A visit to Hogarth's House and Ham House in London
On Tuesday Mr Cee took the day off and we went on a coach tour to the West side of London. We picked up the coach at a local garden centre at 8.30am which wasn't too early. We've used the tour company before (we visited Bletchley Park, the Cotswolds and last year we went on the paddle steamer 'The Waverley') so we knew that we'd be in good hands.
The first part of the journey dropped us at Hogarth's House at the North end of Chiswick. The house was built between 1713 and 1717 on the edge of a walled orchard. William Hogarth bought the house in 1749 and lived there until 1808 and improved and extended the house during that time. You can see the left-hand windows next to the oriel window (added by Hogarth) in the middle have rounded tops, these are the oldest window openings of the house. To the right of the oriel window is the newer extension (built in 1750) and the windows are more square and slightly taller.
Under the cut for more photos
In the walled garden is a 300-year-old mulberry tree - one of the many bought by King James I who wanted to establish a silk industry in England in the 1600s. He bought thousands of trees and urged noblemen and famous people of the time to buy trees and plant them. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong type - the black mulberry - which the silkworms didn't like, so the whole project failed miserably. There are still examples of these trees across London and beyond (Gainsborough's House in Suffolk also has one).
At the time Hogarth was a very successful artist and engraver, having started as an illustrator of satirical images. He gained notoriety for his morality paintings which he engraved and sold as prints on a subscription basis.
A maquette of a modern sculpture (1999) of Hogarth by Jim Mathieson (1931-2003). The final version (with an added dog) now stands in Chiswick High Street.
A copy of a self-portrait The Painter and His Pug (1745) possibly by John Leighton (who was one of the people involved in saving the house from demolition in 1901)
Engraving tools similar to those that Hogarth would have used.
Close up
Some of the personal effects from the family
Late 18th-century tea bowls and saucers
Reproductions of the portraits Hogarth painted of his two sisters above the mantelpiece.
An engraving of the actor David Garrick who was a close friend of Hogarth in the role of Richard III (1746)
The engraving of Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn 1738. Nine actresses and four child actors dressed as classical deities preparing to perform at The George Inn.
The rooms were mostly set out to show the artwork of Hogarth.
This is the dining room - recreated as it would have been in 1770. The rooms were cosy and small - but there would have been five servants to assist the family in everyday living.
From there - we grabbed some lunch at a nearby café before setting off again in the coach to visit Ham House and gardens.
The original house was built in 1610 and was given to William and Catherine Murray by King Charles I. The Murrays lost the house during the English Civil War, but Catherine Murray and her daughter Elizabeth managed to keep the house with the help of Elizabeth's first husband Sir Lionel Tollemache.
Elizabeth and her second husband John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale were instrumental in restoring the monarchy with Charles II and the house underwent a huge programme of redecoration and extension. It's big! Elizabeth and Sir Lionel Tollemache's descendants held onto the house until 1948 when they gave it to the National Trust.
More under the cut including some lovely cabinets which were exhibited open this week (a rare occurrence):
A rather impressive statue of a river God on the grass at the front of the house
The front of the house entrance has niches with statues.
The main entrance hall didn't originally have a mezzanine area above, but this was added by removing part of the ceiling.
Reproductions of paintings in the stairway
Rather impressive carved panels
The view out of the window of the stairs - the formal cherry garden
There were many paintings - this is Elizabeth, Duchess Lauderdale (one of many by Sir Peter Lely).
This one is the Duke (excuse the odd angle - it was difficult to avoid the reflections).
If you look at this one you can see that the Duke clearly didn't want to sit for another portrait so Sir Peter Lely just copied the the face of the Duke and added the Duchess... LOL!
The North Drawing Room featured a harpsichord made from several other harpsichords that were cannibalised to build it. The room guide told us that a harpsichord needs to be tuned once a week to keep it playable, so unfortunately this one is not in playable condition as that's so expensive to do.
A portrait of King Charles II and one of the many open cabinets
A Self Portrait with Sunflower (after Sir Anthony Van Dyke) c 1675
Another gorgeous Dutch cabinet
Close-up of the wonderful decoration on one of the doors and the side
The Green Closet (green silk on the walls)
It had an amazing ceiling!
This small corner of the Queen's Antechamber has a "close stool" (open with the red lining). Used to relieve yourself, it would have been behind the secret door you can see to the left of it.
One of the amazing fire surrounds
Another amazing ceiling
Even some of the tiny cabinets were open to reveal the lovely colours inside.
Two 'sleeping chairs' were bought to furnish the Queen's Apartments which were created for King Charles II's wife Catherine of Braganza. The backs are adjustable to enable you to sit at the angle that is most comfortable.
