The Ark

'Tradescant had one of the first horse chestnuts planted in this country'

- Jack Watkins

IT'S been claimed that the pineapples that top the obelisks at each end of Lambeth Bridge are a tribute to the exploits of the Tradescants, Lambeth's most important gardening family, believed to have been the first to plant the fruit on English soil in the 17th century. Others dispute this, arguing that the motifs are actually pinecones.

Whatever the truth, crossing to the south side of the bridge, otherwise famed for its views back over the Thames to the Palace of Westminster, certainly brings one into Tradescant land. The grey medieval tower of St Mary-at-Lambeth stands cheek by jowl to the warm red brick of Lambeth Palace's gatehouse; here in the churchyard lies the elaborate Tradescant altar tomb.

John Tradescant the Younger (1608-62) married in the church, which is now home to the Garden Museum, and a 25-minute walk away through Vauxhall are Tradescant Road and Walberswick Street, built over the grounds of The Ark. There, Tradescant the Elder (about 1570-1638), who was of Dutch descent, established his own garden and museum of natural history.

The vicinity has seen heavy development over the years, but, when Tradescants arrived here in the late 1620s, there were meadows, marshes and market gardens. John Gerard's Herball of 1597 noted willowherb and yellow loosestrife growing in 'moist meadows' between Lambeth and Battersea and under the wall of Lambeth Palace.