Chiswick is considered to be one of West London's most appealing
suburbs, renowned for its leafy appearance, riverside pubs and fine
houses. Its four original villages - Strand on the Green, Turnham Green,
Little Sutton and Old Chiswick - have remained a cohesive body despite
the construction of a major road in the 1950s. The area has always been
known for its good air, fishing and riverside trades. In the late
nineteenth century Thornycroft & Co. shipbuilders launched their vessels
and built the first torpedo boat for the Royal Navy. The yard was close
to another of the area's main industries - brewing - and Fuller's
Griffin Brewery is still a major business here operating from its
350-year-old site beside the Thames. In Chiswick in 50 Buildings author
Lucy McMurdo presents an engaging and accessible perspective of the
area's rich architectural heritage. Walk around Chiswick's streets and
you will see buildings from the 1500s onwards in every architectural
style. Until the mid-nineteenth century it was renowned for its market
gardens and parkland as well as its grand Palladian villa, Chiswick
House, designed in the early eighteenth century by the 3rd Earl of
Burlington. This remains one of Chiswick's treasures. With the arrival
of the railway in the 1860s the area became rapidly urbanised, the
population increased and fields made way for housing. Unsurprisingly,
many famous people have made Chiswick their home including artists
Hogarth and Whistler and poet W. B. Yeats. Illustrated throughout, this
book guides you on a fascinating architectural tour of this leafy and
attractive London suburb.