Under the house there are the utility areas including the beer cellar:
The strong room for valuable items such as the family silver and the expensive tea
One of the two kitchens
The second kitchen
The Still Room - for brewing remedies using herbs from the gardens
Another view of the house
It was a great day out with a lot of historical things to enjoy.
The first part of the journey dropped us at Hogarth's House at the North end of Chiswick. The house was built between 1713 and 1717 on the edge of a walled orchard. William Hogarth bought the house in 1749 and lived there until 1808 and improved and extended the house during that time. You can see the left-hand windows next to the oriel window (added by Hogarth) in the middle have rounded tops, these are the oldest window openings of the house. To the right of the oriel window is the newer extension (built in 1750) and the windows are more square and slightly taller.
Under the cut for more photos
In the walled garden is a 300-year-old mulberry tree - one of the many bought by King James I who wanted to establish a silk industry in England in the 1600s. He bought thousands of trees and urged noblemen and famous people of the time to buy trees and plant them. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong type - the black mulberry - which the silkworms didn't like, so the whole project failed miserably. There are still examples of these trees across London and beyond (Gainsborough's House in Suffolk also has one).
At the time Hogarth was a very successful artist and engraver, having started as an illustrator of satirical images. He gained notoriety for his morality paintings which he engraved and sold as prints on a subscription basis.
A maquette of a modern sculpture (1999) of Hogarth by Jim Mathieson (1931-2003). The final version (with an added dog) now stands in Chiswick High Street.
A copy of a self-portrait The Painter and His Pug (1745) possibly by John Leighton (who was one of the people involved in saving the house from demolition in 1901)
Engraving tools similar to those that Hogarth would have used.
Close up
Some of the personal effects from the family
Late 18th-century tea bowls and saucers
Reproductions of the portraits Hogarth painted of his two sisters above the mantelpiece.
An engraving of the actor David Garrick who was a close friend of Hogarth in the role of Richard III (1746)
The engraving of Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn 1738. Nine actresses and four child actors dressed as classical deities preparing to perform at The George Inn.
The rooms were mostly set out to show the artwork of Hogarth.
This is the dining room - recreated as it would have been in 1770. The rooms were cosy and small - but there would have been five servants to assist the family in everyday living.
From there - we grabbed some lunch at a nearby café before setting off again in the coach to visit Ham House and gardens.
The original house was built in 1610 and was given to William and Catherine Murray by King Charles I. The Murrays lost the house during the English Civil War, but Catherine Murray and her daughter Elizabeth managed to keep the house with the help of Elizabeth's first husband Sir Lionel Tollemache.
Elizabeth and her second husband John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale were instrumental in restoring the monarchy with Charles II and the house underwent a huge programme of redecoration and extension. It's big! Elizabeth and Sir Lionel Tollemache's descendants held onto the house until 1948 when they gave it to the National Trust.
More under the cut including some lovely cabinets which were exhibited open this week (a rare occurrence):
A rather impressive statue of a river God on the grass at the front of the house
The front of the house entrance has niches with statues.
The main entrance hall didn't originally have a mezzanine area above, but this was added by removing part of the ceiling.
Reproductions of paintings in the stairway
Rather impressive carved panels
The view out of the window of the stairs - the formal cherry garden
There were many paintings - this is Elizabeth, Duchess Lauderdale (one of many by Sir Peter Lely).
This one is the Duke (excuse the odd angle - it was difficult to avoid the reflections).
If you look at this one you can see that the Duke clearly didn't want to sit for another portrait so Sir Peter Lely just copied the the face of the Duke and added the Duchess... LOL!
The North Drawing Room featured a harpsichord made from several other harpsichords that were cannibalised to build it. The room guide told us that a harpsichord needs to be tuned once a week to keep it playable, so unfortunately this one is not in playable condition as that's so expensive to do.
A portrait of King Charles II and one of the many open cabinets
A Self Portrait with Sunflower (after Sir Anthony Van Dyke) c 1675
Another gorgeous Dutch cabinet
Close-up of the wonderful decoration on one of the doors and the side
The Green Closet (green silk on the walls)
It had an amazing ceiling!
This small corner of the Queen's Antechamber has a "close stool" (open with the red lining). Used to relieve yourself, it would have been behind the secret door you can see to the left of it.
One of the amazing fire surrounds
Another amazing ceiling
Even some of the tiny cabinets were open to reveal the lovely colours inside.
Two 'sleeping chairs' were bought to furnish the Queen's Apartments which were created for King Charles II's wife Catherine of Braganza. The backs are adjustable to enable you to sit at the angle that is most comfortable.
Under the house there are the utility areas including the beer cellar:
The strong room for valuable items such as the family silver and the expensive tea
One of the two kitchens
The second kitchen
The Still Room - for brewing remedies using herbs from the gardens
Another view of the house
It was a great day out with a lot of historical things to enjoy.