Editing Chiswick House

{{Short description|Neo-Palladian villa in Chiswick, London}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Chiswick House
| image = Chiswick House from SE (cropped).jpg
| image_caption = View from forecourt
| image_alt = Chiswick House view from forecourt
| map_type = United Kingdom London Hounslow
| architectural_style = [[Neo-Palladian]]
| location = [[Chiswick]], [[London]], England
| coordinates = {{coord|51.48376|-0.25866|format=dms|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| completion_date = 1729
| owner = [[English Heritage]]
| architect = [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington]]
| website = {{url|chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk}}
}}

'''Chiswick House''' is a [[Neo-Palladian]] style [[villa]] in the [[Chiswick]] district of [[London]], England. A "glorious"<ref name="EHwebsite">{{cite web|title=Chiswick House and Gardens|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chiswick-house/|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|access-date=25 January 2018}}</ref> example of Neo-Palladian architecture in [[west London]], the house was designed and built by [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington]] (1694–1753), and completed in 1729. The house and [[Chiswick House Gardens|garden]] occupy {{convert|26.33|ha|acre}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/798?preview=1 |title=Chiswick House, Hounslow, England |date=27 July 2007 |website=Parks & Gardens UK |publisher=Parks and Gardens Data Services |access-date=18 April 2014 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043359/http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/798?preview=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The garden was created mainly by the architect and landscape designer [[William Kent]], and it is one of the earliest examples of the [[English landscape garden]].

After the death of the 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1753, and the subsequent deaths of his last surviving daughter ([[Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington|Charlotte Boyle]]) in 1754 and his widow in 1758, the property was ceded to [[William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire]], Charlotte's husband. After William's death in 1764, the villa passed to his and Charlotte's orphaned young son, [[William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire]]. His wife, [[Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire|Georgiana Spencer]], a prominent and controversial figure in fashion and politics whom he married in 1774, used the house as a retreat and as a [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] stronghold for many years; it was where [[Charles James Fox]] died in 1806. Prime Minister [[George Canning]] also died there in 1827, in a bedroom in the John White wing buildings.

During the 19th century, the house fell into decline and was rented out by the Cavendish family. It was used as a mental hospital, the [[Chiswick Asylum]], from 1892. In 1929, the [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire|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 [[Listed building|Grade I listed building]] and is maintained by [[English Heritage]].

==History==

===Early history (c. 1610–1682)===

The original Chiswick House was a [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] house owned by Sir [[Edward Wardour]], and possibly built by his father.<ref name=Parliament/> It is dated {{Circa|1610}} in a late 17th-century engraving of the Chiswick House estate by [[Jan Kip and Leonard Knyff]],<ref name=CurrentArchaeology>{{cite journal |date=1 September 2008 |title=Chiswick House |journal=[[Current Archaeology]] |issue=222 |url=http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/chiswick-house.htm}}</ref> and was constructed with four sides around an open courtyard.<ref name=CurrentArchaeology/> Wardour sold the house in 1624 to [[Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset]].<ref name=Parliament>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/wardour-sir-edward-1578-1646 |title=Wardour, Sir Edward (1578–1646), of Chiswick House, Chiswick, Mdx. and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster |last=Lancaster |first=Henry |date=2010 |work=The History of Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brayley |first1=Edward Wedlake |last2=Brewer |first2=James Norris |last3=Nightingale |first3=Joseph  |title=London and Middlesex |publisher=Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe |date=1816 |volume=4 |pages=315 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3flHAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA316}}</ref> The house was quite large: in the [[Hearth tax#Stuart period|1664 Hearth Tax]] documents it is recorded as having 33 fireplaces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk/publications/the-journal/journal-6-1997/the-estates-around-chiswick-house/ |title=The Estates Around Chiswick House |publisher=Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society |date=1997}}</ref> The house was at the south end of the Royalist line in the [[Battle of Turnham Green]] (1641), during the [[First English Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Battle of Turnham Green |url=http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conhistory07.htm |publisher=Chiswick W4 |date=19 November 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216204630/http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conhistory07.htm |archive-date=16 February 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The house was purchased by [[Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan]] in 1682.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allinson |first=Kenneth |title=Architects and Architecture of London |page=84 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1136429651 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7eZ8lWiARzUC&pg=PA84 }}</ref>

===Boyle family (1682–1758)===
[[File:Chiswick House.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Plan of Chiswick House]]

The Jacobean house was used by the Boyle family as a summer retreat from their central London home, [[Burlington House]].<ref name="(LondonEngland)1986"/><ref name="BryantHeritage1993">{{cite book |last1=Bryant |first1=Julius|author2=English Heritage |title=London's country house collections |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJkzAQAAIAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Scala Publications in association with English Heritage |page=32|isbn=9781857590135}}</ref> After a fire in 1725, [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington]] (Lord Burlington), then head of the family,<ref name="(LondonEngland)1986">{{cite book |author1=Furniture History Society |author-link=Furniture History Society |title=Furniture history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xhuxAAAAIAAJ|year=1986|page=84}}</ref> decided to build a new "villa" to the west of the old Chiswick House.

