Further buildings at Kew

An important addition to the infrastructure came in 1761 with Smeaton's Water Engine. John Smeaton was a well-known civil engineer, famous for designing the first all-stone-built Eddystone lighthouse. His Water Engine supplied water for the flower beds, ponds and Lake, and did so well into the 1850s, when a new system was installed. Smeaton's engine used an Archimedes screw, turned by a horse, to draw water from a 12ft (3.6m) deep well.

The Pagoda was completed in 1762, not without arousing some controversy. Sir Horace Walpole, for instance, having seen it from Twickenham where he lived, complained to a friend that, "In a fortnight you will be able to see it in Yorkshire".

By the time of the 1763 plan of the Site, Kew Gardens had been brought to the pinnacle of their design under Augusta's ownership. The 1771 plan by Burrell and Richardson shows the garden in its late 18th century heyday, just prior to Augusta's death in 1772. Comparison with the c.1730 map shows the dramatic extent of the changes that Frederick and Augusta had brought about in a period of 40 years.

The 1771 plan shows that the Gardens at Kew were formal yet naturalistic in their design, with the Lake and the three great lawns. A large pleasure ground that included a wilderness, formal flower gardens, exotics, animals and birds, together with the glasshouses of the Orangery and Great Stove, was laid out beside the White House.

The follies were kept to the edges of the gardens, largely set within bands of trees and dense shrubbery, or areas of wilderness such as the Pagoda Wilderness and the northern wilderness. Some follies stand out from this pattern, and were located in more open positions, such as the Temple of Aeolus, the Mosque, Pagoda, Temple of Victory and the Gothic Cathedral.

The views of and between these more exposed follies were an important feature of the Gardens' design. A walk wound its way around the perimeter of the Garden, passing through each garden and past each folly in a set order. This walk was largely contained within woodland with carefully managed openings and glimpsed views. In 1765 the Reverend William Gilpin sketched one of these contrived openings, the view of the Theatre of Augusta, Temple of Victory and Palladian Bridge.

Back to: 1700-1772: Two Royal Gardens