Timeline
The Timeline tells the story of Kew from prehistory to its vision
for the future. It ranges from stone axes through ten different
computer-controlled microclimates in one glasshouse to genetic fingerprinting.
It outlines the reasons why botanical gardens started and what they
became. It introduces both famous names like King George III and
'Capability' Brown and lesser-known people who had vast influence
on the Gardens, such as William Chambers, Decimus Burton, William
Nesfield and Sir Joseph Banks. It places events in the attitudes
of their time and traces the evolving role of the Gardens.
The Timeline's pages can be read either in sequence, or by selecting
periods of interest through these links:
Archaeological
Background
The
Medieval
16th
& 17th Centuries: Royal Influences
1700-1772:
Two Royal Gardens
1773-1820:
George III and Joseph Banks
1820-1841:
Gardens in decline
1841-1885:
The flowering of Kew
1885-1945:
Imperial Kew
1945-Today: Modern Kew
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