Chiswick House

The villa, which is diminutive in scale, was never intended as a residence; but it showed a new grasp of the spatial possibilities which a series of connected rooms could give and it was source of inspiration to those who gathered there to admire the Muses. Alexander Pope dedicated an "Essay on the Use of Riches" to Lord Burlilngton. In it he extolled Burlington's approach to landscape, building set in landscape, and interior spaces, all of them based on the essence of Palladino. The return to the style of architecture first introduced into England by Inigo Jones, was emphasized by the publication, in 1724, of edited drawings of Jones' work, augmented by that of Lord Burlington and Kent himself. In later years Chiswick House fell into despair and in 1892, it was occupied as a private lunatic asylum. It now belongs to the nation and has been restored.