Open this week! Lost Gardens of London

Did you know that Southwark once had a zoo? That Canaletto painted the public garden that once graced the approach to Somerset House? Or that one of the capital’s most celebrated botanical gardens now lies near Waterloo station? Our next exhibition Lost Gardens of London will reveal the secret history of some of London’s most beguiling forgotten gardens.

Thousands of gardens have vanished across London over the past five hundred years – ranging from princely pleasure grounds and private botanical gardens, to humble allotments and defunct squares, artists’ gardens, eccentric private menageries and the ecological parks of the twentieth century.

Guest curated by landscape architect and historian Dr Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, Lost Gardens of London will explore this legacy and reveal tantalising glimpses of some of the rich and varied gardens that once embellished the metropolis.

23 October – 2 March
Friends go free