Last year, the Black Chiswick through History project celebrated the lives of some of the men, women and children of African heritage associated with Chiswick House and estate in the 18th century. We focused on three individuals who were best represented in our collection and archives – Joseph Casar, James (or Jim) Cumberlidge and Jean Baptiste Gilbert. Each of these men spent several years in the households of the Burlington and Devonshire families, across their many properties, though not at the same time.
Year 10 students at Chiswick School produced biographies for Joseph, James and Jean Baptiste, recognising them all as inspirational figures in the history of the House & Gardens. They also created a multi-layered timeline to reflect how this local history was shaped by national and global events.
Since then, new information has been found that has enabled us to really get to know one of these individuals in very rare detail – James Cumberlidge. New documents revealed, not just the incredible extent of his professional and personal achievements, but also intimate details of his family life.
In response, Chiswick School students have updated the timeline to include these recent findings and added more events and key individuals to flesh out James’ story and provide additional background context. People like Handel who lived at Burlington House for several years and composed much of the music that James would have played at Court, and Mozart who when just a boy, spent a year at Hampton Court Palace as a guest of Queen Charlotte when James was a Royal trumpeter.
Students have explored the type of trumpet James used; added examples of the music he played as well as the documents that revealed James’s meteoric rise from page boy to land owner in Surrey.
African lives at Chiswick
In 2024, Year 10 students at Chiswick School produced biographies for Joseph, James and Jean Baptiste, recognising them all as inspirational figures in the history of the House & Gardens. They also created a multi-layered timeline to reflect how our local history is shaped by national and global events. The first layer documents the known events in the lives of the three men; the second explores the Burlington and Devonshire families and the evolution of the Chiswick Estate, whilst the third and fourth layers provide a broader national and global context – marking events that are relevant to the stories of these three African men.
If the embed above is not working for you, please view the timeline here.
African voices at Chiswick
Reflecting on Joseph, James and Jean Baptiste’s histories, young people from Hogarth Community & Youth Centre participated in a series of creative workshops facilitated by Poetic Unity. Through discussion and games, our young collaborators reflected on the questions these men’s stories raised for them, how they made them feel, and why they are relevant today. Drawing inspiration from their responses, Poetic Unity have created spoken word poems for the audio guide in the Upper Link, that celebrate and honour the lives of Joseph Casar and Jim Cumberlidge.
Ancestral strands
Immersing themselves in the story of the Duchess Georgiana’s hairdresser, Jean Baptiste Gilbert, members of Hounslow Action for Youth and Start Easy alongside artist Jaixia Blue have produced an emotive artwork that explores how hair reflects our personal and cultural identity whilst paying homage to Jean Baptiste’s fusion of African and European styles.
Using techniques like weaving and plaiting, young people have created individual hair and textile artworks from wool, synthetic hair, wire, beads and ribbons. These have been combined by Jaixia to create an expressive sculptural piece that celebrates and honours Gilbert’s life and contributions.
- Find out more about Black Chiswick through History
