1820 - 1841: Gardens in decline
It is difficult to ascribe blame for the decline of the Botanic
Gardens at Kew over the twenty years between 1820 and 1841. Certainly
the apathy of George IV did not help, neither did the Treasury's
economies nor increased competition from other horticultural establishments.
To compound this situation, William Townsend Aiton (W Aiton, his
father died in 1793) was ordered by George IV to redesign other
royal gardens including Buckingham Palace and St James's Park. This
left Kew very much adrift and under the direct management only of
its four foremen, in charge respectively of the Botanic Garden,
the Pleasure Grounds, the Kitchen Garden and the Fruit and Forcing
Department.
Finally, all of the Gardens' foreign collectors appointed by Banks
were withdrawn, and by 1831 the Botanic Gardens at Kew no longer
actively collected plants, although it still received many specimens.
Find out more.....
 George
IV's influence
William
IV reopens Kew Green
Questions
in Parliament 1837-1840
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to: Timeline overview
 On to: 1841-1885:
The flowering of Kew
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