Decimus Burton

In addition to his work on the Palm House, Decimus Burton was also commissioned to design a series of other features for the new Royal Botanic Gardens. The tasks amounted to a complete reconceptualisation of most of the area contained within its boundary fence. He was to work the remains of the 18th century features into this overall concept as it suited, largely through renovating and redesigning them.

The radical extent of these changes can be seen by comparing the "Royal Gardens View" drawn by Aiton in 1837 with the 1st edition of the Ordnance Survey, surveyed between 1861 and 1871.

The Temple of the Sun was renovated; the Temple of Aeolus was completely rebuilt in stone and the mound on which it stood was cleared and grassed; the Pond was redesigned; the Orangery had new larger windows inserted and other glasshouses were mostly enlarged and renovated. These bold strokes perfectly suited the mood of the proud new Royal Botanic Gardens.

Burton's Main Gate and Broad Walk created a new, formal, entrance structure for the Botanic Gardens. The Broad Walk in particular involved restructuring the landscape and the transfer of more land from the Crown to the Gardens. Kew's archive of plans from this period are interesting for the information they provide about the relationship between the Crown and the Gardens at this crucial time in the Gardens' history.

The construction of the Broad Walk and Little Broad Walk was no mean feat, with the spoil created during the levelling of the path used to construct the Crab Mound. This mound was an integral part of the design, managing the views of the Palm House that could be obtained from the formal walkway. Careful, artful management of views is a significant feature of garden design through the ages, and was certainly an integral part of the design of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta's 18th century Kew Gardens.

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