By Carolyn Hammond

Chiswick House and grounds were opened to the public in July 1929, and to mark the 75th anniversary a stone lion and lioness were installed on the gate piers at the Staveley Road entrance to the grounds in July 2004. These lions had originally guarded the gates at the Duke’s Avenue entrance to Chiswick House but had been replaced by two sphinxes when the widening of the A4 in the 1960s meant that the gates had to be moved back and rebuilt. Since then the lion and lioness have been stored and the lioness repaired, before being put back on public display last year.

Brentford and Chiswick Local History Journal No 14 (2005)