During his trip to Italy in 1719, Burlington had acquired a passion for Palladian architecture.<ref name="Rogers2004">{{cite book |last=Rogers |first=Pat |title=The Alexander Pope encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udRlsDhfhoUC&pg=PA61 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32426-0 |page=61}}</ref><ref name="Baird2007">{{cite book |last=Baird |first=Rosemary |title=Goodwood: Art and Architecture, Sport and Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TkOIfaghEgC&pg=PA19 |date=15 August 2007 |publisher=Frances Lincoln Ltd |isbn=978-0-7112-2769-9 |page=19}}</ref> He had not closely inspected [[Roman architecture|Roman ruins]] or made detailed drawings on the sites in Italy; he relied on [[Palladio]] and [[Vincenzo Scamozzi|Scamozzi]] as his interpreters of the classic tradition.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beltramini |first1=Guido |last2=Vicenza |first2=Centro internazionale di studi di architettura "Andrea Palladio" di |title=Palladio and Northern Europe: books, travellers, architects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSdQAAAAMAAJ | date=15 October 1999 |publisher=Skira |isbn=978-88-8118-524-5}}</ref> Another source of his inspiration were drawings he collected, including those of Palladio himself, which had belonged to [[Inigo Jones]] and his pupil [[John Webb (architect)|John Webb]]. According to [[Howard Colvin]], "Burlington's mission was to reinstate in Augustan England the canons of Roman architecture as described by [[Vitruvius]], exemplified by its surviving remains, and practised by Palladio, [[Vincenzo Scamozzi|Scamozzi]] and Jones."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beltramini |first1=Guido |last2=Burns |first2=Howard |title=Palladio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q4rrAAAAMAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Royal Academy of Arts |isbn=978-1-905711-24-6}}</ref>

Burlington, himself a talented amateur architect and (in the words of [[Horace Walpole]]) "Apollo of the Arts",<ref name="GalleryWilton-Ely1973">{{cite book |last=Wilton-Ely |first=John |title=Apollo of the arts: Lord Burlington and his circle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHDsAAAAMAAJ |year=1973 |publisher=Nottingham University Art Gallery |page=31}}</ref> designed the villa with the aid of [[William Kent]], who also took a leading role in designing the gardens.{{sfn|Groves|Mawrey|2010|p=68}} Burlington built the villa with enough space to house his art collection, regarded as containing "some of the best pictures in Europe",<ref>{{cite book |author=Bryan, Julius |title=London's Country House Collections. Kenwood, Chiswick, Marble Hill, Ranger's House |publisher=Scala Publications for English Heritage |location=London |year=1993 |page=36}}</ref> and his more select pieces of furniture, some of which was purchased on his first [[Grand Tour]] of Europe in 1714. Construction of the villa took place between 1726 and 1729.<ref>{{cite web |last=Randhawa |first=Kiran |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23428558-chiswick-house-set-for-12m-facelift.do |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505072546/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23428558-chiswick-house-set-for-12m-facelift.do |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2013 |title=Chiswick House set for £12m facelift |work=Evening Standard |location=London |date=19 December 2007}}</ref>

After Burlington's death in 1753,<ref name="Ormrod2000">{{cite book |last=Ormrod |first=W. M. |title=The lord lieutenants and high sheriffs of Yorkshire, 1066–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkSAAAAAIAAJ |date=July 2000 |publisher=Wharncliffe Books |page=29|isbn=9781871647747 }}</ref> his wife, [[Dorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork|Lady Dorothy Savile]], and daughter, [[Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington|Charlotte]], who had married [[William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire]] in 1748,<ref name="Thomson1981">{{cite book |last=Thomson |first=George Malcolm |title=The prime ministers, from Robert Walpole to Margaret Thatcher |url=https://archive.org/details/primeministersfr0000thom |url-access=registration |date=April 1981 |publisher=Morrow |isbn=978-0-688-00432-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/primeministersfr0000thom/page/24 24]}}</ref> inherited the house.  Charlotte died in December 1754,<ref name="Society1903">{{cite book |title=Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2IvAAAAMAAJ|year=1903|publisher=Derbyshire Archaeological Society |page=130}}</ref> and Lady Burlington died in September 1758.<ref name="Corp1998">{{cite book |last=Corp |first=Edward T.|title=Lord Burlington: the man and his politics : questions of loyalty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGswAQAAIAAJ|year=1998 |publisher=Edwin Mellen Press |isbn=978-0-7734-8367-5}}</ref> Several views of Burlington's house were made by the architect-draughtsman [[John Donowell]] around this time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Symes |first=Michael |title=John Donowell's Views of Chiswick and other Gardens |journal=Journal of Garden History |issue=7 |date=1987 |volume=7 |pages=43–57|doi=10.1080/01445170.1987.10412457 }} See the article on [[John Donowell]] for a selection of the views.</ref>

