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The Pagoda |
One of the best-known features in the Kew landscape is the Pagoda. It was completed in 1762 as a surprise for Princess Augusta, the Dowager Princess of Wales and mother of George III. After the death of her husband, Frederick, Princess Augusta had continued developing the estate at Kew, starting the first botanic garden on a site close to the present Orangery, and having the site landscaped in accordance with the prevailing fashions of the day. The Pagoda was one of several buildings designed by Sir William Chambers, Princess Augusta's official architect, to ornament the estate.
Construction of the pagoda began in the summer of 1761. Horace Walpole, then living in Twickenham, wrote to a friend 'We begin to perceive the tower of Kew from Montpelier Road; in a fortnight you will be able to see it in Yorkshire.' Its ten-storey octagonal structure, reaching a height of nearly 50 m, was at that time the most accurate imitation of a Chinese building in Europe (although to be truly accurate it should have had an odd number of storeys). The Universal Magazine, however, was unimpressed by its size, noting that 'In comparison with the stupendous originals we must look upon that at Kew almost in the same light as the little models of the latter which we see in the toyshop.' Originally, the building was flanked by the Turkish Mosque and the Alhambra, both also designed by Chambers.
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The eight sides of each storey, except the top floor, have round-headed recesses, alternate recesses being glazed. The ground floor is 16.5 m across, the first storey is 8.5 m in diameter and 6 m high with each succeeding storey diminishing by 0.3 m in both diameter and height, the tenth storey being 6 m by 3.5 m. The walls are constructed of hard multi-coloured greystock bricks, which have stood the test of time. Originally, the roofs were covered with varnished iron plates, with an iron dragon sitting at each edge. Each of the eighty dragons was covered in coloured glass and possessed a bell in its mouth. The top feature was double gilded and the whole building must have glinted and glittered in the sun and chimed in the wind. Later, the metal plates were replaced with slate, when both they and the dragons were sold by George IV, 'to pay his debts' according to Joseph Hooker, a director of the Gardens from 1865 to 1885. In 1843, Decimus Burton, architect of the Temperate House and co-architect of the Palm House, had suggested that the roof and dragons should be fully restored, but the cost of £4,350 was considered excessive and the proposal was never implemented. The building was opened to the public in the 1870s, but is now closed to public access. During the Second World War holes were made in each floor so that bomb designers could drop models of their latest inventions from top to bottom in order to study their flight. |
By the middle of the eighteenth century, it had become fashionable amongst the landed gentry to have decorative buildings and follies erected in their gardens and estates. A style of architecture that excited particular interest was Chinoiserie, loosely based on Chinese designs and inspired by reports from travellers who had seen the wonders of the Orient. Pagodas had been were being built in Europe before Kew's version; Louis XIV (The Sun King) erected a Chinese Pavilion (Trianon de porcelaine) at Versailles during the winter of 1670-1 and the Elector Max Emanuel had a two-storey Pagodenburg built at Nymphenburg (1715-18). The Kew Pagoda inspired the three-storey version built at Alton Towers in the 1820s. Another pagoda built in St James's Park in 1814 to commemorate a victory in the Napoleonic wars was burnt down by a firework display that was part of the celebrations.
Sir William Chambers first became interested in Chinese architecture when he visited China and stayed for several months in Canton during his travels as an employee of the Swedish East India Company. Whilst there he made architectural drawings of typical buildings which he later used in his designs and published as a book of Designs of Chinese Buildings (1757). At the age of 26 Chambers decided to further his studies and become an architect. Before beginning his training he visited England in 1749 and was introduced to Prince Frederick. Chambers drew up plans for a 'House of Confucius' for Prince Frederick and this 'new Chinesia Summer Hous, painted in their stile' was erected on the site where Museum No 1 now stands. Chambers was obviously not very proud of this building, which no longer exists, because he later disowned it, saying that it was 'built, I believe to the designs of Mr Goupy'.
After spending six years in Rome studying architecture, Chambers returned to England and renewed his acquaintance with Princess Augusta. In 1757, he became her official architect and architectural tutor to her son, a post which proved to be quite arduous because he had to coach the Prince on three mornings each week as well as supervising the buildings at Augusta's five establishments. Over the next five years, Chambers designed over two dozen buildings which were erected at Kew. Many, such as the Mosque, the Palladian Bridge and the Menagerie, have since disappeared, but amongst those remaining are the Orangery, the Ruined Arch and the Temple of Bellona as well as the Pagoda.
Chambers received many other commissions besides those from the Royal family; his best-known work is Somerset House in London. In 1771 he was created a knight by Gustav III of Sweden in gratitude for a series of drawings of Kew Gardens and he was allowed by George III to assume the title. He died in 1796.
Wilfred Blunt - In For a Penny (Hamish Hamilton, 1978) Ronald
King - Royal Kew (Constable, 1985)
F Nigel Hepper (ed.) - Kew Gardens for Science and Pleasure (HMSO,
1982)