Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The botanic gardens formally started in 1759, and UNESCO's citation notes they have made "a significant and uninterrupted contribution to the study of plant diversity and economic botany" since that year. The living collections draw on the 27,000 taxa curated by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the herbarium holds over 8.5 million preserved plant and fungal specimens, the library more than 750,000 volumes and the illustrations collection more than 175,000 prints and drawings. The Palm House, completed in 1848 in wrought iron and glass, is Grade I listed, NHLE 1262670; the Temperate House is Grade I, NHLE 1262590; and the Marianne North Gallery is Grade II*, NHLE 1251787. The Great Pagoda, Grade I listed as NHLE 1262593, was built in 1761 by Sir William Chambers for Princess Augusta in grey brick — ten storeys, 163 ft (50 m) high, 253 steps to the viewing gallery and 80 restored dragons on the roofs; it closed for repairs in 2006 and reopened in 2018. Kew is run with Wakehurst in Sussex by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra employing over 1,100 staff.