===Cavendish family (1758–1929)===
[[File:Giraffes in Chiswick Park ILN 15 June 1844.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|The 6th Duke of Devonshire's garden party for Tsar Nicholas of Russia and 700 guests, with giraffes in the park, from ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', 15 June 1844]]

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]]. In 1774, William married Lady [[Georgiana Spencer]], the Duchess of Devonshire,<ref name="Lodge1867">{{cite book |last=Lodge |first=Edmund |title=The peerage and baronetage of the British Empire as at present existing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RCoEAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA179 |year=1867 |publisher=Hurst and Blackett |page=179}}</ref> who enjoyed spending time at Chiswick which she referred to as her "earthly paradise".<ref name="Gross2004">{{cite book |last=Gross |first=Jonathan David |title=Emma, or, The unfortunate attachment: a sentimental novel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9itOPHgUIUC&pg=PR11 |date=July 2004 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-6146-4 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Foreman |first=Amanda |title=Georgiana's World. The Illustrated Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2001 |page=182}}</ref> She regularly invited members of the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig party]] to the house for tea parties in the garden.<ref name="Libraries2000">{{cite book |title=Choice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wkoAQAAIAAJ |year=2000 |publisher=American Library Association |page= |isbn= }}</ref><ref name="Jullian1967">{{cite book |last=Jullian |first=Philippe |title=Edward and the Edwardians |url=https://archive.org/details/edwardedwardians00jull |url-access=registration |year=1967 |publisher=Viking Press}}</ref> In 1788 the Cavendish family demolished the Jacobean house and hired architect John White to add two wings to the villa to increase the amount of accommodation.<ref name="HibbertWeinreb2008">{{cite book |last1=Hibbert |first1=Christopher |last2=Weinreb |first2=Ben |title=The London Encyclopaedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC&pg=PA165 |date=8 August 2008 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4050-4924-5 |page=165}}</ref> The Duchess was responsible for the building of the Classical Bridge in 1774, designed by the architect [[James Wyatt]],<ref name="HibbertWeinreb2008"/> and the planting of roses on the walls of the new wings and the sides of the buildings. She died in 1806.

In 1813, a {{convert|300|ft|m}} conservatory was built by [[Samuel Ware]], with the purpose of housing exotic fruits and camellias.{{sfn|Groves|Mawrey|2010|p=78}} > Gardener Lewis Kennedy built an Italian inspired geometric garden around the conservatory. In 1827, after a rapid decline in health, Tory Prime Minister [[George Canning]] died in the same room where Charles James Fox had died in 1806.<ref name="England1840">{{cite book |author=England |title=The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales. 4 volumes bound in 12 parts with supplements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNcHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA442 |year=1840 |page=442}}</ref>

[[File:Floor paln of Chiswick House with additional wings.jpg|thumb|Floor plan, showing the wings used for the patients of [[Chiswick Asylum]], now removed]]

Between 1862 and 1892 the villa was rented by the Cavendish family to a number of successive tenants, including the [[Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland|Duchess of Sutherland]] in 1867,<ref name="CockburnKing1995">{{cite book |last1=Cockburn |first1=J. S. |last2=King |first2=H. P. F. |last3=McDonnell |first3=K. G. T. |others=University of London. Institute of Historical Research |title=A History of the county of Middlesex |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VP3uAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] for the Institute of Historical Research |page=75 |isbn=978-0197227565 }}</ref> the Prince of Wales in the 1870s,<ref name="Country life">{{cite book |title=Country Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynZMAAAAYAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]}}</ref> and [[John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute]], patron of the architect [[William Burges]], from 1881 to 1892.{{sfn|Hewlings|1989|pp=52–53}}

===Chiswick Asylum (1892–1928)===

From 1892, the 9th Duke of Devonshire rented the villa to Doctors Thomas Seymour and Charles Molesworth Tuke (sons of [[Thomas Harrington Tuke]]), and it was used by them as a mental hospital, the [[Chiswick Asylum]], for wealthy male and female patients until 1928.<ref name="WeinrebHibbert1983">{{cite book |last1=Weinreb |first1=Ben |last2=Hibbert |first2=Christopher |title=The London Encyclopaedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IJnAAAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=MacMillan |isbn=978-0-333-32556-8|page=154}}</ref> The asylum was praised for its relatively compassionate approach to its inmates. The wings of the house used for the asylum were demolished in the 1950s so little now remains of this use, except in archival records.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Place: Chiswick Asylum |url=http://historyof.place/location/chiswick-house/ |access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref> In 1897, the two sphinxes on the main gate were removed to [[Green Park]] during the celebrations of the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]. They were never returned.<ref name="LGT">{{cite web |url=http://www.londongardenstrust.org/features/chiswick2006.htm |title=The Restoration of Chiswick House Gardens |publisher=London Garden Trust |access-date=7 May 2011}}</ref>

===Public ownership (1929–present)===
[[File:Archeological dig at Chiswick House uncovering the remains of the old Jacobean House.jpg|thumb|English Heritage archaeologists uncover the substantial remains of the old Jacobean house in a 2008 dig.]]

