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The Jacobean house was used by the Boyle family as a summer retreat from their central London home, Burlington House.[9][10] After a fire in 1725, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (Lord Burlington), then head of the family,[9] decided to build a new "villa" to the west of the old Chiswick House. During the 19th century, the house fell into decline and was rented out by the Cavendish family. In 1929, the 9th Duke of Devonshire sold Chiswick House to Middlesex County Council, and it became a fire station. The villa suffered damage during World War II, and in 1944, a V-2 rocket damaged one of the two wings, which were both demolished in 1956. Today, the house is a Grade I listed building and is maintained by English Heritage.
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The ceiling, similar in design to that in the Green Velvet Room, but containing painted panels has at its centre a painting attributed to William Kent representing Lord Burlington's patronage of the arts. The main character is the Roman god Mercury, the great patron of the arts and god of commerce, who is dispensing money into the arts depicted at the bottom of the panel. The arts are represented by a self-portrait of William Kent (art), a supine bust of Inigo Jones (sculpture) and a putto with a temple plan of the Temple of Fortuna Virilis as depicted by Palladio in his architectural treatise I quattro libri dell’architettura first published in 1570. Inside the Villa many references to the Roman goddess Venus abound, as Venus was the mother of Aeneas who fled Troy and co-founded Rome. On the forecourt to the Villa are several 'term' statues that derive their forms from the Roman god Terminus, the god of distance and space. Such items therefore are used as boundary markers, positioned in the hedge at set distances apart.
The purpose of the villa
Over the next two decades the condition of the house deteriorated badly, until in 1948 it was handed over to the Ministry of Works. The rooms are of different shapes – octagonal, rectangular, circular – and arranged around the Saloon. This was an idea that came from Palladio’s drawings reconstructing the great Roman bath complexes, notably the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. Managed by Chiswick House and Gardens Trust - visit their website to find out more about the property and programme of events, including to book tickets for your visit.
Rooms on the ground floor
We advise coaches to drop visitors off at the bus stop on the A316, just before the Hogarth roundabout. The council has imposed new restrictions but this is ‘except buses’ which includes Coaches. Rather than a conventional home, Chiswick House was a bold architectural experiment.
Lady Burlington's Bedchamber and Closet
The rose garden in Chiswick Gardens is thought to be the first of its kind in the country. Roses would have traditionally been used for creating potions and oils, but following a visit to Empress Josephine’s Malmaison rose garden, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, went on to install the rose garden in Chiswick. The bridge which connects both sides of the gardens was built for Georgiana in 1744 to the designs of James Wyatt. One of the most glorious examples of eighteenth-century British architecture, Chiswick House and its gardens both broke boundaries in design. Chiswick House and Gardens is one of the most glorious examples of 18th-century British architecture and landscaped gardens, with over 300 years of discovery, inspiration and delight.
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On the portico leading to the Domed Hall is positioned a bust of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Augustus was regarded by many of the early 18th-century English aristocracy as the greatest of all the Roman Emperors (the early Georgian era was known as the Augustan Age). This link with the Emperor Augustus was reinforced in the garden at Chiswick through the presence of Egyptianizing objects such as sphinxes (who symbolically guard the 'Temple' front and rear), obelisks and stone lions. Inside the villa many references to the Roman goddess Venus abound, as she was the mother of Aeneas who fled Troy and co-founded Rome. On the forecourt to the villa are several 'term' statues that derive their forms from Terminus, the Roman god of distance and space. These are used as boundary markers, positioned in the hedge at set distances apart.
Chiswick House is among the most glorious examples of 18th-century British architecture and makes a fascinating day out in West London. The 3ird Earl of Burlington, who designed this noble Roman-style Palladian villa, drew inspiration from his Grand Tours of Italy. Elsewhere, other restorations of historic buildings include the renovation of the Grand Palais by Chatillon Architectes which is set to host olympic games in Paris and the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame cathedral's spire following a devastating fire in 2019. Voysey was a British Arts and Crafts architect and designer who was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1940. Voysey House stands as the only commercial building designed by the renowned architect.
