Spring Arrives (At Long Bloody Last!)

All week we had looked at the forecast, on the synoptic chart, for temperatures of 20-21 degrees this Sunday, and told ourselves that the Met Office was clearly having the laugh. But no: in the space of a few days the wind has shifted direction to come from the south instead of the north-east, the sun has shone, and today it has been warm enough to open the windows to let in some fresh air, stroll down to B & Q (to buy gravel and compost) in shorts and T-shirt, and push the vacuum cleaner around wearing naught but tiny string panties. (Do stop me if this is TMI....)

Yesterday, however, was fairly solid sog, so we went to visit Hogarth's House in Chiswick, which we somehow overlooked when visiting Chiswick House itself some years ago. Hogarth's House has only recently re-opened, after a two-year restoration project which was followed almost immediately by a small fire which luckily didn't do too much damage. When Hogarth acquired the property, in 1749, it was then out in the countryside to the west of London; now, however, it is surrounded by urban motorways, and more people have probably heard of the nearby road junction named after him than of the artist himself.

There is biographical information about Hogarth here (good old Wikipedia!) and information about those of his paintings held by the National Gallery here. (I refer you to these sources so that I don't have to repeat any of this information myself.) Below are some photographs taken during the visit:

-- a general view of the house from the north, showing the projecting bay window that Hogarth added to the first floor to enlarge the size of the parlour, increase the amount of light entering the room and provide himself and his wife with views of the countryside (to the right is the kitchen extension he also added);
-- Judith sheltering from the rain under the projecting bay window;
-- the dining room, with historical displays; when Hogarth bought the house, this was actually the entrance chamber, but he had the front door moved sidways to its present position and inserted a new, smaller staircase to the first and second floors;
-- Hogarth's bedroom, with copies of prints of The Rake's Progress on the right-hand wall (the originals are in Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn); he installed a cable and latch system, only part of which survives, enabling him to open the door without first getting out of bed; and
-- the parlour, showing the projecting bay window from the inside.











Some of the effects on display are original to Hogarth and his times; the furniture is mostly recreations, since after his death in 1764 the house passed through numerous hands before being acquired as a public museum in 1904. One of the subsequent owners, the Wickstead family, emigrated to Australia in 1840 and (according to legend) established the first Fremantle Hotel. Beaut, or what?