The 9th Duke of Devonshire sold Chiswick House to [[Middlesex County Council]] in 1929,{{sfn|Groves|Mawrey|2010|p=79}}  the purchase price being met in part by contributions from public subscribers, including King [[George V]].<ref name="WeinrebHibbert1983"/> The villa became a fire station during World War II,<ref name="Fisher1980">{{cite book |last=Fisher |first=Lois H. |title=A literary gazetteer of England |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDmdIHzcI70C|date=March 1980|publisher=McGraw-Hill |page=141|isbn=9780070210981 }}</ref> and suffered damage; vibration from the bombing of Chiswick brought down the plasterwork in the Upper Tribunal, and on 8 September 1944 a [[V-2]] rocket damaged one of the two wings.<ref name="Richardson2000">{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=John |title=The Annals of London: a year-by-year record of a thousand years of history |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsoflondonye00rich |url-access=registration |date=4 September 2000 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-22795-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/annalsoflondonye00rich/page/349 349]}}</ref> The wings were removed in 1956.<ref name="HibbertWeinreb2008"/>

In 1948, extensive lobbying from the newly created [[Georgian Group]] prevented it from being destroyed.<ref name="Norwich1993">{{cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |title=Britain's heritage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9bP3aZxP_EC  |date=1 January 1993 |publisher=Rainbow Books |isbn=978-1-85698-006-7}}</ref> The house came under the aegis of the [[Ministry of Works (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Works]] and subsequently of [[English Heritage]].<ref name="LGT"/><ref name="Jones2005">{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Nigel R. |title=Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epsFOeV1mCMC&pg=PA77 |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-31850-4 |page=77}}</ref>

[[Hounslow London Borough Council|Hounslow Council]] and English Heritage formed the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust in 2005 to unify the management of the villa and gardens. The trust took over the administration for the villa and gardens in July 2010, following the completion of the restoration works.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chgt.org.uk/documents/CHISWICK%20HOUSE%20GARDENS%20RESTORATION%20PRESS%20PACK.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005042410/http://www.chgt.org.uk/documents/CHISWICK%20HOUSE%20GARDENS%20RESTORATION%20PRESS%20PACK.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 October 2011 |title=Unveiling of the Restored Chiswick House Gardens |publisher=Chiswick House and Gardens Trust |access-date=7 May 2011 }}</ref> A [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] grant was complemented by approximately £4 million from other sources, for restoration of the gardens in 2007.{{sfn|Groves|Mawrey|2010|p=79}} The garden is open to the public from dawn until dusk without charge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chgt.org.uk/?PageID=17 |title=Visitor information |publisher=Chiswick House and Gardens Trust |access-date=7 May 2011}}</ref>

== Architecture ==

{{Main|Architecture of Chiswick House}}

[[File:Plan du Jardin et Vue des Maisons de Chiswick - Full.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|1736 engraving by [[John Rocque]] of the garden layout with sketches of the house]]

