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A history of Kew Gardens price inflation
June 9, 2008
I was reminded the other day that it currently costs £13 to enter Kew Gardens as a visitor. Since I grew up in Kew, I happen to be an expert on the history of the entrance fee to Kew Gardens and it is mind-bogglingly high compared with the past.
Forgive the middle-aged reminiscence but, when I was a child, it cost three pence (yes, a thrupenny bit) to get into Kew Gardens. Upon decimalisation in February 1971, they put the price down to one new penny, or 2.4 old pence.
This was the high point in terms of Kew Gardens’ cheapness. As public subsidies were cut and the gardens were forced to become financially self-sufficient, the entrance price steadily rose over the years to its current level.
Applying the Bank of England’s calculator of retail price inflation, the pound in 1971 was worth about £10 in today’s money, which makes the 1971 entrance fee the equivalent of 10p.
Thus, according to my calculations, it is currently 130 times more expensive to get into Kew than it was when I was a child.
I do not mean to suggest that the current entrance fee is too high. Kew Gardens would clearly not be as well kept-up and have such a high global reputation if it still cost 10p to get in. The other day, for example, I found Kew-branded seeds on sale in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (a bargain $8 to enter).
Still, fings ain’t what they used t’be. I wonder if anyone can think of a product or service that has escalated in price to quite such a degree?
When I was sent to a boarding public school in 1964, the annual fees were £670. Now, the fees are £25,000 p.a. - 37 times greater. This is an inflation rate of 9% p.a.
The figures you quoted, 130 times in 37 years, represents 14% p.a. However, in absolute terms my figures are horrendous.
Posted by: Alfred Nassim | June 9th, 2008 at 9:55 pm | Report this commentIsn’t there a story about Manhattan Island being bought for a few dollars’ worth of beads?
Posted by: Ian Slater | June 10th, 2008 at 7:50 am | Report this commentI remember putting an old penny in the turnstile to get in. The turnstiles are still there and I always give them a push and have fond memories of my childhood
Posted by: rob | June 10th, 2008 at 11:33 am | Report this commentGrowing up in Britain during the inflationary 70s, I tried to get my pocket money indexed to the price of a first class postage stamp. From memory, my father was impressed, but unmoved. I also remember regular picnic excursions to Kew at that time, presumably because my hard-up parents recognised its incredibly good value. Shame that Heathrow Airport is almost next door…
Posted by: Robert Blood | June 10th, 2008 at 12:07 pm | Report this commentI wonder whether the increasing price of admission to Kew Gardens has in part to do with all the new “attractions” they have built? Several new architectural features seem to have gone up in recent years.
Kew Gardens is becoming less and less of a quiet botanic garden and ever more of a tacky (and tatty) theme park, particularly all the conceptual art exhibitions, for example, the infantile Dale Chihuly “installation” a few years ago.
I hope the expense of the new buildings and the art exhibitions can be justified by bringing in more revenue? And that money for all these new features and modern art exhibitions isn’t being diverted from scientific research?
Posted by: Anon | June 10th, 2008 at 1:50 pm | Report this commentWe went last weekend, and were so struck by the high cost that we marched off towards the Thames to walk along that for free. We turned around in fact and did pay the £26 for two … knowing that we had come so far and such was the cost we would never be coming again. The roar of planes overhead spoilt the tranquility but it is a fine place. It’s sad that it’s priced itself out of my future.
Posted by: Martin | June 10th, 2008 at 6:05 pm | Report this commentJohn Kay wrote in the FT a nice piece about inflation and our perception of it.
“The variability of individual prices is so great that it is easy to think of items whose price has risen far more than inflation. Changes in product quality and the arrival of new goods confuse both consumers and official statisticians. The longer the period of price comparison, the more strained such comparison becomes.”
http://www.johnkay.com/in_action/478
Posted by: Claudio | June 10th, 2008 at 7:10 pm | Report this commentOne product which has probably risen by even more is the (admittedly low-volume) market for chief executive officers of Disney.
In 1998 Michael Eisner had compensation of around $580 million. I haven’t been able to find figures for 1970, but if the Disney CEO was paid the US national average of 30 times a manual (male) worker’s wage, it would have been just over $200,000. Inflation in the US has not been as high as the UK, so the equivalent of $200,000 in 1998 money is $868,000.
Thus an increase of 668 times the rate of inflation, and in an even shorter period.
Do you think the upkeep and reputation of Disney CEOs has maintained the same level of quality as Kew Gardens?
Posted by: Leigh Caldwell | June 11th, 2008 at 10:38 am | Report this commentRe: Manhattan
Depending on what rate of interest was available over the last 350 years, the Indians who sold Manhattan may have been better off with the beads. If they managed to invest at (20th century) average stockmarket returns of 7%, their compounded return would be worth a good bit more than the land in Manhattan today.
The number and quality of assumptions you have to make in this argument are a bit laughable, but if you do fancy a laugh:
Posted by: Leigh Caldwell | June 11th, 2008 at 10:45 am | Report this commenthttp://www.pfadvice.com/2006/01/15/compound-interest-manhattan-the-indians/
Inflation in Turkey:
The sharp rise in the oil price has sent the demand for donkeys in Turkey sky high. Inside a year, the price for a donkey in Central Anatolia has gone up from ca. 26 Euros to 180 Euros.
(Die rasant steigenden Ölpreise treiben in der Türkei die Nachfrage nach Eseln in ungeahnte Höhen. Binnen eines Jahres stieg der Preis für einen Esel in ländlichen Gebieten Zentralanatoliens von umgerechnet 26 Euro auf bis zu 180 Euro.)
Swiss business site online.
Posted by: J.J. | June 12th, 2008 at 9:48 am | Report this commentKew somewhere else
I recently moved to London and i am looking forward to seeing many of its famous sights.
Kew Gardens however is no longer on the list. Extortion is not appreciated. I do see the need for a small entry fee but many other botanical gardens are free to enter. This makes Kew Gardens look ridiculous and i hope many people save thier money and go to other gardens such as the fantastic free botanical gardens in Edinburgh.
Posted by: Gareth Williams | June 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm | Report this commentWe are going there tommorrow as they are having a one off FREE entry day on 1.01.09! Scarves and hats at the ready- predicted 2 degrees.
Posted by: RachelC | December 31st, 2008 at 11:50 pm | Report this comment