Orangery

The Grade I listed Orangery is Kew’s only surviving plant house designed by Sir William Chambers.

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Orangery

Kew's famous Orangery

Did you know?

  • At one time the Orangery was the largest glasshouse in England.
  • The coat of arms above the central bay of the façade is that of Princess Augusta, founder of the Garden. This detail was added in the 1840s, along with the royal coat of arms. 

Historical information

William Chambers was employed by Kew founder Princess Augusta as an architect for the Gardens and tutor to her son (the future King George III). He completed the Orangery in 1761. Built of brick and coated in durable stucco, it is the largest classical style building in the Gardens.

As its name suggests, the Orangery was designed as a hothouse to grow citrus plants but the low levels of light made it unsuitable for this purpose. In 1841, Kew's Director Sir William Hooker shifted the building’s ailing orange trees to Kensington Palace and installed large glazed doors at either end of the Orangery to improve its effectiveness. Thereafter he used the building to house plants too big for other glasshouses.

In 1862-3, these plants moved into the newly opened Temperate House. The Orangery was converted for use as a timber museum, to exhibit wood from Britain’s colonies. Donations were plentiful; in 1878 more than a thousand specimens of wood arrived from the Indian Forest Department alone. Collections of timbers and furniture from the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace also went on display in the museum.

After a period of time as an orientation centre, during which various displays and exhibitions were mounted, the Orangery was converted to a tea room in 1989. It was adapted again in 2002 to its present use as a restaurant. The building is now an airy and elegant eaterie capable of seating 180 visitors at any one time for lunches and afternoon teas. Outside of normal opening hours it is used to host corporate or special-occasion dinners.

Conservation and restoration

The Orangery was extensively repaired in 1833. Fifty years later, two cast iron galleries were added, accessed by spiral staircases. These were removed in 1959 when the building was restored to its original form. The exterior was restored and redecorated again in the 1990s.

 

10 comments on 'Orangery'

Kew Feedback team says

10/07/2012 2:49:28 PM | Report abuse

Hi Elizabeth, Many thanks for your suggestion below. At the moment we don't offer this service however we've forward this on to our visitor services team for future consideration. Thanks for getting in touch.

Elizabeth says

06/07/2012 6:48:50 AM | Report abuse

Can we buy afternoon tea in advance for a gift as part of membership? Would be great if we could add as a treat experience.

rosarie.mc@virgin.net says

06/03/2011 10:02:53 AM | Report abuse

We tried to visit the Orangery twice over the past couple of weeks. On both occasions it seemed completely disorganised. On the last occasion there were no tables available but a large part of the table area was closed off. We spoke to a waiter who said there is no longer a table service option. Generally staff did not seem to be on top of things. Yours, a Kew Gardens member

Kew Feedback team says

01/02/2011 10:43:06 AM | Report abuse

Thanks for your query below. As the Orangery is within the Gardens you will need to pay the admission fee - details are here: www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/visit-information/ticket-prices/index.htm.
There's plenty to do and see while you're here - take a look at our Visit Kew Gardens pages for more information about what's on. We hope you enjoy your visit!

hnb102 says

31/01/2011 1:12:55 PM | Report abuse

Can I just go just to the orangery or do I have to pay to get into Kew Gardens?

Kew Enterprises says

05/01/2011 11:10:21 AM | Report abuse

Following feedback received from visitors, the Orangery now offers both a table service and self-service restaurant. Following the complete conversion of the Orangery to a table service operation in November, some visitors informed us that they would still like to visit the Orangery on a less formal basis. We try to take on board all visitor comments to ensure your time at Kew offers the best possible experience from your visit and have responded accordingly. We hope that you will continue to enjoy the catering facilities at Kew.
Joni Marks
Head of Commercial Activities.

linda stanley says

04/01/2011 7:13:34 PM | Report abuse

As 3 Kew regulars we decided to treat our selves to lunch at the Orangery just before Christmas tempted by your advert. We were disappointed as we did not feel the adverts made it clear we could not have the christmas menu. While a free bottle of wine went down well and the food was good we did ask to seated away from the creche that was building up around the table offered us with babies and buggies - is it so unreasonable not to want to eat without being surrounded by them? It is a noisy space at best, this could be easily remedied although this seems to be required in modern restaurants. Having to sit cheek by jowl with the buggies is a bit of turn off - surely this could be organised better? As a fan of both the National Gallery restaurant (Peyton & Byrne) and recently having enjoyed a super impromtu lunch at the Orangery at Ken Palace - all I can say is Kew could do better but perhaps you are trying to do the impossible.

Marco says

09/06/2010 12:00:00 AM | Report abuse

Because a week ago, during my first visit at the Gardens, I met there the most beautiful red-haired woman I've ever seen :-)

Bill says

12/01/2010 12:00:00 AM | Report abuse

Wooo for oranges!

Douglas Chapman says

30/09/2009 12:00:00 AM | Report abuse

best cake and cappuccino for miles around and the view ain't bad either. I often pop in here in the morning when it is quiet and do a bit of work on my laptop.

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