Kew Gardens Lion Gate

Kew Gardens Lion Gate

Lion Gate is at the southern end of the Gardens on Kew Road opposite the end of Lion Gate Gardens.

This gate marks the location of the Pagoda Gate, one of the original late 18th/early 19th century entrances to the Pleasure Gardens at Kew. The statue of a Lion that tops the gate formerly stood on one of the entrance lodges associated with the early-19th century main gates. After these were removed the Lion was first moved to another “Lion Gate” near the current Cumberland Gate but sometime after 1840 it was moved again to the Pagoda Gate, which was then renamed the Lion Gate.”

From: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Heritage Site management plan:

“Lion Gate – provides visitor access from Richmond and marks the southern extent of the Kew Road brick boundary wall. Here the setting for the gate from outside the Gardens is provided by the Lions Gate Lodge and its metal railings, which sit beyond the end of the Gardens’ long brick wall. There is a linear long distance view into the Gardens from this gate, of a tree lined tarmacked avenue behind the Pagoda, but the eye cannot roam as trees restrict the view in any other direction. The Lion Gate Lodge is also part of the setting of the Lion Gate from inside the Gardens, currently hidden behind incongruous lap fencing.”