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House and Garden
Introduction
Every week Chiswick House and Gardens play host to a wide range of activities, volunteer groups and societies. Here you will find details of the most popular groups and their contact details or weblinks. For more information about activities click here.
The Friends website would be pleased to help publicise other activities where possible. Please contact: secretary@chfriends.org.uk
What's Happening in the House and Gardens
Other interested groups
- Dandelion Drop-in….www.dandelionplaytime.co.uk
- Dog Walkers………...www.chowgroup.co.uk
- Bat Walks
- Camellia Society
Cricket - Chiswick & Latymer Cricket Club
Chiswick & Latymer Cricket Club has been playing in the grounds of Chiswick House since the mid 1950's. If you would like to know more about the club and its activities or would like to join as player, Colts coach or helper, umpire, scorer or just as a supporter or want information on activities or indoor and outdoor nets, please contact Graham Hall on graham.hall7@virgin.net.
For all Colts Cricket contact Derek Hill on 020 7602 1216 or at dehill@onetel.com. For Adult Cricket and for pitch bookings contact also Graham Hall on 020 8940 0335 or at graham.hall7@virgin.net.
For more information visit www.chiswickandlatymer.org
Will to Win Tennis
Will to Win is a public tennis centre providing a complete range of tennis services run by tennis professionals for all sections of the community.
They provide quality facilities, first class coaching by insured and qualified coaches, a junior development programme, schools community programme and free walk on courts for local kids Mon- Fri 3-6pm.
For more information visits Will to Win or call 0208 994 1466 or 07958355848. Alternatively email them at willtowin@btopenworld.com or see their website www.willtowin.co.uk.
Finding us
How to Find Us>
Map of House & Grounds>
Garden Opening Times
The gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk (seasonal changes apply)
Chiswick House Opening Times
Opening Time and Entrance Fees>
Free to Chiswick House Friends members. To Join today click here.
Tours of the House
Special guided tours take place within the house on every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The tours are free with paid admission to the villa. Pre-booked tours (11 or more people) by appointment only.
For detailed directions and access, click here.
OPEN-AIR FILM FESTIVAL – took place June 20th - 23rd 2010
Chiswick House and Gardens Trust hosted an exciting, new open-air film festival, offering four nights of cinematic entertainment as part of the celebrations of the restoration of the Gardens.
The programme includes four evenings of films. The Duchess (12A) sponsored by Fuller's Honeydew Ale, Mars Attacks (15), Best in Show (12) and Mamma Mia! (PG)
The gates were open at 7:30pm each evening, and visitors were encouraged to come early to picnic in the gardens or to enjoy a meal from the Chiswick House Café. There will be a range of additional food offerings available including hot dogs, popcorn and ice creams, as well as a licensed bar.
Before each night's screening there were special 'happenings' in the Gardens, including live classical music performances and a chance encounter with 'Mrs Malaprop' before The Duchess; out-of-this-world entertainers before Mars Attacks; and a Dogs Trust parade with flyball competitions before Best in Show. Visitors purchasing tickets to Mamma Mia! can embrace the opportunity to join in with Greek folk dancing, as well as enjoying the dulcet tones of Ceri Dupree and his Nana Mouskouri tribute. Guests got in the mood and sung along with their Abba favourites during Mamma Mia!
This community event was organised in support of Chiswick House Gardens Trust.
Friends Help Fund Education and Outreach Officer
Thanks to the generosity of Chiswick House Friends, The Ernest Cook Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund, a dedicated Education and Outreach Officer has been appointed to develop a schools and life long learning programme for Chiswick House and Gardens.
Simrit Mann, who recently accepted the post, said she is passionate about communities engaging with local heritage and passing on heritage stories. The educational potential of the site is very exciting and will be a wonderful opportunity to expand activities for all ages in both the House and Gardens.
Education is a key area, which the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust continues to raise funds for. Improving resources including classroom, workshop areas, displays and exhibitions will make a great difference to the quality and scope of the service the Trust can offer.
Chiswick House Friends are very excited to be supporting this venture.
Contact Simrit Mann, Education and Outreach Officer to arrange group educational visits to the house and gardens. Telephone +44 (0) 20 8742 350 or click here Education and Outreach.
Oscar Winning Costumes Come to Chiswick House
Copyright Pathe. The Duchess was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 16th March from Pathe Distribution Ltd.
Throughout April last year Chiswick House exhibited BAFTA and Oscar award winning costumes, worn by stars in the popular film ‘The Duchess’. The film, based on the best selling book by Amanda Foreman, traces the extraordinary life of society beauty and political campaigner Georgiana, wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire.
Chiswick House provided the perfect Georgian setting for the costumes worn by Keira Knightly, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling and their fellow actors. The connection with 18th Century Chiswick runs even deeper. The immensely wealthy 5th Duke of Devonshire owned Chiswick House, a country property on the edge of town which Georgiana referred to as her “earthly paradise”.
The exhibition traced the controversial life of Georgiana, the relationship between herself, best friend Lady Elizabeth Foster and her husband, as well as her influence as a celebrated socialite, fashion setter, gambler, loving mother and political activist in an age when women’s suffrage was still over a century away. It also revealed the fascinating and less well known story of Georgiana at Chiswick, a house which the Duke transformed, and where the Duchess held her famous political breakfasts.
The film’s costume designer, Michael O’Connor won an Oscar for "The Duchess".
Volunteer Groups
Walk through Chiswick House Gardens on a Wednesday morning, come rain or shine, and you will see the Goosefoot Volunteers. Wearing their distinctive blue sweatshirts, hacking down brambles, pulling up weeds, edging paths, pruning wisteria and planting shrubberies, repairing the glasshouses and benches, clearing the lake of debris and doing countless other tasks to ensure the Gardens remain such a delightful sanctuary.
There are opportunities to do more creative things, such as restoring an entire area or looking after the gardens to a higher standard. The volunteers would love to have more people to help. As the Heritage Lottery Funded Project nears completion in March 2010 there will be other opportunities for volunteering for those who have other skills. We would like to find a skilled gardening group to help maintain the Italian Garden and newly replanted Camellia shrubbery.
We are hoping to recruit and train a group of voluntary guides to show people around the newly restored garden. We would like to train a group skilled in habitat conservation and creation techniques to encourage wildlife.
If you are interested then please email Fiona.crumley@chgt.org.uk, your email will then be forward on to Philip Sarell, the voluntary volunteer co-ordinator.
Could you become a Gardens' Tour Guide?
Once the current redevelopment of the Gardens is completed, it is planned to offer group tours of the Chiswick House Gardens. The Gardens contain a wealth of fascinating history and botanical information and training days will take place in 2009 to prepare for the tours. If you are interested in volunteering to become a guide please email Fiona.crumley@chgt.org.uk