Chiswick House

Sphinx Gatepier

Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia, from a 1922 hand-colored photograph. Thomas Jefferson was influenced in the design of his historic home by Chiswick House.

A 19th century engraving of the Villa Rotonda, Vicenza, upon which Chiswick was modeled.

Detail of entrance portico columns. The capitals were modeled on those on the Temple of Jupiter Stator in Rome.

An 1890 engraving of the Temple of Jupiter Stator from "The History of Rome and the Roman People"

An 1880 painting of The Baths of Diocletian, Rome, by Edmond Paulin. Chiswick's Diocletian windows (below the dome) were copied from windows in the baths.

An 1829 engraving of the entrance facade, showing the 1788 wings (demolished), from "Neale's Views of Seats"

An 1829 engraving of the garden facade, showing the 1788 wings (demolished) from "Neale's Views of Seats"

Rysbrack's statue of Inigo Jones

Rysbrack's statue of Palladio

Portrait of Inigo Jones in the Blue Velvet Room

Ceiling of the Blue Velvet Room

The Blue Velvet Room

Detail of term in the Blue Velvet Room

The rotunda

Busts in the rotunda

William Kent pier table

1727-32 Corinthian table designed by William Kent for Chiswick House. Today in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Porphyry urn

Detail of ceiling with center medallion bust of the 3rd Earl of Burlington

Basement

Term in the basement

18th century painting of grounds at Chiswick

The temple

Earlier Houses: There was an earlier Jacobean house owned by Wardour family that was demolished by Lord Burlington when the current house was built.

House & Family History: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1695-1753), was one of England's "Earls of Creation" and the supreme arbiter of the arts in early 18th century Britain. He was an enthusiastic promoter of the Italian Renaissance architect Palladio and put his principles to work at Chiswick House (inspired by Palladio's 16th century La Rotonda near Vicenza), which Burlington himself designed between 1725 and 1729 (with a little help from William Kent) as an adjunct to an earlier house of circa 1717, which stood to the southeast of today's villa. Circa 1732-33 these two buildings were joined by a two-story link; in 1788 the older building was demolished by the 4th Duke of Devonshire, who also added wings to both sides of the current house; these wings were demolished 1956-57. (The 4th Duke came into ownership of Chiswick through his marriage to Lady Charlotte Boyle, the only child and heir of Lord Burlington. Lady Charlotte brought large estates to the Cavendish family: Lismore Castle in Co. Waterford, Londesborough Hall in Yorkshire, and Burlington House in London). The columns of the portico are copied from the ancient Temple of Jupiter Stator in Rome (see "Images" section), while the stepped dome is based on the Roman Pantheon. The semi-circular Diocletian windows below the dome (also called thermal windows) are copied from windows in the Baths of Diocletian (see "Images" section) in the Eternal City. William Kent based his design for the statue gallery at Holkham Hall on the famous ruins of the Temple of Venus and Roma in Rome, a design element he also used at Chiswick House (it also makes an appearance at Spencer House). Thomas Jefferson was very much influenced by Chiswick House (and Palladio) in the design of Monticello, his famous home in Virginia (see "Images" section). Chiswick is one of five houses built in Britain based on Palladio's famous 16th century Villa Rotonda (the others were Nuthall Temple, Nottinghamshire [demolished]; Mereworth Castle, Kent; Henbury Hall, Cheshire; and Foots Cray Place, Kent [demolished]). The 9th Duke of Devonshire sold Chiswick House to Brentford and Chiswick Council in 1929. In January 2007 Simon Thurley, then chief executive of English Heritage (the organization who then managed Chiswick House) made public his theory that Chiswick House was possibly built as a Masonic temple. Chiswick contains much Masonic iconography; however, this symbolism remained unproved until the 2007 discovery, when archeological excavations on the grounds of Chiswick revealed a pipe with Masonic symbols. The discovery of this pipe adds further evidence that the strange house at Chiswick (famously called by Lord Hervey "too small to live in and too large to hang to a watch") may have been built for other purposes. Dr. Thurley has also suggested that Lord Burlington may have been a closet Jacobite. The outer steps to Castle Howard's famous mausoleum were modeled on those at Chiswick.

