The Garden Museum

The museum of gardening situated inside a church!

Location: Lambeth Palace Road, Lambeth, SE1 7LB

Description: The Garden Museum was founded by Rosemary and John Nicholson in 1977 in order to rescue the abandoned church of St Mary's, due due for demolition. Formerly known as the Museum of Garden History, its Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens.

In 1062 A wooden church was built here by Goda, the sister of Edward the Confessor, and the Doomsday Book of 1086 records 29 tenancies in her manor. A few years later it was rebuilt in stone becoming the church to the Archbishops with their London lodgings next door.

The historic Lambeth landmark is the burial place of John Tradescant (c15701638), the first great gardener and plant-hunter in British history. His magnificent and enigmatic tomb is the centrepiece of the Sackler Garden, designed to reflect Tradescant's life and spirit.

Today the Museum's main gallery is on the first floor of the church, including tools, art, and ephemera of gardening. There is a gallery about garden design and the evolution of gardening, as well as a recreation of Tradescant's 17th-century Ark.

The Sackler Garden, designed by Dan Pearson sits at the centre of the courtyard, and the Museum's front garden is designed by Christopher Bradley-Hole.

Tours: Great Gardens of London

Themes: Nature Nature Theme