Unicorn Gate is a Grade II listed building in the Richmond upon Thames local planning authority area, England. First listed on 25 May 1983. Gateway.
Unicorn Gate
- WRENN ID
- sombre-flagstone-wren
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Richmond upon Thames
- Constituency
- Richmond Park MP: Sarah Olney (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 25 May 1983
- Type
- Gateway
- Address
- Unicorn Gate, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Kew Green, TW9 3AB
- OS grid reference
- TQ 187 767
- Coordinates
- 51.47709, -0.29098
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Unicorn Gate is a late 18th century or early 19th century structure located in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The gate features a single entrance that is rusticated, made from Portland stone, and has a segmental arched head. Above the arch is a mutule cornice hood that supports a figure of a unicorn facing south. The unicorn is depicted as couchant and is shown chained with an open crown collar. Although the figure is currently whitewashed, it is likely made of terracotta, similar to the lion figure found at Lion Gate. The piers may have been added at a later date.
Local climate
Unicorn Gate 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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