The DiCamillo Companion - Database: History, Gardens, Movies

Chiswick House
London
England

History / Gardens & Park / Movies

History

Earlier House(s) / Building(s)

The earlier 1717 house was demolished in 1788.

House Replaced By

Built / Designed For

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. Burlington was an enthusiastic promoter of the Italian Renaissance architect Palladio and put his principles to work in the design of Chiswick House (inspired by Palladio's Villa Capra "La Rotonda" near Vicenza), which Burlington designed between 1725 and 1729 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 2-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 of Devonshire 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 Roman Temple of Jupiter Stator in Rome, while the stepped dome is based on the Pantheon, also in Rome. The semi-circular Diocletian windows below the dome (also called thermal windows) are copied from windows in the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. William Kent based his design for the Statue Gallery at Holkham Hall on the famous ruins of the Temple of Venus and Rome in Rome, a design element he also used at Chiswick House (it also makes an appearance at Spencer House). Chiswick is one of 5 Palladian houses built in Britain based on Palladio's famous 16th century Villa Rotunda outside Vicenza (the others being 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 Jan 2007 Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, who manage Chiswick House, made public his theory that Chiswick House was very possibly built as a Masonic temple. Chiswick contains much Masonic iconography; however, this symbolism remained unproved until Jan 2007, when archeological excavations on the grounds of Chiswick revealed a pipe resplendent 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 secret Jacobite.

Collections
This field lists art objects that are currently or were previously in the collection of the house.

For information on the history of British currency, click here. To use a chart that allows you to compare the purchasing power of money in Great Britain from 1264 to any other year, including the present, click here. To use a currency conversion to see the current value of the British pound, click here.

A table based on the capital of a Corinthian column was designed by William Kent, circa 1730, for the Gallery at Chiswick House; it is now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Comments

Chiswick was one of the first Palladian villas in Britain, and is considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the UK. The villa is generally believed to be Lord Burlington’s masterpiece.

Gardens & Park top

Garden, Park, Follies and 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 House in 1738. Lord Burlington also created the Circular Temple, the Pavilion, and the Orangery. The lake and ornamental water features are supplied 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; the garden was planted in 1960 and is one foot out of scale from the original.

Chapel & Church

Movies top

Location for Movies / TV

"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).