Reassurance Given Over Future of Chiswick House Conservatory
Trust says fears of continued closure and possible demolition overblown
The conservatory in Chiswick House Gardens.. Picture: Chiswick House & Gardens
March 11, 2025
Traditionally this time of year is when Chiswick House holds its Camellia Festival with visitors flocking to see rare example of this flower.
However once again, the event is not taking place due to the condition of the conservatory in which they are housed.
Plans are progressing quickly for the Educational Centre close to the conservatory, with funding in place for the project in the Old Stable Yard. Volunteers working in the gardens who have expressed concerns about the state of the glasshouse say they have been told that no major restoration work can begin until the Educational Centre project is complete.
A report by Hounslow Council published at the end of 2022 found that the conservatory was at risk of collapse with its timber structure rotting and that repairs could cost £4.5million.
There has been a glasshouse on the site since 1813, when it was commissioned by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, the great-grandson of Lord Burlington and built by Samuel Ware who was responsible for Burlington Arcade.
The structure substantially rebuilt in 1933 and has been hit by bombs in World War II, undergone three significant repair projects since then as well as emergency repairs that were made at the beginning of 2023.
A survey of the building found that extensive fungal decay due to the damp had severely weakened the structure and that the previous attempts to restore it had exacerbated the problem as the work did not match the “sophistication and technical specification” of the original build.
The council, rather than the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, is the owner of the building and it approved a budget of £423,000 for the initial stage of the restoration. It is not known how much of this remains unspent.
Volunteers say that the Educational Centre scheme will not complete until next year by which time some of them believe it could already be too late for the conservatory.
The Trust denies this saying that a restored conservatory is pivotal to its ten-year vision for the gardens and disputes claims that nothing is being done to restore and save the building. It insists that the Trust and the council are working in partnership to ensure the structural integrity of the building and plan for its future and that progress is being made.
It adds that the conservatory’s historic back of house areas, unglazed, currently hidden from public view, have undergone significant works in 2025 - ensuring the protection of original ‘service features’, including a vaulted water tank and original boiler pit – to open them as creative spaces for local artists. These new studios will open in late spring 2025 and that this is the first step towards a re-opening of the whole conservatory.
For those disappointed by the cancellation of the annual Camellia Festival, the unusual and historic camellia collection under glass now has two duplicate collections, at RBG Kew and in the shrubbery at Chiswick House and Gardens.
Rosie Fyles, Head of Gardens, comments, ‘The camellias are thriving, flowering well and benefitting from irrigation, regular feeding, and organic pest control. The population of hoverflies, ladybirds and parasitic wasps in the conservatory are working wonders…’
Cllr Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Assets, Regeneration and Development, added, “We are working towards a solution that secures the conservatory for future generations and makes it sustainable to maintain and operate. I very much enjoy visiting Chiswick House and Gardens with my family, and I want to ensure that this unique building can be enjoyed by all local people and other visitors.
“The conservatory is a listed building and any changes to its structure must comply with planning regulations. Making this is a specialist job that must be completed in partnership with Historic England and the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust.
“We are all working together to this end, and look forward to updating the public in the near future”
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