in
Palladian style, 1726–29
Chiswick House Chiswick House was designed by the
Third Earl of Burlington, and built for him, in 1726–29 as an extension to an earlier
Jacobean house (subsequently demolished in 1788); it is considered to be among the finest surviving examples of
Palladian architecture in Britain, with superb collections of paintings and furniture. Its surrounding grounds, laid out by
William Kent, are among the most important historical gardens in England and Wales, forming one of the first
English landscape gardens. It was used as
an asylum from 1892 to 1928; up to 40 private patients were housed in wings which were demolished in 1956 when the house was restored.
Churches , by
George Gilbert Scott, 1843
St Nicholas Church, near the river Thames, has a 15th-century tower, although the remainder of the church was rebuilt by
J.L. Pearson in 1882–84. Monuments in the churchyard mark the burial sites of the 18th-century English artist
William Hogarth and
William Kent, the architect and landscape designer; the churchyard also houses a mausoleum (for
Philip James de Loutherbourg) designed by
John Soane, and the tomb of
Josiah Wedgwood's business partner,
Thomas Bentley, designed by
Thomas Scheemakers. One of
Oliver Cromwell's daughters, Mary Fauconberg, lived at Sutton Court and is buried in the churchyard. Enduring legend has it that the body of Oliver Cromwell was also interred with her, though as the
Fauconbergs did not move to Sutton Court until 15 years after his disinterment, it is more likely he was reburied at their home at
Newburgh Priory. The church of
St Michael, Sutton Court was designed by
W. D. Caröe in 1908–1909. It is a red brick building on Elmwood road, in Tudor style.
Christ Church, Turnham Green is an early Victorian Gothic building of flint with stone dressings. The main part of the building, by
George Gilbert Scott and W. B. Moffat, is from 1843; the chancel and northeast chapel were added in 1887 by J. Brooks. Chiswick's principal
Roman Catholic church,
Our Lady of Grace and St Edward (
the Confessor) in the
Diocese of Westminster, lies on the corner of Duke's Avenue and the High Road. It is a red brick building; the parish was founded in 1848, a school began c. 1855, and a church was opened by
Cardinal Wiseman on the present site in 1864. It was replaced by the present building in 1886, opened by
Cardinal Manning. The heavy debts incurred were paid off and the church consecrated in 1904. The square tower was added after the First World War by Canon Egan as a war memorial. The
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs with its characteristic blue onion dome with gold stars is in Harvard Road. The
Russian Orthodox church built it in 1998.
Chiswick Mall , looking east from Church Street. The grand houses are on the left; their waterfront gardens are on the right.
Chiswick Mall is a waterfront street on the north bank of the River Thames in the oldest part of Chiswick near St Nicholas Church. It consists mainly of some thirty "grand houses" from the
Georgian and
Victorian eras, many of them now listed buildings, overlooking the street on the north side; their gardens are on the other side of the street beside the river. The largest and finest
Strand-on-the-Green and
Strand-on-the-Green, 1832 Strand-on-the-Green is the most westerly part of Chiswick, "particularly picturesque"
Bedford Park The
Bedford Park neighbourhood was described by
Nikolaus Pevsner as the first place "where the relaxed, informal mood of a
market town or village was adopted for a complete speculatively built suburb". In 1877 the speculator
Jonathan Carr hired Shaw as his estate architect. Shaw's house designs, in the
Queen Anne Revival style with red brick,
roughcast, decorative
gables, and
both oriel and
dormer windows, gave the impression of great variety using only a few types of house. These were scaled-down versions of the more expensive houses that he had designed for wealthy areas such as
Chelsea,
Hampstead, and
Kensington. He also designed the focal buildings of the garden suburb, including the church of St Michael and All Angels and the Tabard Inn opposite it.
Duke's Meadows Duke's Meadows stands on land formerly owned by the
Duke of Devonshire. In the 1920s, it was purchased by the local council, who developed it as a recreational centre. A promenade and bandstand were built, and the meadows are still used for sport with a rugby club, football pitches, hockey club, several rowing clubs and a golf club. In recent years a local conservation charity, the Dukes Meadows Trust, has undertaken extensive restoration work, which saw a long-term project of a children's water play area opened in August 2006. , a local nature reserve
Gunnersbury Triangle The
Gunnersbury Triangle local nature reserve, opposite Chiswick Park Underground station, is managed by
London Wildlife Trust. The area, a railway triangle, was saved from development by a public inquiry, and became a reserve in 1985. Its 2.5 hectares are covered mainly in secondary
birch woodland, with
willow carr (wet woodland) in the low-lying centre, and
acid grassland on the former Acton Curve railway track. The reserve runs a varied programme of activities including wildlife walks, fungus forays, open days and talks.
Public houses and theatres , briefly the home of the poet
Alexander Pope There are several historic
public houses in Chiswick, some of them
listed buildings, including the
Mawson Arms, the
George and Devonshire, the
Old Packhorse and
The Tabard in Bath Road near Turnham Green station. The Tabard is known for its
William Morris interior and its Norman Shaw exterior; it was built in 1880. Three more pubs are in
Strand-on-the-Green, fronting on to the Thames river path. Chiswick had two well-known theatres in the 20th century. The
Chiswick Empire (1912 to 1959) was at 414 Chiswick High Road. It had 2,140 seats, and staged
music hall entertainment, plays, reviews, opera, ballet and an annual Christmas
pantomime. The Q Theatre (1924 to 1959) was a small theatre opposite Kew Bridge station. It staged the first works of
Terence Rattigan and
William Douglas-Home, and many of its plays went on to the West End. The 96-seat
Tabard Theatre (1985) in Bath Road, upstairs from the Tabard pub but a separate business, is known for new writing and experimental work.
Other buildings wallpaper factory design by
Charles Voysey, 1902 The
Sanderson Factory in Barley Mow Passage, now known as Voysey House, was designed by the architect
Charles Voysey in 1902. It is built in white glazed brick, with
Staffordshire blue bricks (now painted black) forming horizontal bands, the plinth, and surrounds for door and window openings, and dressings in
Portland stone. It was originally a wallpaper printing works, now used as office space. It is a Grade II*
listed building. It faces the main factory building and was once joined to it by a bridge across the road. It was Voysey's only industrial building, and is considered an "important
Arts and Crafts factory building". In 1971,
Erin Pizzey established the world's first domestic violence refuge at 2 Belmont Terrace, naming her organisation "
Chiswick Women's Aid". The local council attempted to evict Pizzey's residents, but were unsuccessful and she soon established more such premises elsewhere, inspiring the creation of refuges worldwide. Chiswick is home to the
Arts Educational Schools in Bath Road. The house used for filming the comedy show
Taskmaster, a former groundskeeper's cottage, is just off Great Chertsey Road, near
Chiswick Bridge. == Transport ==