– Chiswick Book Festival Guide shows ‘Who’s Who’ and the history of the painting.
One of Chiswick’s most fascinating images, a print of The Royal Garden Party at Chiswick, showing Queen Victoria with her family and 300 distinguished guests, is back on display in Chiswick House exactly 150 years after the party took place in July 1875.
The Chiswick Book Festival is marking the anniversary by publishing a Guide to the painting, including the accompanying key naming each of the guests. These include the future kings Edward VII and George V; several members of the Russian and German royal families; Gladstone, Disraeli and other British prime ministers; and many members of the aristocracy. See link.
The historian Deborah Cadbury who lives in Chiswick and wrote Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe, says: “The image of a Royal Garden Party at Chiswick House gives an evocative snapshot of the royal family at the peak of their power.”
Torin Douglas, the director of the Chiswick Book Festival, said: “The picture was last displayed at Chiswick House during the 2016 Chiswick Book Festival, just for one day, and I am delighted that it is now back for everyone to enjoy whenever the House is open. I’m very grateful to the English Heritage curators Dr Lydia Miller and Dr Emily Burns for making it possible.
“Because there is no room to display the key next to the print, the Chiswick Book Festival has published it online in a Guide to the painting, so everyone can see who’s who in the picture and also read its history. The images can be downloaded to tablets and other mobile devices, making it easier for people to read and spot some famous faces.”
Xanthe Arvanitakis, Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, said:
“We’re delighted that visitors are getting this new opportunity to engage with the history of our beautiful House and Gardens. Whether you’re keen to identify some of the fascinating Victorian personalities or to spot one of Her Majesty’s famously beloved dogs, this print offers a unique insight into what must have been one of Chiswick House’s most memorable parties.
“I am grateful to English Heritage for facilitating the display of the picture, and to the Chiswick Book Festival team for publishing the printed key that helps bring its story to life. As new ventures, including our new Artist Studios and the planned Learning Hub, help to ensure the future of Chiswick House & Gardens, it’s vital that we continue to share and celebrate out past.”
Coincidentally, Chiswick is celebrating another 150th anniversary in 2025 – the foundation of Bedford Park, the first garden suburb, in 1875. The year is being marked with talks, exhibitions, concerts and an anniversary publication, Beautiful Bedford Park, published by the Bedford Park Society. More details here: https://smaaa.org.uk/2024/11/28/bedford-park-celebrates-its-150th-anniversary-in-2025/
Notes for editors
About The Royal Garden Party at Chiswick
From Chiswick House & Gardens: A History by Gill Clegg
‘The Royal Garden Party at Chiswick’ was the subject of a very large picture by Louis William Desanges. Measuring 16ft by 7ft, it included 300 figures with Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales taking centre stage. The Prince and his family sat for Desanges in 1875 but the painting was not ready for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1876. It was exhibited at the premises of the Autotype Company in 1879. Sadly in November that year it was completely destroyed when escaping gas caused a massive fire. There is, though, an autotype (an early form of photographic reproduction) version of it in Chiswick House.
- – Thanks to reports in The Times newspaper, we know about the brilliant garden parties the Prince held at Chiswick. He normally held at least one party a year and two in each of the years 1870-1873. Variously called dejeuners, breakfasts or garden parties, they started in the late afternoon and finished mid evening. Everybody who was anybody attended and the Queen sometimes put in an appearance.
About Chiswick House & Gardens
Chiswick House & Gardens is a thriving 350 year old haven in West London, open for everyone every day. Teeming with nature, stories and activities, our spectacular Grade I listed gardens are completely free to roam thanks to our supporters.
- – As a charity, our mission is to keep Chiswick House & Gardens flourishing today and for the next 350 years. Everyone and their dog can stroll, play, learn, relax and meet here and we’re also 75% visitor and supporter funded, so we wouldn’t exist without the community around us.
- – Internationally recognised and locally loved, the gardens are home to lots of wonderful wildlife and trees that clean and cool the air. At the centre of our 65 acres we run an open, working Kitchen Garden where everyone is invited to wander, taste what’s growing, or enjoy activities that we run with and for our local community.
- – We’re proud to have a special place in design history as the first ever English landscape garden and rose garden. Memories have been made here since the mid-1700s, rooted deeply amongst the trees, architecture, lake and historic walls.
Chiswick House & Gardens, Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4 2RP
chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk
Instagram: @chiswick_house
Contact marketing@chgt.org.uk for further queries.
About the 17th Chiswick Book Festival, September 10th to 15th 2025
The Chiswick Book Festival brings together many of the country’s top authors and their readers in aid of charities. The 17th Festival will open on Wednesday September 10th with the Local Authors Showcase at the George IV pub, followed by the Chiswick House evening and a wide range of speakers at other venues. In 2025, a well as celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen, it is marking the 150th anniversary of Bedford Park, the pioneering Arts & Crafts colony of artists, writers and actors, and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Tickets are on sale at https://www.chiswickbookfestival.net. The Festival is a non-profit-making community event and all profits will be donated to four charities: St Michael & All Angels Church, which runs and hosts the festival, and three reading charities: Read for Good, Koestler Arts and Read Easy Ealing.
www.chiswickbookfestival.net
X /Twitter: @W4bookfest
Instagram:@chiswickbookfest
Facebook: @chiswickbookfest
Contact
Torin Douglas,
Director, Chiswick Book Festival: 07860 422992
admin@chiswickbookfestival.net