Hogarth's House

Hogarth's House is the former country home of the 18th century English artist William Hogarth in Chiswick. The House now belongs to the London Borough of Hounslow and is open to visitors free of charge. Chiswick is now one of London's western suburbs, but in the 18th century it was a large village or small town quite separate from the metropolis, but within easy reach of it. The house was built between 1713 and 1717 in the corner of an orchard belonging to the Downes family. Its first occupant was Rev George Andreas Ruperti, the pastor of St Mary's Lutheran church in the Savoy, London, who used it as his country home. He cared for the thousands of refugees from the Rhineland who arrived in London following a famine in 1708-9. They hoped...