Bowles II, Thomas. [London] A View of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea and the Rotunda in Ranelagh Gardens. London: Bowles, c. 1750.

Bowles II, Thomas

A View of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea and the Rotunda in Ranelagh Gardens [London]

London: Bowles, c. 1750

11" x 16 3/4" sheet

Originally founded in 1673 as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London, the Chelsea Physic (or Botanic) Garden is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain. The University of Oxford’s garden was founded 52 years earlier. Both the university’s garden and the Chelsea garden are often referred to as “Physic” gardens due to the use of their plants for medicinal purposes.

With the help of Sir Hans Sloane, by the mid-18th century the Chelsea Physic Garden became one of the world’s most diverse public gardens. The garden’s seed exchange program is responsible for introducing cotton to Georgia. At the top of the map, a key locates 14 different sites within the garden, including the greenhouse; the beds set aside for herbals, annuals, biennials, and perennials; and the Wilderness, “where many types of trees grow.”

On the other side of the Royal Hospital from the Physic Garden are the Ranelagh Gardens. The first gardens there were laid out in the 1690s by Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh. In 1741, the grounds were purchased by William Crispe and James Myonet. Those two men expanded the plot to develop a pleasure garden open to the public. Ranelagh Gardens still plays host to the Chelsea Flower Show, one of London’s most popular springtime events.