Coronavirus – Impact

As well as the AGM, sadly we have also had to cancel our Coro Choral Concert on the 21st May and the Junior Royal Academy of Music Concert on 7th July. It is also unlikely that we will be able to hold the annual joint Friends' and Volunteers' Summer Party, but we still hope the Dog Show can go ahead as usual.

The lockdown has affected all other events in the House and Gardens: most have either been cancelled or postponed. This leaves the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust in a financially desperate position, with most of its commercial income lost for 2020 (only 25% comes from public funds). Meanwhile costs can only be reduced to a certain extent through staff furlough – the wardens still have to patrol the Estate, the gardeners still have to tend the grounds, litter still needs to be removed and dog waste bins emptied. The loss this year is likely to be £500,000.

We offered to help and were able to donate £10,000 towards computer equipment to enable those five Trust staff not furloughed to work effectively from home.

Meanwhile, in April LB Hounslow put out a notice expecting all dogs to be kept on leads in its public spaces, including Chiswick House Gardens. After some clarification involving Sir Derek Myers, the  Chairman of the Trust, this edict was modified to say that the dog rules would be as before, with the request that at busy times dogs should be on leads to aid social distancing.

The House and café remain closed for obvious reasons, but we are very grateful to the Trust staff for all their efforts to keep the Gardens open and looking so beautiful.