Collections: A Corinthian column table designed by William Kent, 1727-32, for the sculpture gallery at Chiswick House is today in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (see photo in "Images" section). This wood table, carved in London, but with a Siena marble top, is one of the earliest documented pieces of Palladian furniture.

Comments: Considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the UK, Chiswick House was one of the first Palladian villas in Britain and is generally considered to be Lord Burlington's masterpiece.
Garden & Outbuildings: The gateway for Chiswick House was designed by Inigo Jones in 1621 for another location; it was removed and rebuilt by Lord Burlington at Chiswick in 1738 (in 1897 the two sphinxes on the main gate were moved to Green Park during the celebrations of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and never returned). Lord Burlington also created the Ionic Temple, the pavilion, and the orangery. The lake and ornamental water features are fed by the waters of Bollar Brook, a stream running from Acton to the River Thames. In 1966 the Beatles shot films for two of their songs—"Paperback Writer" and "Rain"—in the garden. The ashes of British actor, songwriter, and broadcaster Michael Flanders are scattered in the Chiswick garden. The private west garden at Chatsworth has a pattern of box hedges taken from the architectural plan of Chiswick House; the garden was planted in 1960 and is one foot out of scale from the one at Chiswick.
Architect: William Kent

Date of Birth: 1684-85
Date of Death: 1748
Nationality: English
Notes: Born as William Cant in Bridlington, Yorkshire, in the late 17th century, the future William Kent, who would be known in later life as "Il Signore," began as an apprentice coach painter in Hull, where his talent was soon noticed by a local squire, who, together with a number of the local Yorkshire gentry, raised the money to send Kent to Italy to study painting and architecture (he accompanied the collector John Tellman). Kent was "discovered" in Italy by Lord Burlington and became his protégé as an apostle of Palladian design. Burlington had big plans for Kent: he wanted to make him England's greatest history painter. Though this did not come to pass (his painting today is considered mediocre), Kent did become a very successful arbiter of taste. He was an architect and furniture designer, a painter, and an incredibly important landscape architect (he was one of the originators of natural landscape design and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern garden design). He was ahead of Capability Brown, Robert Adam, and Horace Walpole in setting new styles and began the trend toward controlling every aspect of architectural design. Among his followers were Matthew Brettingham the Elder, Henry Flitcroft, Isaac Ware, Stephen Wright, John Vardy, and Thomas Ripley. Though famous as an evangelist of Palladian design, his training in Italy, specifically the influence of the Italian Baroque, never left Kent's work (he was trained as a Baroque painter). The design of his famous console tables can be traced directly to Roman Baroque examples, and even some of interiors are Baroque, most notably his magnificently over-the-top staircase at 44 Berkeley Square in London. Little known is that Kent also designed for the theater, a result, very likely, of his admiration of the work of Inigo Jones.

Date: 1735
Designed: Gardens and interior of summer parlour for 3rd Earl of Burlington

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Architect: Charles Bridgeman

Date of Birth: ?
Date of Death: 1738
Nationality: English
Notes: Bridgeman is one of the key figures in the establishment of The English Garden. He provided a crucial role in the transition from the formal, geometric layout of the early 18th century gardens to the natural look of Capability Brown. Bridgeman was the Royal Gardener to George II and Queen Caroline and also worked at Hampton Court, Clermont, Eastbury, Wimpole, and Marble Hill. He reached his peak with his work at Stowe.