Chiswick House was an attempt by Lord Burlington to create a [[Roman villa]], rather than a Renaissance pastiche, situated in a symbolic [[Roman gardens|Roman garden]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hewlings |first=Richard |chapter=Chiswick House and Gardens: Appearance and Meaning |editor1=Toby Barnard |editor2=Jane Clark |title=Lord Burlington. Architecture, Art and Life |location=London |publisher=Hambledon Press |year=1995 |pages=1–149 |isbn=978-1852850944 }}</ref> Chiswick Villa is inspired in part by several buildings of the 16th-century Italian architects [[Andrea Palladio]] and his assistant [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]]. The house is often said to be directly inspired by Palladio's [[Villa Capra]] "La Rotonda" near Vicenza,<ref name="Yarwood1970">{{cite book |last=Yarwood |first=Doreen |author-link=Doreen Yarwood |title=Robert Adam|url=https://archive.org/details/robertadam0000yarw |url-access=registration |year=1970 |publisher=Scribner |page=[https://archive.org/details/robertadam0000yarw/page/104 104]}}</ref> as architect [[Colen Campbell]] had offered Lord Burlington a design for a villa closely based on the Villa Capra for his use at Chiswick. However, although this was clearly influential, Lord Burlington rejected this design; it was subsequently used at [[Mereworth Castle]], Kent.<ref name="Mowl2000">{{cite book |last=Mowl |first=Tim |author-link = Timothy Mowl|title=Gentlemen & players: gardeners of the English landscape |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFY9AQAAIAAJ |year=2000 |publisher=Sutton |page=113|isbn=9780750923248 }}</ref> Lord Burlington's library list at Chiswick shows that he was not restricted to the influence of Andrea Palladio. He owned books by influential Italian Renaissance architects such as [[Sebastiano Serlio]] and [[Leon Battista Alberti]], and his library contained books by French architects, sculptors, illustrators and architectural theorists like [[Jean Cotelle]], [[Philibert de l'Orme]], [[Abraham Bosse]], [[Jean Bullant]], [[Salomon de Caus]], [[Roland Fréart de Chambray]], [[Hugues Sambin]], [[Antoine Desgodetz]], and John James's translation of [[Claude Perrault]]'s ''Treatise of the Five Orders''. Whether Palladio's work inspired Chiswick or not, the Renaissance architect exerted an important influence on Lord Burlington through his plans and reconstructions of lost Roman buildings; many of these, unpublished and little known, were purchased by Burlington on his second Grand Tour and housed in the Blue Velvet Room, which served as his study.<ref name="Umbach2000">{{cite book |last=Umbach |first=Maiken |title=Federalism and Enlightenment in Germany, 1740–1806 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EY_RC1RCuRIC&pg=PA87 |year=2000 |publisher=Continuum International |isbn=978-1-85285-177-4 |page=87}}</ref> These reconstructions were the source for many of the varied geometric shapes within Burlington's Villa, including the use of the octagon, circle and rectangle (with [[apse]]s).<ref name="WilsonReill2004">{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Ellen Judy |last2=Reill |first2=Peter Hanns |title=Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t1pQ4YG-TDIC&pg=PA444|date=August 2004 |publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-5335-3 |page=444}}</ref><ref name="The Architects' journal">{{cite book |title=The Architects' Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hyNNAAAAYAAJ |year=1990 |publisher=The Architectural Press}}</ref><ref name="MuseumWilk1996">{{cite book |last=Christopher |title=Western furniture: 1350 to the present day in the Victoria and Albert Museum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PD5QAAAAMAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Cross River Press, [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |isbn=978-0-7892-0252-9}}</ref> Burlington's use of Roman sources can be seen in features including the steep-pitched dome of the villa, which is derived from the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in Rome. However, the source for the octagonal form of the dome, the Upper Tribunal, Lower Tribunal and cellar at Chiswick may be Scamozzi's [[Rocca Pisana]] near [[Vicenza]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beltramini |first1=Guido |last2=Vicenza |first2=Centro internazionale di studi di architettura "Andrea Palladio" di |title=Palladio and Northern Europe: books, travellers, architects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSdQAAAAMAAJ  |date=15 October 1999 |publisher=Skira |isbn=978-88-8118-524-5 |page=144}}</ref> Burlington may also have been influenced in his choice of octagon by the drawings of the Renaissance architect [[Sebastiano Serlio]] (1475–1554),<ref name="Laird1999">{{cite book |last=Laird |first=Mark |title=The flowering of the landscape garden: English pleasure grounds, 1720–1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCbC-QQx6iEC&pg=PA215 |year=1999 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |isbn=978-0-8122-3457-2 |page=215}}</ref> or by Roman buildings of antiquity (for example, Lord Burlington owned Andrea Palladio's drawings of the octagonal mausoleum at [[Diocletian's Palace]], [[Split, Croatia|Split]] in modern Croatia).<ref name="TurnerAsh1975">{{cite book |last1=Turner|first1=Louis |last2=Ash |first2=John |title=The golden hordes: international tourism and the pleasure periphery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-grAAAAMAAJ |year=1975 |publisher=Constable |isbn=978-0-09-460310-3|page=37}}</ref>

The brick-built Villa's façade is faced in [[Portland stone]], with a small amount of [[stucco]]. The finely carved [[Corinthian capital]]s on the projecting six-column portico, carved by [[John Boson]], are derived from the [[Temple of Castor and Pollux]] in Rome.<ref name="Coleridge1845">{{cite book |last=Coleridge |first=Samuel Taylor |author-link=Samuel Taylor Coleridge |title=Encyclopaedia Metropolitana: Difform-Falter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wlGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA397 |year=1845 |publisher=B. Fellowes |page=397}}</ref> The inset door, projecting plinth and 'v'-necked rusticated vermiculation (resembling ''[[tufa]]'') were all derived from the base of [[Trajan's Column]]. The short sections of crenellated wall with ball finials which extend out either side of the villa were symbolic of medieval (or Roman) fortified town walls, and were inspired by their use by Palladio at his [[church of San Giorgio Maggiore]] in Venice and by [[Inigo Jones]] (1573–1652) (Palladio produced woodcuts of the Villa Foscari with crenellated sections of walls in his ''[[I quattro libri dell'architettura]]'' in 1570, yet they were never built). To reinforce this link, two full-length statues of Palladio and Jones are positioned in front of these sections of wall. Palladio's influence is also felt in the general cubic form of the villa with its central hall with other rooms leading off its axis. The villa is a half cube of {{convert|70|ft|m}} by {{convert|70|ft|m}} by {{convert|35|ft|m}}.<ref name="HarrisBurlington1994">{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=John |last2=Burlington |first2=Richard Boyle Earl of |title=The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUlQNnIxyrkC&pg=PA107 |date=31 August 1994 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-05983-0 |page=107}}</ref> The house when built was described by [[John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey|John, Lord Hervey]] as "Too small to live in, and too big to hang to a watch". [[John Clerk of Penicuik]] described it as "Rather curious than convenient", while [[Horace Walpole]] called it "the beautiful model".<ref>{{cite book |last=Bryant |first=Julius |title=London's country house collections |publisher=Scala Publications and [[English Heritage]] |date=1993 |isbn=978-1857590135 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJkzAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Too+small+to+live+in,+and+too+big+to+hang+to+a+watch%22+Hervey }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bryant |first=Julius |chapter=Preserving the Mystery: a tercentennial restoration inside Chiswick House |editor=Dana Arnold |title=Belov'd by Ev'ry Muse. Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington & 4th Earl of Cork (1694–1753) |publisher=The Georgian Group |location=London |year=2004 |pages=29–36 |oclc=1156718283 }}</ref>
<!-- This is intended as a summary of "[[Architecture of Chiswick House]]". Please do not add to this section; instead, edit that article, and then if need be update this summary to reflect that article's contents better. Many thanks. -->

