The Mulberry Garden At Hogarth's House

Public feedback invited on ambitious plan to refurbish the garden

The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided development funding for the unusual project to refurbish the garden at Hogarth's House; this will result in detailed proposals which can then be submitted for a grant for implementation, totalling a little under £1m.

Now the team behind the proposal are asking for people's views and perceptions as part of the consultation process.

The project is a joint initiative of Hounslow Council, which is legally the trustee of the House, and the William Hogarth Trust, which promotes interest in Hogarth and supports the House.

The garden began life as a 17th century orchard, from which a mulberry tree still survives, and was artist William Hogarth’s family garden from 1749 to 1808. Amongst other residents were a poet, an actor, a Victorian pig-keeper and nursery gardeners. It has welcomed the public as visitors since 1904.

The refurbishment will enable visitors to discover all aspects of the garden’s history. It will also include a sunny new multi-purpose space for school visits, events for adults and families, and for functions.

The scheme would create a new garden which presents aspects of its whole history since the 1680s and would see the construction of an elegant learning centre in a corner of the garden.

The project will build upon the imaginative and successful refurbishment of Hogarth's House, completed in 2011, by refurbishing and re-presenting the walled garden, cherishing important survivals but also creating a more appropriate setting for the House with some new planting to enable visitors to make their own meaning there.

A team of volunteers of all ages will be trained, whose role will be to care for the garden in the future and to share in its interpretation. The project takes as its symbol the ancient mulberry tree in the garden, which is almost as famous as the House. Recent research indicates that the tree may date from the 1680s, when the Downes family enclosed a plot from Chiswick Common Field, building the brick wall and planting a mixed orchard.

March 4, 2016