First opened in the 1860s, the Temperate House at RBG Kew is the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse. After a five-year restoration, it reopens to the public. Fiona Adams meets Richard Barley, Kew’s Director of Horticulture, to learn what's in store
Visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew may have found their progress hampered of late. Fences, workmen, diversions: all have been scattered in rich profusion throughout the famous verdant acres, intrusive symbols of a wealth of Grands Projets.
Each of these projects – renovation of the Pagoda, the creation of the Children’s Garden near Brentford Gate, the reordering of the Evolution Garden – is significant.
Yet none can compare with the greatest renovation challenge in the history of RBG Kew: the complete overhaul of the Temperate House, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world, due to reopen onMay 5 after five long and arduous years. Kew’s Director of Horticulture, for one, cannot wait.
“What am I most excited about?” muses Richard Barley in his book-lined office at the School of Horticulture. “Having it finished!” he laughs.
Richard, from Victoria in southern Australia, came to Kew with his wife and daughter just under five years ago and settled into the only residence still for occupation in the Gardens, the former abode of the Kew Palace housekeeper. He has been on board the Temperate House renovation project ever since the bids for the daunting construction work came in.
“We’ve had many very expert people working on it,” he says. “I was made SRO – Senior Responsible Owner – but essentially my part has been to worry.”
A role, it transpires, with plenty of demanding lines.
“The first section of the Temperate House, the centre block and the two octagons, was built between 1859 and 1863 when William Hooker was Director. Then things stopped for a while, so that the North and South Blocks weren’t completed until around 40 years later under William Thiselton-Dyer.
“There was a lot of variety in the materials and techniques used, so it’s not the same construction from one end to the other. Some of it has more timber, there are different sorts of steel, some bits have casts, more wrought iron and so on. So it’s quite a difficult building to start with.
Temperate House facts
- Designed by Decimus Burton, who also designed the Palm House
- Opened in 1863, the entire construction taking nearly 40 years to complete
- Covers 4,880 square metres, making it twice the size of the Palm House
- Sits on a 1.8 metre high mound of gravel and sand, the spoil from Kew’s lake
- Home to temperate plants from Africa, Australia,New Zealand, the Americas, the Pacific Islandsand Asia
“Glazing systems were rotting, windows inoperable and there was corrosion within the pillars and all manner of other problems.
“As for the plants, they were a mixture of those in good condition – some quite special and rare – and those that were less important. So we had an opportunity not only to fix the building, but also to improve the living collection itself.”
As with many old buildings – especially those of the listed variety – hidden horrors were in no short supply.
“Usually [with such projects] some things are worse, others are better. But here everything was worse,” reveals Richard. “Far more than we or anyone else had anticipated.”
So what exactly did they do? How did the grande dame of Victorian glasshouse architecture come to recover her former glory?
“The building has been completely stripped back. A lot of bits were removed and sent away to be restored, repainted or whatever the nature of the ironwork or woodwork required. Many, many layers of paint – all different sorts – have been peeled off. Sources of corrosion were identified and the problems resolved.
“It really has been a top to bottom job, including the heating systems, electricals, all the glass, climate controls and even the installation of a new biomass boiler in the Stable Yard.”
Scarcely any wonder that the project has cost a total of roughly £41m.
And while the organized chaos reigned, most of the 500 plants – lifeblood and raison d’être of the Temperate House – beat a graceful retreat, taking refuge in “every nook and cranny” of the Gardens. Only a few remained in situ because they were too big to get out through the doors.
“We built one new structure and filled many walkways and spare corners. The three nursery sites within Kew were full of Temperate House stock, propagating new material, seedlings and so forth. Yes, we’ve been full to the gunwales!”
Richard Barley, Kew’s Director of Horticulture
The revitalized glasshouse will host a staggering number of specimens: around 10,000. Planting began back in September, while the renovation was still going on, so as to get them in place by opening day.
“We’ve had a crowded workplace for the past few months,” says Richard, looking somewhat pained. “It’s certainly been a bit of a challenge, and not at all what we would have preferred, but everyone is working cooperatively to ensure that they finish what they have to do,” he adds, ending on a diplomatic note.
Renovation stats
- 69,000 individual elements have been removed from the building and cleaned, repaired or replaced
- 15,000 panes of glass have been replaced
- 116 urns restored, each having to be lifted carefully off the building by crane
- 180km of scaffolding was required, the equivalent in length of the M25
- 5,280 litres of paint were used, enough to cover four football pitches
- The tent structure enclosing the building was large enough to cover three Boeing 747s
- 400 staff members and contractors worked on the project (in phases), taking 1,731 days to complete it
Amongst the plants now safely ensconced in their rejuvenated domain are several that are new even to Kew.
“They’ll add to the overall diversity,” says Richard. “The temperate parts of the world, from southern Australia to parts of South America, California and Asia, constitute a very, very rich source of plants to choose from. We’ve added a lot more material, including germinating seeds from the Millennium Seed Bank down in Sussex for some of the rarer varieties.
“We really wanted to ensure that we were putting in plants that were not only interesting, but had good back stories that related to our research or conservation.”
Does Richard have any particular favourites?
“Ooh,” he enthuses, eyes lighting up like a child in the proverbial candy store, “some of the cycads are really special, and the Encephalartos woodii is the most special of all because it doesn’t exist in the wild. They’re all male and clones from an original plant. We’ve got Banksias too, which provide a link with Joseph Banks [one of the earliest driving forces behind Kew] and his time here in the 1700s. They’re pretty impressive plants…”
The list of gems, I sense, could go on and on. But back to the Temperate House itself. What is it that makes this Victorian treasure so significant?
“It’s a piece of history,” says Richard. “Bear in mind that, in the 1800s, it enabled Kew to show the public plants from around the world. People couldn’t jump on a plane to South Africa or Australia, so being able to see them at Kew was very exciting. It still is, I think, though obviously in a different way.
“It’s a window to the world; the window to science and understanding about plants. Symbolically it’s a bit like Kew as a whole. It’s an old vessel, yet within it lie contemporary and forward-looking things that address all sorts of global challenges.”
Why fight the madding airport crowds, with all these riches on fertile home soil?
The Temperate House reopens to the public on Saturday May 5. For further information on its refurbishment, visit: kew.org
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