Finnis Scott Foundation Funding for our Volunteer Gardening Programme

Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is pleased to announce that it recently received a £1300 grant from The Finnis Scott Foundation, which has gone towards the purchase of equipment to support the work of the volunteer gardening programme. Being custodians of the 65-acre Estate surrounding Chiswick House is a task and half and we are only able to keep the Gardens blooming so beautifully with the help of a group of wonderful and dedicated volunteers.

Our volunteers with their new equipment

The time and care that the volunteers put into the life and development of the Estate would be the equivalent of the salary of four full-time gardeners; this, in addition to the role they play in welcoming and engaging visitors, generating income through the Kitchen Garden, and helping to secure victories at the London in Bloom awards, means they are simply invaluable and paramount to the success and sustainability of the House and Gardens. Of course, to do all the above the volunteers must be provided with tools and equipment; a provision that can now be done better, thanks to The Finnis Scott Foundation.

The Finnis Scott Foundation was established under the Will of Lady Montagu Douglas Scott (Valerie Finnis) in 2006 and makes grants with a focus on horticulture and plant sciences, as well as fine art and art history. By doing so, they acknowledge the two enduring preoccupations – art collecting and gardening – of Sir David Montagu Douglas Scott, K.C.M.G., O.B.E., (1887-1986) and his wife, Valerie Finnis V.M.H. (1924-2006). In the last five years the Foundation has given over one million pounds in grants to worthy causes across the country; Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is grateful to be among these grantees.

This grant has come at an ideal time for the Gardening and Volunteer Team, with preparations now in full swing for the judging of London in Bloom. The Estate has been the recipient of many awards over the years, including winning Heritage Park & Garden of the Year for three years running and the volunteers themselves were awarded ‘thriving’ and ‘outstanding’ in the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards in 2018.

This grant will benefit the volunteers, the Chiswick House Grounds, the Trust and, of course, the individuals, groups and families who visit the Gardens every year. Our Estate Garden Manager, Geraldine King, says “the volunteers we have across the Estate are brilliant! They care so much about the Gardens and it’s really great to be able to give them some good quality tools”. The Trust would like to thank The Finnis Scott Foundation and, of course, the volunteers for their support and, lastly, would like to ask you to send them well wishes for another successful year for London in Bloom!