Mulberry Garden Project At Hogarth's House

Heritage Lottery Funding is helping create a new learning centre

Looking over the plans for the garden

Work at the Mulberry Garden project at Hogarth's House is proceeding well according to Hounslow Council and it is hoped it will be completed by the end of next year.

Hogarth’s House has received grant funding of £ 1.3 m from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will enable them to build a new learning centre in the garden and open up the site for learning and interpretation to visitors.

The project, developed by Hounslow Council in partnership with the William Hogarth Trust, and made possible by National Lottery players, will create an elegant new studio space to be used for learning facilities and a garden which will provide a more appropriate setting for the Grade 1 Listed House in Chiswick.

With the 17th century mulberry tree at its heart, the design for the new garden will incorporate elements from the past history of the site.

It was here that William Hogarth, the famous artist, played skittles or nine-pins with his friends. Hogarth’s theories in art included a scrolling Line of Beauty so this shape has been built into the plans, from the edge of paved areas to the planting of lilies.

Ninepins was a popular 18th century game – and it wasn’t the gentle children’s game or the table top pub game that we know today but a grown up, very competitive outdoor game with betting and drunken violence in pub gardens!

The Hogarths extended the house and enjoyed the fruit trees in the walled garden. They are believed to have made mulberry pies from the tree for the Foundling children who stayed with them.

The footings of Hogarth's stable with his studio above will be marked out and a small greenhouse will echo the one that was there back in the Victorian era.

A magnificent 17th century wall of local brick, which originally enclosed a mixed orchard, will be carefully repaired and restored and within the garden more orchard trees will be planted.

Flower beds displaying varieties of floral and edible plants popular in the 18th and 19th centuries will be in place. In February the team removed self-seeded, diseased and overgrown trees to enable the Mulberry tree to feature and reinstated paths, planting and a nut walk.

The scheme is designed to provide a new setting for the historic building and enable visitors to discover horticultural history, art history and local history in a garden setting.

The new studio space will be able to host community events, seasonal activities and a learning programme for schools, families and adults. A new team of volunteers will be trained to care for the garden, to welcome visitors to the house and to help them discover the rich history of the site.

The project is now underway and is due to be completed by the end of 2018. The first tranche of the grant was delivered in 2015.

Councillor Corinna Smart, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Leisure, Hounslow Council, said, “Hogarth House was home to the great painter, engraver and satirist William Hogarth and is one of the many places that promotes our wonderful heritage here in the borough, for residents and visitors alike.

“Both the home and garden will provide a creative learning environment for all ages, from adults to school children and is one of the jewels in the crown of historic houses and visitor attractions.

“We’re delighted to take this project forward and continue working with the Trust and our stakeholders to deliver an exciting vision for the future.”


April 20, 2017