Kew
Historical Accounts
From the Gentleman's Magazine
[1772, p.400.]
The buildings in Kew Gardens are deservedly the admiration of all
foreigners; and, among them, none deserves greater applause than the beautiful mosque,
the plan of which (see the plate -note: not included) was drawn and executed by W. Chambers, Esq., member of
the Imperial Academy of Arts at Florence, and of the Royal Academy of Architecture at
Paris. The body of the building, according to the architect's description, consists of
an octagon salon in the centre, flanked with two cabinets, finishing with one large dome
and two small ones. The large dome is crowned with a crescent, and its upright part
contains twenty-eight little arches, which give light to the salon. On the three front
sides of the central octagon are three doors, giving entrance to the building; over each
of which there is an Arabic inscription in golden characters, extracted from the Alcoran
by Dr. Moreton, of which the following is the explanation:
"Ne sit coactio in Religione,
Non est Deus ullus prseter Deum.
Ne ponatis Deo similitudinem."
The minarets are placed at each end of the principal building, and the
architect's design in them, and in the whole exterior part of the building itself, seems
to have been to collect the principal peculiarities of the Turkish architecture, which
he has very happily effected.
[1789, Part II., p. 1101.]
In honour of the King's birthday, June 4, 1783, the first stone, being
the west salient angle of Kew Bridge, was laid by M. D. Sanders, Esq., proprietor of a
bridge at that time building at Walton, higher up the river. The ceremony was attended
by Robert Tunstall, Esq., proprietor, Messrs. James Payne, sen. and jun., the architects,
master-workmen, and others. A large company of neighbouring gentlemen and friends of the
proprietor were entertained in commemoration of the event. Pending the summer, two piers
for support of the centre arch were completed. The following year the proprietor thought
proper to open a subscription for a tontine, the benefit of the sole property ultimately
reverting to himself or representatives. Every saving was now to take place, the plans and
elevations were new modelled, the intended width of the road diminished, the elevations
stripped of their picturesque ornaments, the bold Doric entablature and the rusticated
fronts pillaged from the semicircular abutment-arches; these arches were intended to
support attics, adapted to the purpose of the toll-house and other uses. Finally, to save
expense, it became necessary to build the land-arches and wing-walls that conduct to the
body of the bridge with brick, a material neither beautiful of itself in point of colour
nor durable, like stone. The foundations, piers, arch-stones, and all stone employed in this
fabric, as high as the torus cap that bears the plinth of the balustrade, is brought from
quarries at Purbeck. The compactness of texture, and other requisites, evinces a material
well adapted to aquatic buildings, the masonry and other workmanship well performed. . . .
On September 22, 1789, the anniversary of the King's coronation, the
bridge was opened to the public; the period commemorated by a superb entertainment at
the expense of Robert Tunstall, Esq. It was the intention of the architects to erect an
obelisk, supporting a large globe-lamp containing reflectors, facing the bridge, by the
side of the footpath that leads from the Star and Garter to Brentford; a picturesque
approach from the western road, a most needful protection to the passenger, and in other
respects not divested of use. BOCCA DELLA VERITA.
