John Haynes, An Accurate Survey of the Physic Garden, 1751

This drawing of the "Physic Garden" in Chelsea provides a detailed overview of the garden complex in 1751. Like many botanical gardens, London's oldest botanical garden was initially founded as a medicinal herb garden to provide medical scholars with the necessary herbs and medically effective plants. In 1663, Great Britain's first Lebanon cedar was planted there. Four of these specimens can be seen on the drawing in the lower part of the garden, around the square pond. At the center of the complex is a statue of the Irish scientist Hans Sloane, who acquired the garden property in 1713. Sloane, whose large collection of herbaria, fossils and works of art formed the basis of the British Museum, promoted the institution and also made it available for sustainable use as a medicinal herb garden.

John Haynes, An Accurate Survey of the Physic Garden, copper engraving, 1751; source: Courtesy of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries and Archives.