Pagoda at Kew.

Chambers, William.Plans, Elevations, Sections and perspective Views of the Gardens and Buildings at Kew in Surrey, the seat of HRH, the Princess Dowager of Wales.Printed by J. Haberkorn, 1763.8p., plans, drawings

William Chambers played an important role in the creation of the gardens at Kew. He designed many special architectural features; a Menagerie, a Chinese Pavilion, an Aviary and an Orangery. The garden of Chambers' design forms the nucleus of the Botanic Gardens today. His Chinese buildings were to be given a setting in the Chinese manner. Chinese gardens said Chambers were designed to produce "Pleasing, Terrible or Surprising effects". He was hampered by the flat landscape of Kew but by creating artificial mounds and features he was able to vary the terrain.

The most famous of his buildings at Kew are the Orangery and the Pagoda, which respectively illustrate his classical and oriental themes.

The Pagoda was 163 feet high, had ten storeys, each one finished with a projecting roof in the Chinese manner and covered with plates of varnished iron of different colours. All the angles of the roof were adorned with dragons, 80 in number.