Play Palace Under the Flight Path
A Day Out at Chiswick House…
On a sunny Sunday afternoon we braved TfL improvement works and travelled the District Line almost as far west as you can get, to Turnham Green Station. At the end of a fair jaunt we arrived at the neo-Palladian play palace – Chiswick House.
Built purely to entertain by Lord Burlington after a Roman tour, the villa was inspired by Andrea Palladio and is one of the most decadent country houses I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. There is not one iota of practicality to it’s design and it is glorious in its luxury. Everything is grand and proportionately massive, especially in comparative scale to regular dwellings. Ceilings are cavernous, fireplace hearths are doubled in size, and you have to crane your neck to examine the exquisite picture collection hanging in the reception hall as they are essentially skied.
The top part of the structure, which is entered via a grand double staircase and is topped by a portico supported by Corinthian columns – is made to feel as magnificent as possible.
This was a space for showing off and the interiors on the main floor were decked out with the best pictures, furniture and textiles of the time.
The bottom half of the villa is more modest. Sparsely decorated with some treasures collected abroad. There isn’t as much gold leaf and damasque as featured in the upper half, but what it lacks in sparkle it makes up for with ancient history. Nothing to get in the way of the servants and maids that were running about.
I am a sucker for Neo Classical interiors and the eighteenth century palette of the pale pinks, blues, mint greens and creams. The mouldings, pediments and door cases are exquisite, not many surfaces were overlooked in the design of this house.
Managed by English Heritage, admission is £6.10 (free with Art Fund) which includes a docent guided tour should you wish. The downside to the tour is that the planes flying overhead are incredibly loud, making it almost impossible to hear at times. Our tour guide told us that though featured in the film, this location made for an undesirable spot for the film the Duchess to be shot – which is a shame, as it is the life story of one of the women who resided at Chiswick.
It’s almost worth the trip just to see the gardens. Free to enter, they are immaculately kept and are said to be the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and the inspiration for great gardens from Blenheim Palace to New York’s Central Park. . There are plenty of sculptures and water features hidden amongst the foliage. The grounds also boast a cafe with a terrace, popular with the locals.
If you’re planning your visit during the winter months, dress warmly! It was about 10 degrees the day we ventured out, and by the time we left the damp, unheated villa we were seriously chilled to the bone. Fashion over function was the order of the day.
Slight tangent…
If you do get a chance to visit Chiswick, keep your eye out for the whippet wearing a full warm up suit. Yes, that dog has trousers on. Might have been a highlight.
