Princess Alexandra to unveil English Heritage Blue Plaque for former directors of Kew Gardens

27 July 2010

Sir William and Sir Joseph Hooker, the father and son who transformed Kew Gardens in the nineteenth century, to be commemorated for their work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and their contribution to botanical study.

Darwin’s contemporaries, Sir William and Sir Joseph Hooker, botanists and Directors of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will today (Tuesday 27 July 2010) be commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at 11am at their former home, 49 Kew Green, Kew. The plaque, which will be unveiled by Princess Alexandra, celebrates the contribution of these men, who were largely responsible for the establishment of the magnificent botanical gardens at Kew that we know today.

On 15 December 1851 49 Kew Green became the official residence of Sir William Hooker; he was the first Director to inhabit the house. Since then 14 Directors and their families have lived here, including his son Sir Joseph Hooker. Among the historic features of the house is an elegant fireplace with a Wedgewood medallion of Sir William Hooker, appropriately flanked by two Wedgewood plaques of ferns, his favourite group of plants.

Born in Norwich in 1785, William Jackson Hooker demonstrated a passion for botany as a young man. By the time he had turned twenty, he had already discovered a previously unknown moss, which strengthened his conviction that he was ‘determined to give up everything for botany’. This commitment was sealed by his election to the Linnean Society in 1806. By 1820 Hooker had been appointed Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, where he proved a popular lecturer and a prolific author, publishing several important studies including Flora Scotia (1821) and British Flora (1830-38); he also edited the Botanical Magazine and founded the Botanical Miscellany in 1830.

In 1841 William Hooker was appointed Director of the newly nationalised Botanic Gardens at Kew, which had fallen into neglect since the death of Sir Joseph Banks in 1820. During Hooker’s 24 years at Kew Gardens, he dramatically increased their size – from 11 acres to 75 acres of botanic garden and 270 acres of arboretum and pleasure grounds – and transformed their appearance by forming the lake, laying out the avenues and vistas, and building over twenty new glasshouses, including the Palm House. His most lasting innovation, however, was the opening of the Gardens to the public, from one o’clock to six o’clock each day; 9,000 people visited in 1841, and by 1865 the number of visitors had risen to over half a million. At his death, Hooker had published over a hundred volumes of botanical works, specialising in ferns, and had formed an unrivalled herbarium and botanical library, which he bequeathed to Kew.

Joseph Hooker was born at Halesworth in 1817, and followed in his father’s footsteps. He demonstrated a keen interest in botany in his early years and attended his father's lectures from the age of seven. Between 1839 and 1843 he travelled as assistant surgeon and botanist aboard HMS Erebus, exploring the southern oceans, a journey that fuelled a lifelong preoccupation with the geographical distribution of species, and produced six volumes cataloguing the plants he had observed. Shortly after his return Hooker was asked to classify the plants Darwin had gathered in the Galápagos; it was the beginning of a lifelong collaborative friendship, with Hooker becoming a valuable, though not un-critical, defender of Darwin's theory of natural selection. In 1847-49 he made an expedition to the central and eastern Himalayas, surveying the fauna and sending back about 7,000 specimens – which he later classified and named – to Kew. Hooker's greatest botanical work, the Flora of British India, appeared between 1872 and 1897.

In 1855 Joseph Hooker was made assistant to his father and, on Sir William's death in 1865, succeeded him as Director. In 1873 he was elected President of the Royal Society, through which he promoted wider public participation in science. Hooker died in 1911, having continued his father’s project to transform Kew Gardens into the beautiful, fascinating place that people from across the world enjoy visiting today.

Esther Godfrey, English Heritage’s Historian, said; “We are delighted to commemorate the formidable partnership of this father and son with an English Heritage blue plaque at their official Kew residence. The Hookers made important contributions to science, and to public interest in botany, both through the pursuit of botanical enquiry, and in furthering the interests of Kew Gardens.

Whilst Sir William Hooker's role in the establishment and organisation of the Gardens was invaluable, Sir Joseph Hooker was of crucial importance to Kew's scientific work; each man stamped his identity on the Gardens, and together they established the template for future developments at Kew.”

Professor Stephen Hopper, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said “We have an enormous amount to thank William and Joseph Hooker for, and are incredibly proud that they are so closely associated with Kew. Without their dedication and foresight, Kew would not be the globally renowned organisation it is today – offering beauty and tranquillity to visitors, while also delivering first-class plant science research and conservation world wide.”

For further information and interview requests please contact:
Rachel Tooby, English Heritage Communications on 07881 857 986 / 0207 973 3252 /
rachel.tooby@english-heritage.org.uk
Ellie Hughes, English Heritage Communications on 0207 973 3250 / ellie.hughes@english-heritage.org.uk

For further information about the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew please contact the press office on 0208 332 5607 or pr@kew.org

Notes to Editors:

HISTORY OF LONDON’S BLUE PLAQUES Scheme – The blue plaques scheme has been running for 140 years. The idea of erecting 'memorial tablets' was first proposed by William Ewart MP in the House of Commons in 1863. It had an immediate impact on the public imagination, and in 1866 the (Royal) Society of Arts founded an official plaques scheme. The Society erected its first plaque – to poet, Lord Byron – in 1867. The blue plaques scheme was subsequently administered by the London County Council (1901-65) and by the Greater London Council (1965-86)

COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES IN LONDON AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY – There are many plaques schemes which operate alongside – and are complementary to – English Heritage’s own, both in London and across the country. Some of these plaques are blue, though most are of a different form to English Heritage plaques. In addition, the schemes generally operate to different criteria from those of English Heritage – allowing, for instance, the commemoration of ‘sites’ of buildings. Between 1999 and 2005, English Heritage piloted a national scheme, erecting a total of 34 plaques in Liverpool & Merseyside, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Southampton. Since 2007, however, it has turned to the active provision of guidance and advice to the many existing plaques schemes across England, and also assists those who would like to set up schemes or put up plaques on a more limited basis. A formal guidance document was published in May 2010.

LIVED IN LONDON – BLUE PLAQUES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM (published June 2009 by Yale, edited by Emily Cole) provides the first in-depth history of London’s Blue Plaques and offers a unique and fascinating insight into the links between important figures of the past and the buildings in which they lived and worked. By highlighting London’s historical associations, blue plaques enliven the streetscape, and open a window into another time by showing us where the great and the good have penned their masterpieces, developed new technologies, lived or died. For more information, contact Sarah Patel at Yale Publishing: sarah.patel@yaleup.co.uk or 020 7079 4900.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and RBG Kew's country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. Wakehurst Place is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10% of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species) and aim to conserve 25% by 2020. More information: www.kew.org