Hogarth's House is the former country home of the 18th-century English artist

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, adjacent to the A4. The House now belongs to the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow ( ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council. The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...

and is open to visitors as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

free of charge. Chiswick is now one of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's western suburbs, but in the 18th century it was a large village or small town quite separate from the metropolis, but within easy reach of it. Today the house is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Construction and early occupation

The house was built between 1713 and 1717 in the corner of an orchard belonging to the Downes family. Its first occupant was Rev George Andreas Ruperti, the pastor of St Mary's Lutheran church in the Savoy, London, who used it as his country home. He cared for the thousands of refugees from the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

who arrived in London following a famine in 1708–9. They hoped to be able to reach America - with Ruperti's help many did, and some settled in the south of Ireland. Ruperti's lists of the refugees, which record their trades, have been invaluable to family historians. He was appointed to the Lutheran Church at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

in 1728 at a salary of £200 a year. After his death in 1731 his widow retained the House; the Hogarths bought it from his son in 1749. According to the increased valuations in the parish rate books, the Hogarths extended it in 1750 and Mrs Hogarth added another single storey extension in 1769. It was the artist's country retreat from 1749 until his death in 1764; he had a "painting room" over his coach-house at the bottom of the garden. He shared it with his wife, mother-in-law, his wife's cousin, Mary Lewis (who assisted with his business), and his sister. William Hogarth is buried in the graveyard of the nearby St. Nicholas Church, Chiswick; his fine tomb-monument carries an obituary by his great friend, the actor

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

. The family's connections with the house continued until Mary Lewis' death in 1808. From 1814 to 1833 the house belonged to Rev Henry Francis Cary, a poet and skilful translator of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

''. He came to

as Curate of St Nicholas' Church and went on to become Assistant Librarian at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. He was part of a circle of writers and poets, including

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

, who promoted Cary's Dante translation and made it a best seller. The House was acquired in 1833 by the Wickstead family; they migrated to Australia in 1840 and left the house to tenants.

Restoration and museum

Alfred Dawson, whose family home at The Cedars adjoined Hogarth's and whose printing works was nearby, rescued the House in 1890 and restored it. He leased it to a nursery gardener along with part of his own garden. However, he sold it in 1900 and it was put up for auction for re-development in 1901. A campaign by artists and writers failed to raise sufficient funds to buy the House but it was purchased by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert William Shipway of Grove House, Chiswick. He restored it with the help of the architect Frederick William Peel and

Henry Austin Dobson Henry Austin Dobson (18 January 1840 – 2 September 1921), commonly Austin Dobson, was an England, English poet and essayist. Life He was born at Plymouth, the eldest son of George Clarisse Dobson, a civil engineer, of French descent. Wh ...

, Hogarth's biographer. He provided a collection of Hogarth's works, commissioned replica furniture based on pieces in Hogarth prints and even took the photographs for the first guide book himself. He opened it to visitors in 1904. Shipway gave the house to

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

in 1909 and ownership passed to Hounslow Council when Middlesex was abolished in 1965. The house was damaged in September 1940 as a result of a parachute mine explosion nearby during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was repaired and re-opened in 1951. At that time the single-storey extension was completely rebuilt to provide a small exhibition room. The interior of the House was refurbished for the Hogarth Tercentenary in 1997. In 2014 the William Hogarth Trust commissioned a special exhibition to be held at the museum to mark the 250th anniversary of Hogarth's death. This exhibition featured artwork submissions from over fifty artists and celebrities in tribute to Hogarth including works by

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his l ...

, Harry Hill,

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (' Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for tackling realistic topics such as adoption and divorce. Since her debut novel in 1969, ...

, Cath Kidston, Peter Blake and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

Refurbishment

The house closed for refurbishment in September 2008."Hounslow Matters" May 2009 (Hounslow Council's magazine)

Fire

On 14 August 2009, there was a fire in the house, which was empty. No furnishings or prints were lost, but the staircase and one room were badly damaged and other areas suffered from smoke damage and the effects of the water which doused the flames. The entire structure was carefully restored and a major research project carried out on the history of the House and its occupants. A paint analysis informed the re-decoration, and original features were repaired and revealed, including window shutters, fire surrounds and hearths, and two areas of original floorboards. The

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, the John & Ruth Howard Charitable Trust and the William Hogarth Trust supported the London Borough of Hounslow in this project with grants and expert advice. Negotiations over insurance and the requirement for complete rewiring, as well as structural repairs, delayed the re-opening.

Re-opening

The museum was officially re-opened on 8 November 2011 by Dara Ó Briain. Two floors of the house are open to visitors and the top floor houses a study/research room for use by appointment. The furnishing includes Shipway's replica pieces and new displays presents the House as a home, as well as celebrating Hogarth's life and work. Prints of some of his best known engravings are on display, including the series ''

A Harlot's Progress ''A Harlot's Progress'' (also known as ''The Harlot's Progress'') is a series of six paintings (1731, now destroyed) and engravings (1732) by the English artist William Hogarth. The series shows the story of a young woman, M. (Moll or Mary) Hac ...

'', ''

A Rake's Progress ''A Rake's Progress'' (or ''The Rake's Progress'') is a series of eight paintings by 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The canvases were produced in 1732–1734, then engraved in 1734 and published in print form in 1735. The series ...

'' and '' Marriage à-la-mode''. The House has an attractive walled garden which contains a

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

tree. This is probably the last survivor of the original orchard established in the 1670s. It was damaged by the parachute mine and brought back to good health by arboriculturists from

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

Construction and early occupation

Restoration and museum

Refurbishment

Fire

Re-opening

See also

Notes and references

External links