Temperate House is a Grade I listed building in the Richmond upon Thames local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 January 1950. A Begun in 1860; not completed until 1897-99 Conservatory.
Temperate House
- WRENN ID
- sacred-storey-sparrow
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Richmond upon Thames
- Constituency
- Richmond Park MP: Sarah Olney (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 10 January 1950
- Type
- Conservatory
- Address
- Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Kew Green, TW9 3AB
- OS grid reference
- TQ 184 764
- Coordinates
- 51.47463, -0.29546
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Temperate House, located in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, was begun in 1860 under the architect Decimus Burton and completed between 1897 and 1899. This impressive structure consists of three interconnected conservatories made of iron, glass, and stucco. The central rectangular building features a pitched, glazed roof with a clerestory and aisles. Its outer walls are constructed of stucco piers with segmental arches in between, each topped with urns. The main entrance is triple, flanked by stucco piers that are adorned with statues and urns. Above the entrance is a central pediment with a semi-circular fanlight. On either end of the central body, there are octagonal pavilions made of iron and glass, and beyond these are smaller rectangular conservatories that have a similar roof design to the central structure. The entire composition measures 628 feet in length and is entered from either end. Inside, the space is aisled with iron columns, and the central area features a gallery.
Local climate
Temperate House sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 90% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 64% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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