The Chiswick Gardens are of immense historic significance and are claimed as the birthplace of the English Landscape Garden, widely regarded as one of Britain’s main contributions to European art. The Gardens contain sixteen Grade I listed and five Grade II listed buildings and features; the Gardens are listed Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic interest, forming a beautifully illustrated history of English garden design.

Among the classic landscapes of the early 18th century, Chiswick is not only one of the most important, but is also unique for having become a public park in a densely urban setting. In public ownership since 1929, the park is much-loved and has an important role in the life of the local community, attracting over one million visits per year.

In recent years the Gardens suffered from disjointed management and dwindling resources. In 2003, English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow, as owners of the gardens, recognised that the initiative had to be seized if the unique assets of Chiswick Gardens were not to be lost forever.

The regeneration proposals sought to maintain a balance between recapturing the original vision of the Gardens and providing sustainable public benefit. Major themes of the restoration project were heritage, biodiversity and people. In detail these became:

– Restoration of Garden buildings and sculpture

– Restoration of historic landscape features

– Enhancement of the natural heritage at Chiswick as a site of nature conservation

– Renewal of Gardens infrastructure as a public park

– Provision of education and outdoor activities, to facilitate formal and informal educational use of the site

The following objectives emerged from consultations and informed the shared vision for Chiswick House and Gardens:

To ensure that people’s perceptions & experience better reflect the site’s iconic status;

To restore the physical fabric of the buildings structures, landscape and ecology;

To transform the horticultural management of the grounds from being ‘maintained’ to being ‘gardened’;

To provide a good quantity and quality of visitor facilities that local people feel proud of;

To provide a sense of arrival and welcome, encouraging access for all;

To fulfil the site’s educational and cultural potential;

To establish one management organisation with responsibility for the site, committed to involving the community in its development.