70 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
“New ” Kew 
Palace. 
much larger Palace, from one hundred to two hundred yards away to 
the west. It was a singular site to choose, for the front faced the 
banks of the Thames exactly opposite the unlovely town 
of Brentford. However, the demolition of Kew House 
was begun in 1802, and carried on whilst the Royal 
Family was visiting Weymouth. The erection of the new Palace 
was commenced in the following year. The King’s idea, evidently, 
was to erect a mediaeval, fortress-like dwelling or castle, with numerous 
towers, turrets, and similar appurtenances. The architect employed 
was James Wyatt, and the many illustrations extant show that he 
conscientiously endeavoured to carry out the King’s wishes. The 
result was a building which, in outward appearance, would have been 
very appropriate to the reign of King Stephen. Nothing more than 
the shell was ever constructed, but it would be difficult to imagine 
a dwelling less suited to the needs and ideas of the time than this 
was. The general design is said by a contemporary writer to have 
rendered it impossible to construct within its walls anything more 
than “ a series of large closets, boudoirs, and rooms like oratories.” 
The same author (Phillips) compares it to the Bastille, and although 
the comparison has been demurred to, there do appear to have been 
certain points of resemblance, not so much, perhaps, in details of 
structure as in the dominant idea. The memory of the tragedy of 
Louis XVI. and the days of the Terror must at that time have still 
been very vivid, and one might almost imagine the new Palace to 
have been an expression of the intense anti-Revolutionary feeling 
which, naturally enough, animated the King and his entourage. 
However, the increasing mental derangement of George III. led 
to a cessation of the work soon after the walls had been erected, and 
nothing more was done to it during his reign. His successor, George IV. , 
caused it to be sold to builders as old materials, and its demolition 
was effected in the year 1829. During its destruction the premature 
collapse of one of the towers resulted in the death of eight men. It 
stood on the piece of ground now occupied by a nursery for trees, 
etc., facing the lawn on which is Queen Elizabeth’s Elm. Remains 
of cellars, cesspools, and the like are still found when deep digging 
is done. Its situation can be almost exactly determined from the 
position of the three old elms which still stand near Brentford Ferry 
Gate, and which figure in nearly all the illustrations of the building 
as seen from the Thames side. 
