• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Archive
    • London Blogs
  • Blog
  • Travel
    • London Theater Tickets
    • Shopping
    • Tips
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Maps
    • Parks
    • Resources
    • Restaurants
    • Top 10 London
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Buildings
    • Food
    • London Books
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Pubs
  • Londonism
    • Reviews
    • Fun London
    • Iconic London
    • Life in London
    • London Realities
    • Moving to London
    • Politics
  • The Tube
  • London History
    • Great London Buildings
    • Great Londoners
  • Contact
  • Guidebooks
    • 101 London Travel Tips – Guidebook
    • 101 Free Things to do in London

Londontopia

The Website for People Who Love London

You are here: Home / Culture / Buildings / Great London Buildings – Chiswick House

Great London Buildings – Chiswick House

Oct 6, 2016 By John Rabon

chiswick_house

One of the last Neo-Palladian manor homes left in London, it is named for the area of the city in which it can be found.  The original Chiswick House was a Jacobean home built in approximately 1610 and was the property of the Wardour family.  It was then sold to Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, and later to Carles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan.  After a fire in 1725, Richard Boyle, the 3rd Earl of Burlington, opted to rebuild the family summer home just a bit to the west of the original building.

Boyle was well-known in his day for his knowledge of classic art and architecture.  He had translated the works of Italian architect Andrea Palladio.  Six years before the fire at Chiswick House, he had the chance to travel to Italy and further engrossed himself in the Palladian style.  Burlington decided to rebuild the manor as a “villa” in his desire to bring this classical Italian style back to prominence in England.  Rather than hiring another architect, he opted to do the work himself, only partnering with protégé William Kent to help design the new Chiswick House.

Work began on the villa in 1726, just a bit north-west of the original Jacobean mansion.  He modelled it after Palladio’s Villa Capra in Vicenza, though borrowed much from classical Roman buildings and merged those designs with more modern 16th Century locations.  After its completion in 1729, Burlington did mean to live in the house, but only to use it for entertaining, housing his art collection, and providing an example of his architectural views.  Later on, Burlington left Kent to design the gardens, relaxing the more formal style of the original gardens.  Chiswick House then became one of the buildings that helped to inspire the Neo-Palladian style in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The home remained in the Boyle family until Richard’s death in 1753.  His daughter Charlotte had married William Cavendish, the 4th Duke of Devonshire, five years earlier and the house subsequently passed to them.  The 5th Duke of Devonshire, also named William, and his wife, Lady Georgianna, also loved to use Chiswick House as a getaway home and a place to throw lavish parties.  It remained in the Cavendish family for over 150 years.  During the 19th Century, the Cavendish family leased it to a number of successive tenants.  Samuel Ware built a 300-foot conservatory on the grounds in 1813 and gardener Lewis Kennedy built a geometric Italian garden around it.

During this time, the home became a well-known location for those who wished to be seen, including Handel, Charles James Fox, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (and future King Edward VII) lived there during the 1870s, but not too long after this, the 9th Duke of Devonshire rented Chiswick House to a pair of doctors who sued it as a mental institution.  The sphinxes present at the gate were sent to Green Park for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, but were never returned.  It would also be the 9th Duke who sold Chiswick House to Middlesex County Council in 1929, years after it had begun to fall into decline.

It found a smattering of uses in the following years, including as a fire station during World War II.  Chiswick House was damaged by a V-2 rocket on 8 September 1944, and post war, a campaign to save the house kept it from being entirely demolished, though two of the wings would still be torn down in 1953.  It was also during the 1950s that the home was sold to the Ministry of Works and later passed to English Heritage, which has maintained the gardens since 1984.  Hunslow Council eventually formed the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust in 2005 and fully took over management of the estate in 2010.  Today, its public status leaves Chiswick Gardens open to the public and free to visit.  The gardens remain open from 7AM until dusk, while the house is open from 10AM to 7PM and comes with a small cost to visit. The House will be closed November 2016 – Re-opens fully April 2017.

 

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

close

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Buildings, Great London Buildings

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. robinsmith53Robin Smith says

    Oct 6, 2016 at 11:01 am

    I first came upon Chiswick House during a trip to the UK in the autumn of 1977 and it was my introduction to the architecture of Andrea Palladio. This past spring, I finally made a pilgrimage to Vicenza near Venice, where there are more surviving examples of Palladio’s buildings than anywhere else. Look forward to visiting Chiswick again soon!

  2. Jill Schaefer says

    Oct 6, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    After World War II I lived in Chiswick and used to push all my younger brothers and cousins in a pram to Chiswick Park. We played under the trees outside Chiswick House and rolled down the grassy slopes. It was a wonderful time. Check out my website below for my memoir ‘Up The Wooden Hill’ in which Chiswick Park is mentioned.

