The boundaries to the gardens

While the changes within the Gardens were taking place, Sir William Hooker also paid attention to its boundaries. Since its demolition in 1827, the site of the Castellated Palace had been marked by piles of rubble and was entirely hidden behind hoardings.

By 1847, Hooker had cleared, levelled and grassed the area, planted shrubs and brought the river back into view. He divided this newly created space into two areas, seperated by a new ha-ha. The southeast portion became a series of nursery beds on the site of the present Lower Nursery Complex. The riverside portion became Queen Elizabeth's Lawn, a public area openly accessible from the Thames towpath. It was so named after an elm under which Queen Elizabeth I reputedly held liaisons with Earl Dudley.

A surviving plan shows how the riverside area extending from the Dutch House Lodge to below Brentford Gate was conceived as a single design. In this plan, alterations to the sunk fence below Queen Elizabeth's Lawn which were designed to enhance the entrance through the Brentford Gate are paired with proposed new railings between the Dutch House Lodge and the new Queen Elizabeth Gate.

The Royal entrance to the Dutch House consisted of the Lodge and a pair of gates designed by Burton and built by Richard Turner. A plan for these Queen Elizabeth Gates, stamped with the initials VR to honour Queen Victoria, survives in the Public Records Office at Richmond. These Gates were removed at some point and placed in storage, from where they were rescued in 1985 and hung in their present location at the entrance to the Lower Nursery Complex, beside White Peaks.

Queen Elizabeth's Lawn was the impressive new setting for both the main entrance to the Royal Palace at the Dutch House and the public entrance to the Gardens through Brentford Gate.

Burton's Main Gate on Kew Green signified a change of attitude on the part of Kew's management, because Hooker no longer required visitors to be escorted by gardeners.

The Brentford gateway was created some time after 1794 and before Aiton's "View" of 1837. No plans for the Brentford Gate itself have yet been located, and whilst the gateway predates the creation of the Royal Botanic Gardens, it appears that it first came into use for the public in 1847. This may indicate that the gate was redesigned prior to 1847, and Burton's involvement in the design of this general area could indicate that he may have had a hand in the design of the Brentford Gate.

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