62 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
a new wing, of the same dimensions as the one built in 1877, 
was added to the Herbarium building. On April 1st, 1903, the 
control of the establishment was, as we have seen, transferred from 
the Office of Works to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. 
The building of a new bridge over the Thames at Kew, 1899- 
1903, was an event which had no direct connection with the establish- 
ment, but it had a very direct bearing on the comfort 
at^ew^ 6 an d convenience of a large proportion of its visitors. 
The old bridge — one of the most picturesque of Thames 
bridges — had become quite inadequate for the traffic, especially 
pedestrian, which passed over it. Communication between Kew 
and the Middlesex side was originally effected by means of a horse 
ferry established in the reign of Charles I. It was stationed some- 
where near the present Kew Palace, and was apparently the objective 
of Love Lane, the ancient by-way so often alluded to in earlier pages. 
The erection of a wooden bridge (1758-9) diverted the traffic from 
the ferry, and no doubt suggested to George III. the making of the 
present Kew Road and the abolition of Love Lane, which have 
already been referred to. This wooden bridge was ultimately demol- 
ished, and replaced by the bridge of stone (built 1783-9), which is 
itself now a thing of the past. 
On December 15th, 1905, Sir William Thiselton-Dyer resigned 
the directorship, and was succeeded by Lieut .-Colonel David Prain, 
who had for many years been connected with the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Calcutta, since 1898 as their chief officer. 
