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| Interior
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The
Garden Museum (formerly the Museum of Garden
History) aims to become the leading national
venue for exhibitions and debate on gardens
and garden design. We opened our doors on Tuesday
18 November 2008 having undergone a dramatic
transformation. While the historic structure
remains untouched, we welcome visitors to a
newly designed interior with a sequence of individual
spaces for exhibitions, the permanent collection,
education, café and shop. For the first
time a selection from our collection of work
on paper is on display; and we began a series
of temporary exhibitions with "Beth Chatto:
a Retrospective". In the words of our Director,
Christopher Woodward, our aim is to capture
‘the garden zeitgeist.’
The
rediscovery of the tomb of 17th century plant
hunters, the John Tradescants, in the churchyard
of St Mary-at-Lambeth led John and Rosemary
Nicholson to save the church from demolition
and found the Museum of Garden History in 1977.
While the building is one of great beauty its
original purpose was not to house an historic
collection and as the 20th century wore on St
Mary’s struggled to work as a modern museum.
In
October 2007 a competition for the design of
a new interior was organised. The winner, London
based architects Dow Jones, devised a free standing
timber structure to create a contemporary space,
including the first gallery in Britain for exhibitions
in garden design. The makeover was complete
when, to reflect the constantly evolving nature
of gardening, the Museum of Garden History became
The Garden Museum. With our innovative programme
of exhibitions, symposia and events we are as
much about the last 30 or 40 years as about
the last 400.
To read a selection
of press coverage about the Museum follow the
links below:
Curious about the collection?
Find out more in our article in World
of Interiors.
Where is the Museum going and
why? Read
an interview with our Director
in Gardens Illustrated .
Why have we built an exhibition
gallery? Click here
to read our article in The Garden
Read the story behind the design
at Building Design by clicking on the
following links:
1, 2.
Want to find out about life
behind the scenes at the Museum? Visit
our Museum blog, The Grapevine.
