An exhibition garden & learning centre for Hogarth’s House

The William Hogarth Trust is delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded development funding for investment in the garden at Hogarth’s House and the creation of a new learning centre there. The Trustees look forward to working partnership with Hounslow Council, the owners, and Carillion Services, the managers of house and garden on this exciting project.

The William Hogarth Trust raised over £10,000 to support the development of the project and trustees worked in a voluntary capacity to research the history, devise the ideas and brief all the special advisers who assisted.

AcanthusLW of Chiswick, the architects who oversaw the conservation work on the House in 2009-11, were commissioned to design the learning centre, and their proposals have been endorsed by the award of the grant. The new building will make possible a learning and events programme for which there has been no room in the House itself and it will provide visitor facilities such as toilets which can cater for the 12,000 people who already visit every year.

The 17th century mulberry tree will form the centrepiece of the new garden. The aim of the project is to create an “exhibition garden” incorporating many features which tell the story of the site, from 1717 onwards. The Trust has already presented replicas of the beautiful urns which actor David Garrick gave to Hogarth to decorate his gate posts.

While the Trust will be supporting the work with further volunteer input, it looks forward to working with a range of new volunteers who will help create the garden and to present it to visitors when it opens in 2017. The new building will include a bothy to act as a base for the volunteer gardeners. And members of the Chiswick Horticultural Society are experimenting with growing old varieties of peas to help us plan a kitchen garden plot.

There will be a special exhibition at the House, about the history of the garden from mid July to 4 October 2015