freehold of it. After 1802 when the old White House was demolished, Kew Palace, as the Dutch House was now called, became the principal royal residence.

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), President of the Royal Society, acted as botanical advisor to George III and with William Aiton (1731-1793) as Head Gardener the botanical collection at Kew expanded rapidly. In 1802 the lane that divided the Richmond Lodge gardens and the Kew Palace gardens was closed and the gardens became one unit. By 1841, when the botanic garden was taken over by the state, it was already semi-public. Visitors were admitted daily between 1pm and 6pm, except for Sundays, and there were no admission charges. Under the first Director, Sir William Hooker (1785-1865), the size of the botanic gardens increased to over 100 hectares. From 1843 they were relandscaped by William Andrews Nesfield (1793-1881), the architect Decimus Burton (1800-1881) working on the buildings.

The 19th century saw many changes at Kew. In 1848 the extension of the London and South-Western Railway from Richmond was built along the south-east boundary of the Old Deer Park. In 1876 the Jodrell Laboratory was founded by the then director of the botanic gardens, Sir Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), son of Sir William Hooker. In 1885, Richmond Town Cricket Club and Athletic Association secured a lease from the Crown of about 3.5 hectares of land on the south-east side of the Old Deer Park, and the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Course a lease of about 92 hectares in 1892. In the 1850s the responsibility of Kew passed from the Commissioners of Woods and Forest to the Commissioners of Works and Buildings, and in 1898 they instructed the director to extend the opening hours for visitors in the summer.

Between 1903 and 1984 the gardens were administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Under the National Heritage Act 1983 a Board of Trustees were appointed to manage the gardens, an arrangement which continues today (1998).