Chiswick House has had a wealth of well-known residents and visitors – from the renowned composer Handel to the infamous Duchess Georgiana. In this talk, Nadege explores the lives of some of Chiswick’s lesser-known, but equally colourful characters, and their connections to one another.
Boston Manor Park is the surviving part of a larger estate that existed in Brentford from the 12th century to the 1920s. It was a priory farm in the 13th century, supporting St Helen’s Priory in the City of London and had later associations with Sir Thomas Gresham, Lady Mary Reade and the Clitherow family. Today it is a public open space and the setting for the 17th century Boston Manor House, and both still retain features from their long history.
The site of Fulham Palace has been occupied for over 5,000 years, and from 704 AD to 1973 it was the home of the Bishop of London and is one of the oldest working estates in the country.
In this talk Nadege Forde-Vidal will share the research that has revealed so much more of James Cumberlidge’s from his roots, the places he frequented and people he knew, his education, interests, home life and family
Horace Walpole famously described his house at Strawberry Hill as his “little gothic castle” and, following the success of his novel, ‘The Castle of Otranto’, for the second edition he added the subheading “A Gothic Story” to the title – thus the literary genre of the Gothic novel began.