Date: 1720s-30s
Designed: Gardens for 3rd Earl of Burlington

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Architect: Richard Boyle (Burlington)

Date of Birth: Apr 25, 1694
Date of Death: Dec 4, 1753
Nationality: English
Notes: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was entranced by the Grand Tour and brought back to England a collection of Palladio's drawings that he purchased from the Bishop of Verona and from the Manin family (who had inherited the Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser). Another discovery Burlington made in Italy was the young Yorkshireman William Kent, for whom he had great plans - he wanted to make him England's great history painter. Though this did not come to pass, Kent did become a successful architect and garden designer and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern gardening. Another protégé was Isaac Ware, who put together Palladio's drawings of Roman imperial baths and published them in 1730. Lord Burlington, known as the "Apollo of the Arts," was made a Knight of the Garter and became an extremely powerful patron, supporting poetry, architecture, and music (he was the benefactor of an Italian opera company and Handel was his pensioner). Howard Colvin on Burlington: "For more than thirty years he was the acknowledged arbiter of English architectural taste." The discovery that Burlington designed buildings, and was not simply an arbiter of taste, was made in the early 20th century by Fiske Kimball, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Chiswick House is considered Lord Burlington's masterpiece.

Date: Circa 1725-29
Designed: House and circular temple

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Architect: John White Sr.

Date of Birth: 1748
Date of Death: 1813
Nationality: British
Notes: White Sr. was born in Shrewsbury and was the son of William White, a carpenter. By 1770 White had moved to London, where he made a fortune in property development.

Date: 1788
Designed: Wings (demolished) for 5th Duke of Devonshire

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Vitruvius Britannicus: II, 1725, pl. 26 (earlier house). C. IVth. pls. 82, 83, 1739.

John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: 2.S. Vol. V, 1829.

Country Life: XLIII, 130 plan, 160, 1918. LX, 308, 1926. CII, 126, 1947. CXXIV, 228, 1958. CLXIII, 624, 1978.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 411
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Spencer House: Chronicle of a Great London Mansion
Author: Friedman, Joseph
Year Published: 1993
Reference: pg. 102
Publisher: London: Zwemmer
ISBN: 0302006176
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Heritage Today (magazine)
Author: NA
Year Published: NA
Reference: Sep 2003, pg. 9; Nov 2004, pg. 9
Publisher: London: English Heritage
ISBN: NA
Book Type: Magazine

Title: Chiswick House and Gardens Guidebook
Author: Hewlings, Richard
Year Published: 1998
Reference: pg. 3
Publisher: London: English Heritage
ISBN: 185074226X
Book Type: Light Softback

Title: British Galleries, 1500-1900, A Guide Book, The
Author: Winch, Dinah
Year Published: 2001
Publisher: London: Victoria & Albert Museum
ISBN: 1851773622
Book Type: Softback

Title: Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings
Author: Headley, Gwyn; Meulenkamp, Wim
Year Published: 1999
Publisher: London: Aurum Press Ltd.
ISBN: 1854106252
Book Type: Softback

Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pg. 584
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300072074
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade I
"The Servant" (1963). "Civilisation" (1969 - BBC TV series, episode 10, "The Smile of Reason"). "Inspector Lynley Mysteries" (2003 - TV series). "Eroica" (2003 - TV movie). "Days That Shook the World" (2003 - TV-Series, as the Vatican in a docu-drama on Galileo). "Vanity Fair" (2004 - gardens only). "De-Lovely" (2004). "Miss Marple: 4.50 From Paddington" [aka "Marple: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw"] (2004 - TV series, as grounds and mausoleum of Rutherford Hall). "Kevin McCloud's Grand Tour of Europe" (2009 - TV mini series). "Harlots" (2017–19 - TV series). "Harlots" (2017-19 - TV series).
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Sir Edward Wardour, 17th century. Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, 17th century. Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, late 17th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, 1725-53. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, 19th century; Cavendish family here from 1758 until 1929. SEATED HERE AS TENANTS OF THE DUKES OF DEVONSHIRE: Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, 1867. Prince of Wales, 1870s. John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, 1881-92.

Current Ownership Type: Government

Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction

Ownership Details: Owned by Hounslow Council; since 20015, managed by Chiswick House and Gardens Trust.
House Open to Public: Yes
Phone: 02031-413-350

Email: info@chgt.org.uk

Website: http://chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk

Historic Houses Member: No

House, Family & Collections History

Gardens, Outbuildings, Chapel & Church History

Architects

Historic Publications References

Bibliography / Reading List for this House

Listings for House & Park

Location for Film & TV

Families Who’ve Lived Here / Current Ownership Type & Use

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