A Spiritual Walk: Beautiful Pagodas To Explore in the UK

Have you noticed a tiered shape building, almost the shape of a Christmas tree, except it’s a building usually in a park? This would be a Pagoda, a layered traingular tower-like structure with multiple eaves, common in East and Southeast Asian architecture, originating from ancient Indian stupas and primarily serving as Buddhist religious monuments for prayer, worship, or relic storage, featuring distinctive curved roofs and often ornate decorations, found in countries like China, Japan, Nepal, and Thailand. Yet go for a walk at some location in the UK, and you too will come across one. But how did they get here, and where are they? Find out more in A Spiritual Walk: Beautiful Pagodas To Explore In The UK.

The History of Pagodas

Initially, it seems they evolved from Indian stupas (a dome-shaped or mound-like Buddhist shrine) to house sacred relics and became central to Buddhist temples, though sometimes used for Taoist or Hindu purposes. Often built to honour devotion, feng shui, or imperial families, with taller, more elaborate designs.

The Longhua Pagoda of Longhua Temple in Shanghai, China, is in its present form under the wooden facade built in 977 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) period, with later renovations that account for the updated, decorative wooden exterior seen today.

Japanese Pagodas

Known for their serenity, intricate detailing, and integration into Zen gardens, sometimes called Hōkyōintō in stone forms. 

Modern Usage

While traditional pagodas are religious monuments with little interior space, modern garden pagodas serve as decorative, peaceful focal points, adding elegance and cultural depth to outdoor spaces. 

The History of Pagodas in the UK

Pagodas in the UK have two main histories: 18th-century chinoiserie (East Asian inspired arts) follies, like the famous Great Pagoda at Kew (1762) built for exotic views and fashion, and 20th-century Peace Pagodas, such as those in Milton Keynes (1980) and London’s Battersea Park (1985), built by Japanese Buddhists for world peace, symbolising a spiritual revival. Early examples were decorative, while later ones are active Buddhist shrines, reflecting changing cultural interactions with the East.  Think in terms that initially range from 18th-century decorative “follies” to 20th-century religious monuments and industrial structures.

Porcelain Pagodas

George IV collected miniature porcelain pagodas, highly detailed, reflecting the popularity of Chinese decorative arts in the Royal Pavilion

Great Pagoda, Kew Gardens (image on left)

Known as the Great Pagoda, it is set in Kew Gardens in southwest London and was built in 1761 by Sir William Chambers as a present for Princess Augusta, the founder of the gardens. Constructed of grey brick, the pagoda comprises 10 storeys, totalling 163 ft with 253 steps to the viewing gallery. It is a Grade I listed building. Interestingly, a 2013 study examined possible Chinese models for the Great Pagoda, acknowledging that Chambers, unlike almost all of his contemporary architects, had visited China and therefore had a wider range of possible sources on which to draw.

Blackheath Pagoda

Another 18th-century folly, once a tea house and residence, reflecting the era’s exotic tastes. The Pagoda would have been built at the same time as William Chambers’ work at Kew. Chambers wrote a book about Chinese buildings, which was a best-seller. One of Blackheath’s more unusual houses is a house built in the form of a Chinese Pagoda near the heath. It is actually within the London Borough of Lewisham. It was built about 1760 as the summer house for the fourth Earl of Cardigan and his family. The grounds, although some distance away, were originally gardens, stables and orchards for Montagu House.

Peace Pagodas

Initially built as Buddhist stupas worldwide, as monuments to promote universal peace, non-violence, and unity, inspired by Japanese monk Nichidatsu Fujii after World War II’s atomic bombings, serving as places for meditation with Buddha relics and statues, often featuring friezes depicting Buddha’s life and symbolising hope for a world free from war

Milton Keynes, Peace Pagoda 1980 

The first of its kind in the Western hemisphere, the Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda, built by the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, promotes non-violence after WWII, involving local community participation. The Peace Pagoda enshrines sacred relics of Lord Buddha presented from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Berlin. The Pagoda frieze is of traditional design and tells the story of Buddha from his birth 2,500 years ago at the foot of the Himalayas to his death at Kusinagara after 50 years of teaching. The Peace Pagoda sits next to the Buddhist Temple, which regularly hosts services and spiritual events throughout the year.

Battersea Park, London Peace Pagoda 1985  

In Battersea Park, gifted by the same order as a symbol of world peace, a significant event for the GLC’s Peace Year. In 1829, the Duke of Wellington, the then Prime Minister, fought a duel with the Earl of Winchelsea on Battersea Fields, an area of common land south of the Thames, on the opposite bank to the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

This area is now Battersea Park, and close to the spot where the duel took place stands the London Peace Pagoda, the Buddhist stupa or temple that was built in 1985. 35.5m high and made of wood and concrete, the stupa was the gift of the Japanese Nipponzan-Myohoji Buddhist order, with 50 volunteers from the order living and working in the park, to clear the site and build the temple. On the four faces of the building are gilded bronze statues, each of which symbolises a key event in the life of the Buddha – birth, contemplation and enlightenment, teaching and death.

A walk outside, breathing in fresh cold air (as long as you are wrapped up), is not just good for the body and the mind its also seems it’s good for our spirits.

If you enjoyed reading A Spiritual Walk: Beautiful Pagodas To Explore in the UK, then why not read A Delicious Cocktail here.

.Cent Magazine, London. Luxury Mindset