==Gardens==

{{main|Chiswick House Gardens}}

[[File:Ionic temple portico.jpg|thumb|Portico of the Ionic Temple in the Orange Tree Garden]]

The gardens at Chiswick were an attempt to recreate a garden of ancient Rome,<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayres |first=Philip |title=Classical Culture and the Idea of Rome in Eighteenth-Century England |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0521105798 }}</ref><ref name="Carré 1973">{{cite journal |last=Carré |first=Jacques |title=Lord Burlington's Garden at Chiswick |journal=Garden History |date=1973 |volume=1 |issue=3, Summer 1973 |pages=23–80 |doi=10.2307/1586331 |jstor=1586331}}</ref> such as the Emperor [[Hadrian]]'s [[Villa Adriana]] at Tivoli.{{sfn|Hewlings|1989|p=25}} From the 1720s, Burlington and Kent experimented with new designs, incorporating elements such as a [[Ha-ha]], classical garden buildings, statues, groves, faux Egyptian objects, bowling greens, winding walks, cascades and water features. A theatre of hedges known as an ''exedra'' was designed by William Kent and originally displayed ancient statues of three unknown Roman gentlemen. The lawn at the rear of the house was created by 1745 and planted with young [[Cedar of Lebanon]] trees which alternate with stone funerary urns designed by William Kent. Placed between the urns and the Cedar of Lebanon are three more sphinxes orientated to face the rising sun.{{sfn|Jacques|2022|pp=}}

A lake was created around 1727 by widening the [[Bollo Brook]]. The excess soil was heaped up behind William Kent's cascade to produce an elevated walkway for people to admire the gardens and a view of the nearby River Thames. A gateway designed by Inigo Jones in 1621 at [[Beaufort House (Chelsea)|Beaufort House]] in Chelsea (home of Sir [[Hans Sloane]]) was bought and removed by Lord Burlington and rebuilt in the gardens at Chiswick in 1738.<ref>John Harris and Gordon Higgott, ''Inigo Jones. Complete Architectural Drawings'' (London: Zwemmer, 1989) pp. 128–131.</ref> The Classic Bridge beyond the Orange Tree Garden was built for [[Georgiana Spencer]] in 1774 to the design of [[James Wyatt]].{{sfn|Hewlings|1989|p=53}} 

The kitchen garden was created in 1682 as part of an adjoining property. Its ownership changed several times, and the garden fell into disrepair. In 2005 it was restored by local volunteers of the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden charity. In 2009 the charity was awarded a grant from the [[National Lottery Community Fund|Big Lottery Fund]] Local Food Scheme, which it had transferred to the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust to fund a community gardener and to assist with the ongoing operation of the kitchen garden.<ref name="CHGT Kitchen Garden">{{cite web |title=The Kitchen Garden |url=https://chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk/our-story/people-stories/the-kitchen-garden/ |publisher=Chiswick House & Gardens Trust |access-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207191930/https://chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk/our-story/people-stories/the-kitchen-garden/ |archive-date=7 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Freemasonry==
[[File:3rdEarlOfBurlingtonMezzotint.jpg|thumb|upright|Lord Burlington]]

