Sir William Chambers (1723-1796)

Sir William Chambers was born in Sweden, and educated in England. During his time in the service of the Swedish East India Company he visited Bengal, 1740-2, and Canton, 1743-5, 1748-9, where he studied and sketched Chinese architecture.

Chambers studied architecture in Paris and in Italy, 1750-55. In 1757 he became architectural tutor to the Prince of Wales (the future George III) and was engaged as architect at Kew by Princess Augusta.

He designed more than 25 buildings for Kew, including a mosque, a Palladian bridge, a menagerie and the Great Stove, all of which have long since disappeared. Still standing are the Orangery, the Ruined Arch , the Temple of Bellona and the Temple of Aeolus.

Possibly the most famous of his buildings remaining at Kew today, is the ten-storeyed pagoda (1761), which was influenced by his travels in China. He published a book of drawings in 1763 entitled “Plans, elevations, sections and perspective views of the gardens and buildings at Kew in Surrey.”

Further Information

There are several portraits of Sir William Chambers in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery.

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