Funding Awarded from the Nineveh Charitable Trust

Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is delighted to announce it has recently been awarded a £5000 grant from the Nineveh Charitable Trust, which will support the salary of our part-time Kitchen Gardener. The Kitchen Garden at Chiswick House is a two-acre community, learning and horticultural resource, with the role of the Kitchen Gardener being instrumental to welcoming visitors and beneficiaries as well as working with volunteers and keeping the Garden producing wonderful fruits, vegetables and flowers.

 

The Nineveh Charitable Trust funds organisations with the aim of improving the health, welfare and education of the general public, especially in relation to agriculture, land management and the conversation of the countryside. As such, the Nineveh Charitable Trust are the perfect funding partner for the Kitchen Garden at Chiswick House, which works to promote an understanding of the natural world, food production and horticulture to all those who visit.

The Walled Gardens at Chiswick House date back to 1682 and were originally part of an adjacent property; they were incorporated into the Estate in 1812 by the Duke of Devonshire. After Chiswick House and Gardens were purchased by public subscription in 1929 the Kitchen Garden faded from memory, being left neglected and closed to the public. The Chiswick House Kitchen Garden project began in February 2005 by a voluntary group dedicated to reviving the gardens and teaching local residents about horticulture and growing food, led by Karen Liebreich MBE.

Chiswick House and Gardens Trust are now responsible for the space, cultivating the garden as a community and educational resource and as a thriving kitchen garden. Workshops are run for school children and the community garden is offered for social and therapeutic horticulture. The Trust is very grateful for the help of the volunteers.

Whilst the Kitchen Garden does raise some income through the sale of produce, flowers, and honey from our beehives, this does not go as far as to cover the costs of keeping the Garden running, which must be supplemented by income from Trusts and Foundations, individual donations and through commercial event income. Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is grateful for the Nineveh Charitable Trust for supporting this work and facilitating its continuation, ensuring more people can visit and engage with the Garden, benefit from social and therapeutic horticulture, learn from the land, and enjoy its seasonal produce.