Kew awarded £5m for Palm House renovation

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has been awarded a landmark donation of £5m from the Julia Rausing Trust towards the ecological site’s Palm House renovation project.

Palm House and Waterlily House are 19th-century glasshouses, which Kew says are showing serious signs of deterioration having last undergone a renovation in the 1980s. Without urgent work the listed buildings and tropical plants they protect are at risk of being lost.

Kew submitted design plans to Richmond Council in July and the renovation of the glasshouses is likely to begin in 2027, during which they will be temporarily closed.   

The project is expected to cost in the region of £60m and will make the glasshouses the first net-zero heritage glasshouses of their kind.  

Originally constructed in the 1840s, the grade 1 and 2-listed Victorian glasshouses are not energy efficient. Both represented cutting-edge technology and thinking at that time and require a lot of energy to keep the right conditions for the plants held within.

Having previously transitioned from coal to oil and then to gas, this is the first time in history that renewable options can feasibly be used to power the Palm House and Waterlily House, creating carbon neutral Victorian glasshouses that will protect the plants inside, including the lily pads of Victoria boliviana and Victoria amazonica that reach over three metres in diameter. 

Kew has raised almost a third of the funds to date, which includes money pledged by Defra, World Monuments Fund, as well as donors who have chosen to remain anonymous. RBG Kew continues to look for additional support.

Richard Deverell, the director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: "We are incredibly grateful to the Julia Rausing Trust for this visionary gift and becoming an early supporter. It will not only help us protect the extraordinary heritage of the Waterlily House but might inspire others to consider donating to help us renovate these iconic buildings.”

The Julia Rausing Trust donation is the largest philanthropic gift to date for the project and one of the most significant single donations in Kew’s history.  

The Julia Rausing Trust has been established in memory of the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing (née Delves-Broughton), who died in 2024. The trust will see £100m donated to charities and organisations in its first year and annually thereafter. 

Simon Fourmy, the chief executive of the Julia Rausing Trust, said: “The renovation of the Waterlily House, together with the wider Palm House project, is an important initiative that will preserve these iconic structures and their world-famous ecosystems. 

“Kew’s work as a global leader in botanical science and horticulture is well known, and the Julia Rausing Trust is proud to be an early supporter of this project. We hope others will join us in supporting Kew with this important fundraising campaign.”