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Kew Gardens to breathe new life into great pagoda dragons Kew Gardens to breathe new life into great pagoda dragons
(about 1 hour later)
The 80 winged dragons that once perched on the great pagoda at Kew Gardens are to be reinstated in the most comprehensive restoration in its 257-year history.The 80 winged dragons that once perched on the great pagoda at Kew Gardens are to be reinstated in the most comprehensive restoration in its 257-year history.
The towering structure, 50 metres tall and visible miles from the botanical gardens, is in the care of Historic Royal Palaces, whose experts have been trawling through architectural archives to find every scrap of evidence for the dragons, which seem to have disappeared within a decade of its unveiling in 1762. The structure, 50 metres tall and visible miles from the botanical gardens, is in the care of Historic Royal Palaces, whose experts have been trawling through architectural archives to find every scrap of evidence for the dragons, which seem to have disappeared within a decade of its unveiling in 1762.
There was great excitement as the project was being planned last year, when a winged dragon found in a local authority store was sent to one of the curators. It had the hopeful initials WC – thought to stand for William Chambers, the architect of the pagoda. However, Craig Hatto, who is leading the restoration project, said further research revealed the dragon was part of the sign for a public lavatory in Woking. There was great excitement as the project was being planned last year, when a winged dragon found in a local authority store was sent to one of the curators. It had the hopeful initials WC – thought to stand for William Chambers, the architect of the pagoda. However, Craig Hatto, who is leading the restoration project, said further research had revealed the dragon was part of the sign for a public lavatory in Woking.
Many legends surround the dragons, including an improbable one saying they were made of solid gold and sold to settle the gambling debts of the spendthrift Prince of Wales, the future George IV. Many legends surround the dragons, including an improbable one claiming they were made of solid gold and sold to settle the gambling debts of the Prince of Wales, the future George IV.
Hatto said the best evidence –including witness descriptions of their “shimmering” surface – is that they were made of lacquered carved wood. More disappointingly, he does not think they originally held little tinkling silver bells in their mouths, as many had believed. Hatto said the best evidence –including witness descriptions of their “shimmering” surface – is that they were made of lacquered carved wood. More disappointingly, he does not think they held little tinkling silver bells in their mouths, as many had believed.
“We still have hopes that somebody will open a box in an attic and uncover them, but since nobody has seen any trace of them in more than 200 years, it is beginning to look unlikely,” he said.“We still have hopes that somebody will open a box in an attic and uncover them, but since nobody has seen any trace of them in more than 200 years, it is beginning to look unlikely,” he said.
Hatto said the pagoda was intended as the highlight of a “world tour”, a royal progress through the gardens past Roman ruins, Greek temples and Arabic mosques. “Visitors were regularly invited to climb to the top where they could see the world laid out in miniature in the king’s back garden, and his kingdom stretching away into the distance outside the walls – it was a spectacular bit of showing off.”Hatto said the pagoda was intended as the highlight of a “world tour”, a royal progress through the gardens past Roman ruins, Greek temples and Arabic mosques. “Visitors were regularly invited to climb to the top where they could see the world laid out in miniature in the king’s back garden, and his kingdom stretching away into the distance outside the walls – it was a spectacular bit of showing off.”
The work, intended to be completed by 2017, will restore many original paint colours and features but will not correct a fundamental mistake in its design. A true Chinese pagoda would have an uneven number of floors for luck, but the Kew one has 10. It is believed to have been inspired by the famous 15th-century Porcelain Tower in Nanking but based on an engraving of the building, which Chambers had never seen in reality, that incorrectly showed it with 10 floors.The work, intended to be completed by 2017, will restore many original paint colours and features but will not correct a fundamental mistake in its design. A true Chinese pagoda would have an uneven number of floors for luck, but the Kew one has 10. It is believed to have been inspired by the famous 15th-century Porcelain Tower in Nanking but based on an engraving of the building, which Chambers had never seen in reality, that incorrectly showed it with 10 floors.