Tate Britain is to revamp the plain lawn in front of the gallery into a new garden after it received a grant from the Clore Duffield Foundation.
The front lawn as it is today (c) Tate Britain
The old entrance to the gallery with its grand staircase has two rather plain lawns on either side, and these will be redesigned into a new wildlife-filled garden to a design by Tom Stuart-Smith Studio, in collaboration with architects Feilden Fowles and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
The two lawns aren’t that heavily used these days, although they have been open spaces for outdoor art installations on occasions and, during WWII, were turned into allotments by the gallery staff.
The newly renamed Clore Garden will open in 2026.
Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, said “I’m delighted that Tom Stuart-Smith will be creating a beautiful new garden to welcome visitors to Tate Britain. This continues our transformation of the gallery, following the complete rehang of our collection displays last year, and marks an important step on our journey to increasing the sustainability and biodiversity of our site.”
Further details about the Clore Garden’s timeline and designs will be announced in due course.
The location is almost opposite the Garden Museum in Lambeth, which is also revamping its front garden at the moment, so the two new gardens will be a short walk from each other.
It would be simple to remove the barriers from the cafe into the gardens to. Though personally I’d like to see the ornamental pool in front of the Clore wing reinstated.
I still haven’t quite forgiven them for chopping down the row of Japanese cherry trees along the side where the wide concrete steps are.