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Rules of Hire

Before you commit to Hire Chelsea Physic Garden, please familiarise yourself with the Rules of Hire. Clients hiring Chelsea Physic Garden, their caterers and contractors are required to adhere to these rules. A Duty Manager will be present during events to supervise the premises and to ensure that these rules are upheld.

Clients can only choose a caterer on our endorsed list and must use Claremont Marquees if they need a marquee, awning or electric lighting for their event.

Essential rules for outside contractors

• All contractors must liaise with the Head of Marketing on their proposed plans for the event so that we can make appropriate Health and Safety checks.

• Contractors are required to have a list of personnel on site for H & S reasons.

• Contractors are required to make sure their staff are familiar with Fire Evacuation rules.

• The Duty Manager will act as Evacuation Marshall for the Garden but the hirer’s contractors are responsible for the safety of their staff.

• Contractors and sub-contractors are advised that the botanical garden houses a collection of rare and historic plants. (We will make a charge of between £25 and £50 per plant damaged).

• All equipment must be cleared from the site before 22.00 on the day of the event and/or after 08.00 the following day. Clearance times must be agreed with the Head of Marketing.

Access and parking

• All deliveries must be coordinated with the Head of Marketing and agreed before the Event.

• With prior permission of no less than one week, removal of equipment can take place from the Embankment Gate before 22.00.

• Catering and other deliveries are made via the West Gate on Royal Hospital Road. (The green door 30 yards west along Royal Hospital Road from the office entrance, by the bus stop).

• No deliveries can come through Swan Walk Gate.

• There is no parking available at the Garden unless previously agreed with the Head of Marketing.

• Please note that Swan Walk is a one way street running from south to north, accessible from Chelsea Embankment or Dilke Street but not Royal Hospital Road.

• Pay and display parking is available in Battersea Park. The nearest NCP car park, open 24 hours, is available at Semley Place, near Victoria station, 1/3 mile from the Garden.

Disabled access

• There is a disabled parking bay outside the door to 66 Royal Hospital Road and there is easy access via the foyer into the Garden.

• Please inform Head of Marketing if a wheelchair is required, which should be returned to the foyer after use.

• Please note our paths are gravel and grass.

• There is a disabled toilet in the foyer.

• The Lecture Room is unfortunately accessible only by steep stairs.

Cloakroom facilities

• Gents, ladies and disabled toilet facilities are off the main foyer.

• There are two unisex toilets on the ground and upper floor of the Reception / Lecture Room building.

• The hirer or their contractor must provide coat rails if required. The foyer is the best area in which to set up a cloakroom.

• The Kiosk at the Swan Walk Gate is for the use of the Garden only unless the Hirer has written permission from the Head of Marketing.

Reception and Lecture Room rules for the hirer/caterer

• The floors must be cleaned after the event by the hirer or caterer. Any spills must be removed using the proprietary carpet cleaner provided in the kitchen.

• If the Reception Room is being used for food preparation, druggets must be used to cover the floor.

• All furniture must be returned to original positions in both rooms.

• Food and drink is only allowed in the Lecture Room with prior consent.

• Nothing is to be attached to the walls.

• The number of people in the Reception Room or Lecture Room at any one time is limited to 120.

Kitchen

• The kitchen can be used for reheating and assembling food in ovens or microwaves brought in especially by caterers, but not cooking or frying under any circumstance. Electric rings are not allowed for reheating purposes.

• The hirer and their caterer are expected to leave the kitchen in the same condition in which it is found.

• The facility fee does not include cutlery, crockery, table linen, food or drink, or the cost of staff labour to service the function.

• All refuse must be taken off site before 22:00, or after 08:00 the following morning. If collected the following morning, please arrange access in conjunction with the Head of Marketing.

• It is occasionally possible for a skip to be brought through the Embankment Gate to dispose of rubbish, however this must be arranged in writing with the Head of Marketing.

• Sinks must be left clean and free running.

• Tea and coffee grounds must not be put down the kitchen sink.

• Nothing must be thrown down the drains outside the kitchen or Cactus House.

• Floors must be left clean and all bins must be emptied

• The kitchen windows cannot be used for deliveries or for any other purpose.

• Ice must be disposed of in the drains and not on the flower beds.

Garden lighting

• Garden lighting must be discussed and agreed with the Head of Marketing and recorded on the Booking Form.

• Oil flares and wax candles in drip-proof containers are allowed on the main paths only but not in the flowerbeds or in the marquee, on the Kiosk or in any of the buildings.

• Electric spotlights are provided along the building and around the statue of Sloane.

• The Garden is not suitable for high voltage lighting.

• Further electric lighting can only be arranged with our approved lighting supplier, Claremont Marquees.

• All lighting provided by hirer or contractors must be removed before 22:00, or after 08:00 the following morning. If removed the following morning, please arrange access in conjunction with the Head of Marketing.

• Lighting contractors have responsibility for the Heath and Safety of their staff.

Music and noise

• All musical arrangements must be discussed and agreed with the Head of Marketing and recorded on the Booking Form prior to the event.

• The Garden is ideal for classical music, string quartets and other soft instruments.

• Rock, pop, DJs and karaoke are not allowed.

• Jazz bands are not usually allowed.

• The showing of films and performance of dance or drama are allowed, at the discretion of the Head of Marketing.

• Noise levels are monitored by the Duty Manager whose decision is final.

• Any music or other amplified sound in the Garden must finish at the time agreed on the Booking Form. The latest time that music or other amplified sound can possibly finish is 22:00.

• No speakers are allowed outside of any of the Garden’s permanent or temporary structures.

• Guests are requested to leave the premises quietly, by 22:30 at the latest (or 23.30 if an event extension has been agreed, at an additional cost of £1,000).

• Local residents have the mobile number of the Duty Manager if noise from the event becomes a nuisance and if noise levels are not rectified they will ask the local Noise and Nuisance Inspectors to close the event.

Flowers

• There are no vases or pedestals available at the Garden but hirers can decorate the reception room with flowers.

• Florists must not use adhesive tape, staples or nails on the walls or curtains under any circumstances.

• No rice, paper confetti or sparklers are allowed in the Garden or Reception rooms.

Safety

• If the Fire Alarm should go off, all staff and visitors must congregate in the designated ‘muster area’.

• The Duty Manager will act as Evacuation Marshall and will be responsible for making sure the Chief Fire Officer is kept informed.

• Evacuation routes and procedures will have been given to the caterer who is responsible for their staff.

• The hirer must ensure there are enough responsible adults dedicated to the care of children present at any event.

• All young persons must be supervised at all times, there are poisonous plants in the Garden and glasshouses, as well as two deep ponds.

and finally..

• Caterers must provide ashtrays or large receptacles for people who smoke in the Garden, and dispose of the contents.

• No smoking, naked flames or candles are allowed in the building, marquee or awning.

• All broken glassware or crockery must be removed from the lawns and paths.

• All benches, tables and chairs must be returned to their original position.

• The Garden occasionally holds exhibitions in the Garden or in the Lecture Room. The Head of Marketing can supply more details.

• Permission must be given by the Head of Marketing to move items such as the Sloane Exhibition Carts, and they must be returned to their original position after the event by the hirer.

• Photographs are not always representative of how the Garden may look on the day of your Event. The Head of Marketing can update you on any new projects planned.

Further information

For more details, bookings or a Hire Pack, please email The Head of Marketing or telephone +44 (0)20 7352 5646 extension 3.

See our 'Your most frequently asked hiring questions' page for more information.

A map of the Garden is available to help your planning (359KB Word doc).
Seasonal views of the Garden are available to give you an idea of what the Garden looks like.