Английская Википедия:Great Pagoda, Kew Gardens

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox historic site The Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens in southwest London was built in 1761 by Sir William Chambers as a present for Princess Augusta, the founder of the gardens. Constructed of grey brick, the pagoda comprises 10 storeys, totalling Шаблон:Cvt in height,Шаблон:Sfn with 253 steps to the viewing gallery. Closed for repairs in 2006, the pagoda was reopened in 2018 following a major programme of restoration. It is a Grade I listed building.

The ground floor roof is supported on wooden pillars. The storeys above this have arcaded balconies with Chinese Chippendale railings and curved roofs. The roofs are now of lead although they were originally covered in alternating bands of green and white tiles.Шаблон:Sfn The 80 restored dragons surmount each roof.Шаблон:Efn Bridget Cherry, in her London 2: South volume of the Buildings of England series, describes the pagoda as "this supreme example of chinoiserie".Шаблон:Sfn A study of 2019, written after the restoration, ranked it as "the most important surviving chinoiserie building in Europe".

History

Princess Augusta, widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, established the botanic garden at Kew in 1759. Augusta employed Sir William Chambers to construct a number of architectural features in the gardens, including temples, a ruined arch and the Great Pagoda. The 18th century saw great increases in trade between China and the West, and led to an explosion of interest in Chinese art and culture. Chambers' pagoda was an early example of this. Born in Sweden, although educated in England, Chambers enlisted with the Swedish East India Company making three voyages to China and Bengal in the 1740s.Шаблон:Sfn Later in life, he was to publish a Dissertation on Oriental Gardening and he had already, in 1757, produced a volume, Designs of Chinese Buildings.Шаблон:Sfn His initial view of the gardens at Kew was unenthusiastic; "The gardens are not large, nor is their situation advantageous, the soil is in general barren".Шаблон:EfnШаблон:Sfn

By instinct and training, Chambers was a Palladian architect.Шаблон:EfnШаблон:Sfn In his Treatise on Civil Architecture, he wrote, "Amongst the restorers of the ancient Roman architecture, the style of Palladio is correct and elegant".Шаблон:Sfn Nevertheless, he was quite willing to employ Chinese structural designs, although he considered them to be "toys", only suitable as inspiration for garden ornaments.Шаблон:Sfn Chambers himself described the inspiration for the pagoda in his The Gardens and Buildings at Kew in Surry, published in 1763. "The design is an imitation of the Chinese Taa, described in my account of the Buildings, Gardens &c of the Chinese".Шаблон:Sfn He had already designed an earlier structure at Kew in such a style, The House of Confucius.Шаблон:EfnШаблон:Sfn

A 2013 study by The Georgian Group looked at possible Chinese models for the Great Pagoda, acknowledging that Chambers, unlike almost all of his contemporary architects, had been to China and therefore had a wider range of possible sources on which to draw. Aldous Bertram, the paper's author, considers the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing as an inspiration,Шаблон:Sfn but suggests two Cantonese pagodas as more likely sources, the Chigang Pagoda and the Pazhou Pagoda, both in the city of Guangzhou, both dating from the early 17th century, and both almost certainly seen by Chambers during his Chinese expeditions.Шаблон:Sfn

The Great Pagoda was completed in only six months.Шаблон:Sfn The speed of completion and the quality of construction were points of pride for Chambers; "the walls of the building are composed of very hard bricks...neatly laid, and with such care, that there is not the least crack or fracture in the whole structure, notwithstanding its great height, and the expedition with which it was built".Шаблон:Sfn 80 gilded dragons decorated the roofs of its ten storeys although these had been removed by 1784.Шаблон:Efn The height of the building impressed contemporaries; in 1762, Horace Walpole wrote to a friend, "the Pagoda at Kew begins to rise above the trees and soon you will see it from Yorkshire".Шаблон:EfnШаблон:Sfn

During the Second World War the pagoda was used as a munitions test site, with holes being opened up through each floor to allow smoke bombs to be dropped the height of the tower. By the late 20th century, the pagoda was in a dilapidated state and was closed to the public.Шаблон:Sfn A major restoration project undertaken jointly by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Historic Royal Palaces saw the restoration of the pagoda, including the re-carving and reinstatement of the dragons, and its reopening in 2018. The restoration worked towards reinstatement and restoration of as many original architectural features as possible, drawing on the available historical evidence.Шаблон:Efn A master copy of one of the dragons was carved in African cedar wood, and seven more were replicated for the lowest roof. Carving was undertaken by Tim Crawley, Head of Historic Carving at the City and Guilds of London Art School. The remainder were fabricated in nylon using 3D modelling technology, as the weight of the wooden sculptures would have been too great for the roofs. The restoration has won a number of design awards.

Gallery

• A view of the pagoda in 1763, a year after completion

  A view of the pagoda in 1763, a year after completion

• The pagoda's interior staircase

  The pagoda's interior staircase

• A restored dragon

  A restored dragon

• Two restored dragons

  Two restored dragons

• Another restored dragon

  Another restored dragon

• The pagoda in 2012 before completion of the restoration

  The pagoda in 2012 before completion of the restoration

• The pagoda in 2018 after restoration

  The pagoda in 2018 after restoration

• The pagoda in 2018 after restoration

  The pagoda in 2018 after restoration

See also

• Pagoda of Chanteloup Château

Sources

• Шаблон:Cite journal
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book

External links

• A Dissertation on Oriental Gardening by Sir William Chambers (London, 1772)
• How We Brought Dragons Back to Kew Historic Royal Palaces
• Skellon Studio's designs for the redevelopment of the interior of the Great Pagoda
• Video presentation of the reconstructed roofs of the Great Pagoda