  3. Keith Pope says

    Oct 7, 2016 at 4:25 am

    Not been there for 40 years must go again

  4. Mihai says

    Oct 7, 2016 at 5:08 am

    Did you know that The Conservatory can host private events! I will love a wedding there!

  5. Jane Davies says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 10:38 am

    I was born near here (Richmond) but never visited.

    PS I’m sure you mean Hounslow Council in the last paragraph!

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Get the Anglotopia/Londontopia App

Our Advertisers

If you are a mobile gamer, you may want to take a look at UK’s new mobile casinos and slots reviewed by NewCasinoUK.

Join the London Forum

  • Mudlarking
  • MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN LONDON
  • What's Your Favorite Place in London?
  • Paddington Station

London Guide

  • Ten Cheap Things You Can Do in London on a Budget
  • Ten London Exhibitions to Look Forward to in 2023
  • London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
  • Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
  • London Guide: Our Favorite Restaurants in London – London Restaurant Recommendations for Americans – What’s Your Favorite?

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Support Londontopia

Search our Extensive Archive

Top 10 London

  • Ten Unusual Exhibits to See in London
  • London Pubs: Ten Thameside Pubs for a Pint and a View
  • Top 10 London: Ten More Things to Do Along the River Thames
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Shopping Centers in London
  • Museums of London: Ten Overlooked London Museums
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haggerston
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haringey
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Redbridge
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Hillingdon
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to Do in Canonbury

Recent Posts

  • Poet Lemn Sissay ‘over the moon’ to receive Freedom of the City of London
  • English Heritage has unveiled six new blue plaques for London
  • National Portrait Gallery to reopen in June with two special exhibitions
  • Exploring The Cosmic House in London
  • Ten Social Media Accounts to Follow for Londonphiles
  • New Royal Academy Exhibition: Treasures from Spain and the Hispanic World
  • Pollock’s Toy Museum in London Has Closed Unexpectedly
  • The Fiver:  Five Live-Action Children’s Shows Set in London
  • In Pictures: Winter Lights festival returns to London for first time since 2020
  • Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

Best Posts on Londontopia

  • 101 London Travel Tips
  • Top 100 London Attractions
  • How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to London
  • 10 Things NOT to do in London
  • Best London Guidebooks
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • London Lingo – A London Word Dictionary
  • Top 7 Tips for Doing London on the Cheap
  • Top 11 Myths American Believe about London
  • Guide to Eating in London
  • Best Times of Year to Travel to London
  • London Packing Tips
  • Top 11 Movies Set in London
  • Top Attractions off the Tourist Track
  • Top 5 Most Amazing London Hotels
  • Top 10 Hostels in London
  • Best Views in London Restuarants
  • London Taxi Ettiquette
  • Top 12 London Views
  • Great Fire of London
  • A Guide to Five of London’s Bridges
  • 10 Random Facts and Figures about Trafalgar Square
  • Top 100 British Slang Words

London Places to Explore

Bloomsbury Buckingham Palace Canary Wharf City of London Covent Garden Cutty Sark Greenwich Hampstead Hampton Court Palace Heathrow Houses of Parliament Hyde Park Imperial War Museum Islington Kensington Kensington Palace Leicester Square London London Eye London Transport Museum Museum of London National Gallery Notting Hill Piccadilly Circus Putney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Regent's Street Royal Academy Selfridges Somerset House Southbank Southwark St Pancras St Paul's Cathedral Tate Britain Tate Modern The City Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square V&A Wandsworth West End Westminster Westminster Abbey

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Recent Videos

Walk Around London Virtually Right Now – Watched Walker is the YouTube Channel We All Need Right Now

Jason Hawkes Shares a Beautiful Video of London From Above That We All Need Right now

London Tube: You’ve Got to Watch This Amazing Mesmerizing Animation That Shows the Real Geography of the London Underground

Video: The Basics of Crossrail – London’s New Underground Line

London History: The Place Where Old London Double Decker Buses Went to Die

London Video: A Look at the Great Smog of London

Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

What is Crossrail 2 and What is Its Current Status?

London Alert: Strike by London Underground workers to go ahead after last-minute talks fail

London Mayor hails Elizabeth line as direct routes and Sunday services begin

Elizabeth line fully opens and offers more direct journeys

Tube poet encourages writers to ‘bring who they are to the field’

Footer

About Londontopia

Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!

When We’re in London Next

We don’t currently have any travel plans to London but hope to visit at some point in 2021.

  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Copyright © 2023 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in