The Chiswick House estate came to public notice between 1715 and 1753 when in the ownership of the third Earl of Burlington. He commissioned a magnificent Palladian-style villa and remodelled the grounds.
This influential landscape was later acclaimed as the birthplace of the English landscape garden, and is widely regarded as one of Britain’s main contributions to European art. Further alterations were carried out in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by the fifth and sixth Dukes of Devonshire. The Chiswick House estate was acquired by Middlesex County Council for the benefit of the public in 1929.
The house moved into central government ownership in 1948. It is now managed by English Heritage, while the gardens are owned by the London Borough of Hounslow. The villa is both a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. The gardens are registered Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic interest. They contain 16 Grade I and five Grade II listed buildings and features.
The need for conservation
Prior to the current restoration project, the gardens had been in serious decline, with inadequate resources to care for them. As a public park, the gardens are intensively used, with an estimated one million visits a year. The infrastructure and facilities were not, however, good enough to go on being used as a public open space.
The project was based on a radical re-think about how the place connected to the surrounding communities, how it was presented to visitors and how it was to be managed. The proposals were supported by a huge amount of historical research, analysis and survey work carried out in recent years.
The Chiswick House and Gardens Trust
The estate has suffered in the past because of the split management between the house and the gardens. A key aspect of the project was to achieve integrated and holistic stewardship of the site, through the establishment of the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust (CHGT).
The Trust was set up as a registered company in 2004, and as a charity in 2005. Its purpose is ‘to advance education by the preservation, restoration, maintenance, repair and enhancement of the property known as Chiswick House and Grounds, Chiswick, London … and its contents, for the benefit of the public and of the historical and architectural heritage of England…’
The CHGT is made up of nominations from the London Borough of Hounslow and English Heritage, plus further appointments from the CHGT Board. In Spring 2010, the Trust took over the management of the house, under the terms of a management agreement with English Heritage, and the gardens, under a 99-year lease from Hounslow.
The conservation project
The project covered the repair and conservation of Burlington’s garden buildings and features; restoration of soft and hard landscaping and the renewal of park infrastructure; provision of educational and operational facilities; restoration of the sixth Duke of Devonshire’s conservatory, while protecting its internationally-important camellia collection; provision of a new café and visitor facilities; and a designated permanent landscaped site for seasonal marquees.
The overall aim of the project was to ensure that the status of the site and its educational and cultural potential is reflected in the visitor experience. The future of the buildings and landscape will be safeguarded by a ten-year management and maintenance plan following Heritage Lottery Fund and Green Flag guidelines.
The total capital costs of the project was £12.1 million, with the principle funding contributions coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund (£7.9m), English Heritage (£1.75m), the Wolfson Foundation (£0.6m), and the Monument Trust (£0.5m). Other contributions were received from a wide cross section of trusts, foundations and individuals.
Works were procured through three main contracts: a landscape contract, focussing on the garden restoration; a conservatory restoration contract and a contract for the construction of the new café, which is now open to the public.
Significant pre-construction archaeological investigations in the area for the new café have advanced understanding of the site. These have revealed the basement areas of the Jacobean House, which had been demolished in 1788, and the foundations of the substantial stables and service buildings running east from the villa. Works over the rest of the site have benefited from an archaeological watching brief.
Contractors
Architects for the new café: Caruso St John
Conservation architects: Dannatt Johnson
Conservation /structural engineers: Giffords
Lead designer and landscape architects: Scott Wilson
Main contractor for landscape: UPM Tilhill
Main contractor for conservatory: Walter Lilly
Main contractor for the new café: Thomas Sinden
Mechanical and electrical engineers: Roger Parker Associates
Project management: Mouchel
Quantity Surveyors: Press & Starkey
