Why see it?
It’s been restored to its 1702 glory
- Using incredibly detailed accounts the garden has been restored to how it would have looked for William III
For the Tijou screen
- Elaborate and consisting of twelve panels whose central motifs symbolise parts of the United Kingdom in wrought iron
Restoring the Privy Garden
View our Hampton Court gardens slideshow >
The Privy Garden as it appears today is one of the most accurately reconstructed gardens because so much was recorded about the original 1702 garden.
William III died before it was completely finished and all the gardeners and workmen were so scared of not being paid that they submitted the fullest accounts for all their work.
Even so, many of them including Tijou who made the ironwork and the supplier of the statues were never paid in full by Queen Anne.
The evidence of the workmen’s accounts was further corroborated by archaeology and historic garden plans.
