Medical
#59
Chelsea Physic Garden
Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, this is London's oldest botanic garden dedicated to medicinal plants. Living collections are arranged by remedy, region and use, with landmark features like the 18th-century Rock Garden and historical beds that trained generations of apothecaries and botanists.
Opening Hours
Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Admissions
Adult
£16.50
Child
£7.50
Concession
£14.50
Family
£40.00
What's not to miss inside?
Garden of Medicinal Plants
Displays species grouped by body system and pharmacological action, linking traditional remedies to modern drugs.Match a plant label to an active compound and a present-day medicine.
📍 Central beds
The Rock Garden (1773)
Britain's oldest surviving rock garden, built with exotic stone including Icelandic lava and masonry from the Tower of London.Find the contrasting stones and guess their sources before checking the panel.
📍 Riverside corner
Apothecaries' Legacy
Explains how trainee apothecaries learned plant ID, preparation and dosing on site.Follow a 17th-century student's route from bed to stillroom.
📍 Historic interpretation trail
Global Botany & Exchange
Charts plant introductions and networks that connected Chelsea to collectors and herbaria worldwide.Trace one economic plant (cinchona, tea, cacao) from origin to British medicine and trade.
📍 Systematic and world beds
Inspire your Friends
- Sir Hans Sloane secured the garden's future in 1722, leasing the land to the Apothecaries at a peppercorn rent on condition it remain a physic garden.
- The 1773 Rock Garden incorporates Icelandic lava and stone recycled from works at the Tower of London—an 18th-century exercise in 'geology for teaching'.
- Head gardener Philip Miller (in post 1722–1770) turned Chelsea into a botanical powerhouse; his 'Gardener's Dictionary' shaped European horticulture.
- For centuries the garden supplied labeled seed lists ('indices seminum') to institutions worldwide, helping standardise plant names as Linnaean taxonomy spread.