Chiswick House has been linked with [[Freemasonry]],<ref name="Rogers2005"/> and is believed by some scholars to have functioned as a private [[Masonic Lodge]] or Temple (unaffiliated to Grand Lodge), given that many of the ceiling paintings by William Kent in the Gallery and the Red, Blue and Summer Parlour Rooms contain iconography of a strong Masonic, Hermetic, and possible Jacobite character.<ref name="Rogers2005">{{cite book|last=Rogers|first=Pat|title=Pope and the destiny of the Stuarts: history, politics, and mythology in the age of Queen Anne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgzLKMRiflwC&pg=PA126|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-927439-0|page=126}}</ref>{{sfn|Groves|Mawrey|2010|p=75}}<ref>Pound, Ricky, "Chiswick House-a Masonic Temple?", in Gillian Clegg (eds.), ''Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal'', Number 16, 2007,4–7</ref><ref>Pound, Ricky, "The Master Mason Slain: the Hiramic Legend in the Red Velvet Room at Chiswick House", in Richard Hewlings (eds.), "English Heritage Historical Review", Volume 4, 2009, 154–163</ref> The proportions of several of the upstairs rooms also have significance in relation to biblical buildings important in Freemasonry. Lord Burlington's status as an important Freemason is indicated by his inclusion in the ''Freemason's Pocket Companion'' of 1736 and in a poem in James Anderson's ''Constitutions of the Free-Masons'' of 1723 where he is linked to an illustrious line of personalities important in Masonic lore. Pat Rogers has argued (following the original research of Jane Clark) that Chiswick House was a symbolic temple, based on so-called Royal Arch Freemasonry, involving a Hermetic intervention designed to heal the sufferings of the exiled Jews.<ref name="Rogers2005"/> Lord Burlington's handwritten list of titles in his library at Chiswick also shows that he supported a large number of publications by Freemasons.<ref>Carre, Jaques. ''Lord Burlington's Book Subscriptions''. in Corp, Edward. ''Lord Burlington. The Man and his Politics''. The Edward Mellen Press, 1998, p126</ref> 
After completion of the villa in 1729, Burlington later provided inspiration to other Masonic architects for numerous other buildings, such as [[Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)|Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester]] at [[Holkham Hall]], Norfolk<ref name="FletcherCruickshank1996">{{cite book |last1=Fletcher |first1=Sir Banister |last2=Cruickshank |first2=Dan |title=Sir Banister Fletcher's a history of architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gt1jTpXAThwC&pg=PA1046|year=1996|publisher=Architectural Press |isbn=978-0-7506-2267-7 |page=1046}}</ref> [[Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond]], at [[Goodwood House]], and the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]], nicknamed the "Egyptian Hall" for its columns.<ref name="SloanBurnett2003">{{cite book |last1=Sloan |first1=Kim |last2=Burnett |first2=Andrew |title=Enlightenment: discovering the world in the eighteenth century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiYrAQAAIAAJ|year=2003|publisher=British Museum Press |isbn=978-0-7141-2765-1}}</ref>

== Notable guests ==

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. These included leading figures of the European '[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]' including the philosophers [[Voltaire]] (1694–1778) and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] (1712–1778); the future US Presidents [[John Adams]] (1735–1826) and [[Thomas Jefferson]] (1743–1826); [[Benjamin Franklin]] (1706–1790); the German landscape artist [[Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau]]; the Italian statesman [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] (1807–1882); Russian Tsars [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] (1796–1855) and [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] (1777–1825); the [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|shah of Persia]]; [[Queen Victoria]]<ref name=CHGT-history>{{cite web |title=History of Chiswick House |url=http://www.chgt.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=5 |website=Chiswick House and Gardens Trust |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019014514/http://www.chgt.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=5 |archive-date=19 October 2014}}</ref> (1819–1901) and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg]]<ref name=CHGT-history/> (1819–61); Sir [[Walter Scott]] (1771–1832); Prince [[Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau]] (1740–1817); Prime Ministers [[William Ewart Gladstone]] (1809–1898) and Sir [[Robert Walpole]] (1676–1745); Queen [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]] (1683–1737); [[John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute]] (1713–92) and the architect [[William Burges]] (1827–1881).

On 20 May 1966, the [[Beatles]] visited Chiswick House to shoot promotional films for both sides of their latest 45 RPM single, "[[Paperback Writer]]" and "[[Rain (Beatles song)|Rain]]". There are scenes shot in the conservatory, in the walled garden and by the exedra.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Beatles |url=http://www.chgt.org.uk/?PageID=383 |website=Chiswick House and Gardens Trust}}</ref>

== Events ==

Since the restoration of the gardens, a variety of seasonal events have been held in the gardens of Chiswick House each year, including a ''[[Camellia]]'' show, open days in the walled kitchen garden, a [[circus]], and a [[magic lantern]] festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's On |url=http://www.chgt.org.uk/index.asp?Pageid=45 |publisher=Chiswick House & Gardens Trust |access-date=21 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511034359/http://www.chgt.org.uk/index.asp?Pageid=45 |archive-date=11 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=David |title=Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House: stunning displays light up grounds for Chinese New Year |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/attractions/magical-lantern-festival-at-chiswick-house-stunning-displays-light-up-grounds-for-chinese-new-year-a3441381.html|work=Evening Standard |date=16 January 2017}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=135px>
File:2017 Magical Lantern Festival London - Palace of Westminster.jpg|Sculpture of the [[Palace of Westminster]] at a [[magic lantern]] festival in the gardens
File:Artisan Market at Chiswick House.jpg|Artisan food market
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==

