Syon Park Gardens with Syon House is a marvel spanning five centuries

Syon Park Gardens, a lavish 40 acre landscaped area built with the Great Conservatory as its centre of attraction dates back to the 16th century. The Great Conservatory was built under the instructions of 3rd Duke of Northumberland and commissioned by Charles Fowler. The conservatory built in 1826 subsequently motivated Joseph Paxton to design the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace is essentially a greenhouse with scented plants especially grown for summer months. The surrounding landscaped garden was designed by Capability Brown and extends over almost 140 acres. A miniature steam engine takes you around the park on weekends between April and October. It also operates on bank holidays and on special arrangement.

The Garden of Syon built around Syon House was originally the plush residence of Duke of Northumberland and later on of Queen Victoria. A great hall resembling Roman Basilica is an outstanding feature of this building. The conservatory includes a rare collection of plants, 200 species of trees, and a rose garden belong to Grade I gardens. A lake inside the garden offers a fabulous opportunity for strolling and relaxation.

Visitor information

Syon Gardens and Syon House have separate opening timings. The garden is open every day while entry to Syon House is only permissible on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, bank holidays, and Easter. Both garden and house stay open between mid March and 1st November. In winter both house and garden remain closed to visitors.

  • Timings – Garden: daily from 10:30am – 5pm with last entry at 4pm;                       Syon House: 11am – 5pm with last entry at 4pm.
  • Tickets – Syon House, Gardens, and Great Conservatory: £12 for adults, £10.50 for concessional visitors, £5 for children between 5 and 16 years; £27 for family of 2 adults and 2 children; Syon Park Gardens and Great Conservatory: £7 for adults, £5.50 for concessional adults; £3.50 for children; £15 for family of 2 children and 2 adults.
  • Group booking available;
  • Location – Brentford
  • Tube rail stations – Richmond, Kew Gardens
  • Railway stations – Kew Gardens, Syon Lane
  • Car parking – at Syon House, or Old Deer Park at 20 minutes walking distance

Visitors visiting Syon Park and Great Conservatory are more than willing to visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre located in Southwark. From Syon Park in Brentford to Southwark it takes about an hour by road.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as it stands today is a reconstruction of the original playhouse that existed in Queen Elizabeth I’s period. Original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 and was completely destroyed in 1613 by fire. It got rebuilt within the next one year only to be demolished thirty years later in 1644. It was not until 1970 when the Sam Wanamaker, an American director and actor established International Shakespeare Globe Centre and Shakespeare Globe Trust with the principal objective of recreating the original Globe Theatre near its original location in Southwark.

The present Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in Bankside, Southwark is very close to its original site. Initially, Wanamaker had to face immense problems from detractors because faithful reconstruction was difficult because of faulty fire fighting arrangements. Wanamaker never gave up and kept on nurturing his dreams for twenty years, when finally in 1990 with the help of historical advisor and researcher John Orrell he set upon building the present day Globe Theatre. The team of designers consisted of Theo Crosby, an architect of Pentagram; Buro Happold, a structural engineer; and Boyden & Company, a surveyors’ company. McCurdy and Company was entrusted the job of constructing and designing the theatre. Finally in 1997, the recreated ‘Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’ came into existence.

Tour of Globe Theatre – Visitors are taken on a tour of this theatre by expert guides who are thorough about the original Globe Theatre, its destruction, and finally the reconstruction process that began in 1990 and completed in 1997. Guides give narration in English, while tourists are given handouts in 15 international languages. A guide takes you round the theatre all along narrating the life of Shakespeare, his association with Globe Theatre, his exploits over there and so on.

Exhibition is on from 9am till 5:30 pm on all days while tours are conducted at different hours each day. On Monday tours are from 9:30am till 5pm; from Tuesday to Saturday it is between 9:30am and 12:30pm; on Sunday it is from 9:30am till 11:30am. Tours begin at 30 minutes intervals and are conducted daily except on 24th and 25th December.

The ticket rates for Globe Theatre Exhibition and Tour are as follows:

Adult - £13.50

Seniors (60 yrs or more) - £12

Children (5-15 yrs) - £8

Children (below 5) – Free

Students (with valid ID) - £11

Family (2 adults and 3 children) - £36

Members of Friends of Shakespeare’s Globe and holders of Blue Peter badge are allowed free entry. Such members however need to carry valid identification or badge with name as the case may be. Group bookings and education workshop tours are also allowed on request. London Bridge and Mansion House are the two nearest tube stations to this theatre.

Staying near Syon Park Gardens

Tourists have a large choice as far as accommodation is concerned near Syon Park Gardens. There are hotels ranging from splurge to budget categories. In addition there are backpackers’ inns, apartments and guest housed that offer decent accommodations. Visitors who travel often usually prefer to put up in a particular hotel or a member hotel of a chain. This is because frequent visitors are offered discounts in form of hotel rewards programs. These rewards programs are given as a gesture of goodwill to a frequent guest.

These rewards programs differ from one chain of hotels to another. Normally a guest participant to these programs is awarded points every time they stay or avail of facilities in a hotel. These points when accumulated could be exchanged for certain benefits offered by these hotels. These benefits could be a free night’s stay, or a free dinner for two, or even a small party for a group of friends.