Library
Water is meant to flow from a pool in the courtyard through a tunnel to this inside moat, and out again to a fountain. Lady Burlington formed a close friendship with Kent who she affectionately referred to as ‘Kentino’. He helped her to redecorate the Garden Room on the ground floor of the house, now known as the Summer Parlour.
These are accompanied by two heavy tables designed by Kent with their distinctive shells and featuring a mask of Neptune, accompanied by two water cherubs wearing pearls. The two handsome marble tops were inlaid with twenty two different types of marble and formed into geometric shapes with Greek Key (meander) borders. These were also joined by two torchers (flame holders) in the form of ‘Terms’. Either end of the Gallery are rooms that are circular and octagonal in shape. Together with the central rectangular Gallery, this series of geometric forms derive from Andrea Palladio's reconstructions of the Diocletian Bathhouses, which designs Lord Burlington owned. The female faces in the decorations of the two end rooms tell the story as told by Vitruvius of the origins of the Corinthian order.[25] The double sunflowers mark Lord and Lady Burlington's status as courtiers in the service of the King and Queen.
Membership gives you unlimited access to castles and gardens, historic houses and abbeys, and kids go free... Please note that all transactions regarding payment for parking will be via telephone parking payment system (currently Pay-by-Phone). The payment machines will no longer be in operation by the beginning of June. Chiswick House and Gardens is sign-posted on brown tourist boards on the A4 from the west of Hogarth Roundabout (junction with A316). Police, staff and our volunteers may cycle within the gardens to reduce the number of service vehicles. Please help us look after the Gardens and do not to chain or lean bicycles against buildings, railings, trees or masonry.
Income from the parking charges pay for the upkeep of the car park and the care and preservation of the gardens. Please note that English Heritage and Chiswick House and Gardens members must pay for parking. The house and grounds were used as the temple of the Piranha Women in 1989's Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.
One was the first English translation of Four Books of Architecture by the 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, who set out the system of proportion and ornament used by Roman architects, and adapted them in the design of new buildings in Italy. The second book was Vitruvius Britannicus, a compendium of British classical architecture by the Scottish architect Colen Campbell. Campbell championed the importance of Palladio and his 17th-century English follower Inigo Jones. Although little is known of the people who stayed or visited the house in Lord Burlington's lifetime, many important visitors to the property are recorded as visiting throughout its history. If you are visiting the gardens during the day, the public car park is situated just off the westbound A4 and clearly marked by a brown tourist board entrance sign. The car park is a 5-10 minute walk from the House along uneven gravel paths.
By the 20th century, the House and Gardens were in decline and in 1929 the reduced estate was sold to Middlesex County Council. In 1948, ownership of the house passed to the Ministry of Works, which embarked on a restoration campaign aimed at returning the villa to its original size and design and the gardens to their original layout. In 1725 a fire damaged the existing house at Chiswick, and this may have given Burlington a pretext for adding a new building to his house – the villa now known as Chiswick House. This villa was built between 1726 and 1729 and the exterior design was mostly the work of the earl himself.
This meant removing or softening the divisions between existing formal compartments, and opening up space and views around the new villa. Kent also adorned the landscape with classically inspired sculptures and monuments. The house when built was described by John, Lord Hervey as "Too small to live in, and too big to hang to a watch". After the death of Lady Burlington in 1758, the villa and gardens passed to the Cavendish family. William Cavendish died in 1764, leaving the property to his son William, the 5th Duke of Devonshire. Authors of antiquity, such as Horace and Pliny, were major influences on 18th century thinkers through their descriptions of their own gardens, with alleys shaded by trees, parterres, topiary, and fountains.
It is possible that one purpose of the Villa was as an art gallery, as inventories show more than 167 paintings hanging in situ at Chiswick House in Lord Burlington's lifetime, many purchased on his two Grand Tours of Europe. As with many of Wright's residences, Hollyhock House has an "introverted" exterior with windows that seem hidden from the outside, and is not easy to decode from the outside. The house is arranged around a central courtyard with one side open to form a kind of theatrical stage (never used as such), and a complex system of split levels, steps and roof terraces around that courtyard. The design features exterior walls that are tilted back at 85 degrees (which helps provide a "Mayan" appearance sometimes referred to as the Mayan Revival style), leaded art glass in the windows, a grand fireplace with a large abstract bas-relief, and a moat.
