Chiswick House & Garden Appeal

The Chiswick & Brentford Rotary Club plans to support, through corporate sponsorship, the raising of £75,000 over the next year for the Chiswick House estate. This Grade 1 historic building is the finest example of neo-Palladian architecture in the UK, and its Gardens were the starting point of the English Landscape movement. Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire called it her "earthly paradise".

Due to Covid-19 the estate has lost half of its annual income of £1m because its cash-raising events have had to be cancelled. In spite of the expense, the gardens have been kept open during lockdown, and have continued to provide a welcome haven of peace and tranquillity for the local community. There is an urgent need to replace the lost income so that the estate can continue to be available to all.
 
The charity Chiswick House Friends is building a 2m long, 50,000 LEGO® brick model of the House, brick-by-brick through online sale, with all funds going to the estate. Once completed, the model will be a resource the education of local school children about the history and architecture of this unique building. The model is historically interesting because it shows the House with Wings as it was for most of its life and during Victorian times.

About £17,000 of the target of £75,000 target has so far been donatd by individuals, with bricks being added as donations are made. However, the time has come to expand the fund-raising to corporate and organisational sponsorship, and this is where our Rotary Club can help, using its community and commercial contacts.