If Music be the Food of Love: a Brentford Romance
The story of the romance between musician John Lewis, the nephew of William Hogarth’s wife, Jane, and heiress Mary Kemeys, whose sister, Ann married James Clitherow (1731-1805) of Boston Manor. The author compiled the magnificent William Hogarth: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings (Yale, 2016)
Elizabeth Einberg
Benjamin Franklin: Tracing his Friends and Acquaintances in Chiswick
The famous Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin (1700-1762) came to London in 1757 as representative of the Assembly of Pennsylvania. He looked up an old friend, James Ralph, who lived on Chiswick Mall, and became a friend of a number of other Chiswick residents, including Thomas Walpole (1727-1803) and Ralph Griffiths (1720-1803). The article was written by the Author in Residence at Benjamin Franklin House in London.
George Goodwin
The Willow Business
Willow growing and basket making were a major part of the local economy from the middle ages until well into the 19th century. The article identifies the locations of local osier beds, describes the various types of baskets made here and introduces some of the basket-making families – the Goodwins, the Bowdens, the Dawes and the Scoggins. Val chairs the William Hogarth Trust and is a secretary to the Friends of Gunnersbury Park and the Gunnersbury Park Development Trust.
Val Bott
Pocahontas: a Native American Princess in Brentford
The daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indians came to England and stayed for a while in a villa near Syon House in 1616. She died and was buried at Gravesend at the start of her journey back to America in 1617. The anniversary of her visit is commemorated by Claire Ireland’s fine sculpture on the wall of the grounds of Syon House. The author is Project Co-ordinator for the Thames Landscape Strategy.
Jason Debney
George Spencer Ridgway: Servant of the Dukes of Devonshire
An account of the career of a man who rose from being a footman to a senior position in the Devonshire household as Agent and Receiver. He appears to have overseen the remodelling of Grove House in the 1830s, to have invested in substantial quantities of railway shares and to have built an extraordinary house at the corner of Turnham Green. The author has been collecting material about Chiswick from the Devonshire archives at Chatsowrth for many years,
Peter Hammond
The Caradoc Press
An account of the private press run by Harry George Webb and his wife Hesba Dora. One of several private presses which were part of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Caradoc Press was based at their home in Bedford Park in the 1890s, then in Ravenscourt Square and later on Strand on the Green. The author is co-editor of the Private Library journal and his account of the Caradoc Press was due to be published in late 2017.
James Freemantle
Book Reviews: William Hogarth: a complete Catalogue of the paintings by Elizabeth Einberg and Young Mr Turner: the first 40 years 1775-1815
