ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES 
81 
crack or fracture had appeared in the whole structure. Were he 
alive to-day he would have infinitely greater cause for self-congratu- 
lation, for what he wrote in 1763 is still quite true. The Pagoda 
is octagonal, and is ten storeys high. The lowest storey is 26 feet 
in diameter and 18 feet high ; above this each successive storey 
decreases one foot in diameter and the same in height. The total 
height is 163 feet. At the time of its completion an iron dragon 
crouched on every one of the angles of its ten roofs. These dragons, 
eighty in number, were covered with thin glass of various colours, 
which is said to have produced “ a most dazzling reflection,” and 
the roofs themselves were covered with plates of varnished iron, of 
different colours also. In place of these gorgeous iron plates, prosaic 
roof slates now keep out the rain, and as far back as 1849 a writer 
observed that the dragons had “ long since disappeared.” The top 
storey is reached by means of a winding staircase built of wood. The 
view from there is very extensive, although much restricted by the 
haze which for ever hangs over the London area. Sir William 
Chambers said that from the top you could command a view of 
upwards of forty miles in some directions. To-day it has to be 
unusually clear for Windsor Castle to be seen ; but Harrow and 
Sydenham are nearly always visible. This building is not open to 
the public. 
Of the several temples in Kew, the most elaborate in design and 
most effective as a garden feature is the Temple of the Sun. It is 
^ 1 f situated about 500 feet south of the Main Entrance, 
th^S im ° anC ^ WaS i* 1 I 7^ I > from the design and under the 
direction of Sir William Chambers. Of circular form, 
it is supported by eight fluted columns, and the entablature is richly 
ornamented. Inside, the centre of the concave roof is decorated 
with a representation of the sun, and on the frieze are shown in bas- 
relief the twelve signs of the zodiac. Near this temple is a fine cedar 
of Lebanon, originally from the Duke of Argyll’s garden at Whitton, 
planted about the time the temple was built. The conjunction has 
proved a most happy one, the dark, straight limbs of the cedar 
and the curving lines of the white temple affording an admirable 
contrast. 
The Orangery was erected by Sir William Chambers for Augusta, 
Princess Dowager of Wales, in 1761. It consisted of but one room, 
142 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 25 feet high. It is still one of the 
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