;Bibliography

* {{cite book |last1=Groves |first1=Linden |last2=Mawrey |first2=Gillian |title=The Gardens of English Heritage |url=https://archive.org/details/gardensofenglish0000mawr |url-access=registration |date=24 August 2010 |publisher=[[Frances Lincoln]] |isbn=978-0-7112-2771-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gardensofenglish0000mawr/page/68 68]–79}}
* Barnard, Toby & Clark, Jane (eds.), ''Lord Burlington. Architecture, Art and Life'', (London: The Hambledon Press, 1995)
* Clegg, Gillian, ''Chiswick House and Gardens: A History'', (London: McHugh Publications, 2011)
* Harris, John, ''The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick'', (New Haven: [[Yale University Press]], 1994)
* {{cite book |last=Hewlings |first=Richard |title=Chiswick House and Gardens (guidebook) |publisher=[[English Heritage]] |year=1989}}
* {{cite book |last=Jacques |first=David |title=Chiswick House Gardens |publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]] on behalf of [[Historic England]] |publication-place=Swindon |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-80085-621-9}}
* White, Roger, ''Chiswick House and Gardens'', (English Heritage guide book, 2001)

;Periodicals

* Bryant, Julius, "Chiswick House-the inside story. Policies and problems of restoration", in ''Apollo'' magazine, CXXXVI, 1992, 17–22
* Cornforth, John, "Chiswick House, London", in ''[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]'', 16 February 1995, 32–37
* Fellows, David, "This old house. Excavations at Chiswick House", in ''[[Current Archaeology]]'', Number 223, October 2008, 20–29
* Hewlings, Richard, "Palladio in England. Chiswick House, London", in ''Country Life'', 28 January 2009, 46–51
* Hewlings, Richard, "The Statues of Inigo Jones and Palladio at Chiswick House", in ''English Heritage Historical Review'', Volume 2, 2007, 71–83
* Hewlings, Richard, "The Link Room at Chiswick House. Lord Burlington as antiquarian", in ''Apollo'' magazine, CXLI, 1995, 28–29
* Kingsbury, Pamela D., "The Tradition of the Soffitto Veneziano in Lord Burlington's Suburban Villa in Chiswick", in ''[[Architectural History (journal)|Architectural History]]'', Volume 44, 2001, 145–152
* Rosoman, Treve, "The Decoration and Use of the Principal Apartments of Chiswick House, 1727–70", in ''The Burlington Magazine'', Volume 127, Number 991, October 1985, 663–677
* Spence, R.T, "Chiswick House and its gardens", in ''[[The Burlington Magazine]]'', Volume 135, Number 1085, August 1993, 525–531
* Scanlan, Matthew, "A Masonic Temple in West London?", in ''Freemasonry Today'', Winter 2006/7, Issue 39, 32–34
* Carre, Jacques, "Lord Burlington's Garden at Chiswick", in ''Garden History'', Volume 1, Number 3, Summer 1973, 23–30
* Clegg, Gillian, "The Duke of Devonshire's Menagerie at Chiswick House", in Richard Hewlings (eds.) ''English Heritage Historical Review'', Volume 3, 2008, 123–127
* Harris, John, "Is Chiswick a 'Palladian' Garden?", in ''Garden History'', Volume 32, No.1, Spring 2004, 124–136
* [[David Jacques|Jacques, David]], "What to Do about Earlier Inaccurate Restoration: A Case Study of Chiswick House", in ''APT Bulletin'', Volume 24, Number 3/4, Conserving Historic Landscapes, 1992, 4–13
* Sicca, Cinzia Maria, "Lord Burlington at Chiswick: Architecture and Landscape", in ''Garden History'', Volume 10, Number 1, Spring 1982, 36–69

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chiswick House}}

* [http://www.chgt.org.uk/ Chiswick House and Gardens Trust]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170103005222/http://chfriends.org.uk/ Chiswick House Friends]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170102171658/http://www.countrylifeimages.co.uk/Search.aspx?s=chiswick%20house Images of Chiswick House] at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141022114922/http://www.countrylifeimages.co.uk/ Country Life Picture Library]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160909090737/http://www.rickypound.london/chiswick_house_masonic_jacobite.html Secret Symbolism]}}

{{Chiswick}}
{{London museums and galleries}}
{{LB Hounslow}}
{{Parks and open spaces in London}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Country houses in London]]
[[Category:Houses in the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in London]]
[[Category:Chiswick]]
[[Category:Grade I listed parks and gardens in London]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in London]]
[[Category:Museums in the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hounslow]]
[[Category:1729 establishments in England]]
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[[Category:History of Middlesex]]
[[Category:Museums with domes]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in London]]
[[Category:Palladian architecture in England]]
[[Category:Villas in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Domes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Gardens by William Kent]]
[[Category:George Canning]]