Gnome and Away at the Garden Museum

The Garden Museum has always been a firm favourite with us here at The Ministry of Curiosity, so it's sad and exciting to report that from the 30th October 2015 the museum will be closing up, cataloguing objects and packing them away for a redisplay due to open early in 2017. But before it does, you need to take a long look at their Gnome and Away exhibition that ingeniously shows off some of the processes of decanting, packing and moving objects from the gallery and into storage.

So many hoes in here where do I begin? 

Largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund the development of the Museum currently housed in the deconsecrated and beautiful parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth will give the collection more space in the doubling of gallery spaces, new pavilions for earning spaces and the much needed but not so sexy work on the electrics and drainage. There is even an exciting plan to resurrect some of John Tradescant’s ‘Ark’ an infamous cabinet of curiosities that became the first museum to open to the public in the seventeenth century. With many objects collected by the naturalist and traveller now owned by the Ashmolean museum the garden museum are working closely with the Oxford institution to bring the objects back to Lambeth and closer to the collector himself whose tomb lies in the garden of the museum.

But of course, the museums intent to show off the history of the nation’s gardens from 2017 comes at no small cost. To reach their target they need to take an additional £500,000 in donations and thus have asked the public to contribute by adopting an object, not a fresh idea but an effective one. The donor will not only get the satisfaction of helping out a small museum but also attend a special private view of the new galleries and be credited on object labels. Here are a few special objects up for donor grabs including a miniature flower pot for £250.

 

Does this have your name on it? 

However before opening the new galleries the staff of the museum have to take on a museum mission that is a full decant of the building - no easy feat. In anticipation of this workload the curatorial team have provided visitors a sneak peak of what closing a museum entails. Offering visitors a ‘last chance’ to see the Garden museum's unique collection, the Gnome and Away exhibition invites visitors to rifle through the drawers of photographs, peer at the salon hang of their impressive art collection and gaze into open crates with objects ready to be packed. An even more delightful touch is that they have used catalogue cards instead of labels and each card details storage guidelines, conservation considerations and the standard reference of collection and accession number. For the fellow museum professional the exhibition even boasts a cataloguing table complete with gloves, cards, and tissue paper, hopefully reminding the public that the considerations of temporarily closing a museum go further than stopping visitation. A clear and concise plan of action for the objects is vital to any decant and the opportunity to catalogue, conserve and reconsider the collection during this downtime is vital for the longevity of any collection.

Here at The Ministry we urge you to visit the museum, and treat yourself to a bit of cake in the cafe. The beetroot and chocolate cake in the garden is a brilliant treat.

The Museum, Café and shop are open 10:30 - 17:00 Sunday to Friday and 10:30 - 16:00 on Saturdays; last orders in the cafe are 30 minutes before we close.

Chilling with the Tradescants at the Garden Museum

Spring has finally sprung here in London and all signs point to the Garden Museum in Lambeth as the place to be. We first noticed the Garden Museum when it was named one of the world's best museum cafes by Gourmet Magazine last year. Then a few days ago a non-museum friend of mine remarked over drinks that she had found her dream wedding venue (note: this friend is not actually getting married). When I asked her where, she enthused about the Garden Museum's stunning architecture and garden which she had recently booked for a corporate event. Clearly everyone needs to get down to Lambeth ASAP.

Their cakes are famous. Actually.

But what will you find when you arrive? It's worth mentioning that the Garden Museum is very small. It is situated inside the St-Mary-at-Lambeth Church which has been re-purposed with a minimalist chic interior. The whole idea for the museum came about back in the 1970s when the church was just a crumbing ruin. It wasn't until someone noticed the exotic looking tomb in the courtyard that everyone remembered, oh yeah aren't the Tradescants buried there?

Crocodile tomb stone...yes. 

The Tradescants you say? Well because you are museum geeks there is probably a faint bell ringing somewhere in your mind saying words like 'Ark' and 'Ashmolean'. Yes the father and son team of John (Elder and Younger) Tradescant, did indeed travel the world in the 17th century bringing back with them their collection of natural curiosities known as the 'Ark'. This collection was shown to the public at their home in Lambeth, effectively becoming the first museum in Britain. It later formed the basis of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. That's some museology knowledge for you.

The Knot Garden

They seem like pretty important guys, but what do they have to do with gardening? Apparently John the Elder was the first famous British gardener who was gardener to King James the 1st. They travelled the world looking for new plants to bring back to England. If you head out to the museum's garden you can see some of the varieties first introduced by this pioneering duo.


In the scheme of things, the Garden Museum is a very young museum. It has a collection of about 5,000 objects, only a few of which can be displayed in the small upstairs permanent gallery. I particularly enjoyed the case dedicated to garden gnomes.

I don't mean for this to sound superficial, but the cafe and the gift shop are actually really really good. Seriously. If you want a great day out with your mom, take her here. The cakes are gorgeous and everything in the shop is adorable. Even if you don't really like gardening you can't say no to a well designed mug or tote bag.

Here is what we suggest you do: on a sunny morning take the tube to Westminster. Walk down the Embankment and across Lambeth Bridge. You will then immediately need to take a break in the cafe. Then wander in the garden in the sunshine, say hey to the Tradescants. Give the exhibits a quick wander then hit the giftshop. Spring time happiness made to order.

The Garden Museum is open everyday (except the first Monday of the month). There is an admission charge, but its worth it to support them! http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/