The conservatory’s closure has felt like a loss. Its ‘at risk’ listing feels like a lifeline

The historic Conservatory at Chiswick House and Gardens, dating back to 1813, was one of 138 sites to be added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register earlier this month. 

On the face of it, the inclusion of one of the buildings in our care might be expected to feel like a failure. Certainly, the terminology used about the register in mainstream media – ‘neglect’, ‘underuse’ and ‘decay’ – might be taken to imply a lack of care.

But the reality is that, while we do of course care, Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is a very small charity which raises 75% of its funding from scratch each year. Neither the Trust nor the Conservatory’s owner Hounslow Council, on behalf of whom we operate the estate, has a stash of cash to give the Conservatory the overhaul it needs. 

The upkeep we have been able to do to the Conservatory since we took over in 2005 has been about keeping the building safe enough for visitors. Sadly, we have not been able to hold back the tide of the building’s deterioration, and the Conservatory – and the renowned camellia planting it houses – has been closed to the public for safety reasons since October 2023.

Its inclusion on the Heritage at Risk register is of course not a surprise and, rather than feeling like criticism, it is wholly welcome. Even media coverage of the list is useful rather than painful, as it raises awareness of the need for support. The Heritage at Risk register listing brings with it the promise of expert heritage advice and support from Historic England, new funding opportunities opening up, and it gives real momentum to the work to build a conservatory for the future.

This work will be the natural successor to our current redevelopment project which will come to a close in 2026. The £6m Community and Creative Campus project has seen the restoration and repurposing of the Grade 1 listed buildings backing on to the Conservatory – the ‘back sheds’ and furnace rooms – as artist studios, alongside new indoor and outdoor spaces for the whole community, including a new learning hub currently under construction.

What we have been working to achieve is revitalising the area surrounding the Conservatory, bringing whole communities of people in, and reinventing the space for contemporary use. The Conservatory is the physical gateway to this area – its ‘loss’ through temporary closure will be felt by many, and we have an engaged community of people to consult on its future renewal and use.

It was heartening to see such positive media coverage of the buildings removed from the register this autumn, thanks to their restoration. Most striking were the words of volunteers, Friends groups and fundraisers – as well as those managing the sites – who spoke of their relief and pride that their prized heritage was now safe.

The Conservatory being added to the Heritage at Risk register is welcome ‘news’ to us and our local communities because, for the first time, it gives us – in partnership with Hounslow Council – a real vision of, and pathway to, its rescue.