Edition 18
Welcome back.
If you were out at about ten past seven last night you will have seen the Sun go missing. Ninety per cent of it, low over the rooftops, and the most we will get in this country until 2081.
Then Friday arrives at 36°C, which is not a typo. Long periods of sunshine, a UV index of 6, and a forecast that comes with a health warning attached. Find shade, drink more than you think you need, and check on the neighbours who will not ask.
It cools to a manageable 28°C by the weekend, which is just as well, because there is an inflatable assault course in the Walled Garden and the cheese market is back on Sunday.
Inside this week: a riverside pub with four very good tables, a free Hogarth exhibition, and two national award nominations for our local NHS trust.
Glad to have you with us.
Did you get a photo? Ninety per cent of the Sun disappeared over Chiswick and half the borough had a phone pointed at it. If you got a decent one, hit reply and send it over. We will run the best of them next week, with your name on it.
🍺 The Bell & Crown
11-13 Thames Road, Strand on the Green, W4 3PL
There are four tables and plenty of chairs on the riverside path at the Bell & Crown, and on a warm evening they are the most contested seats in Chiswick. Get one and you are looking straight down the Thames at Kew Pier.
There has been a pub here since at least 1751, when it was simply The Bell. It picked up the Crown by 1787, Fuller's bought it in 1814, and the current Arts and Crafts building went up in 1907. The river-facing conservatory came later, in 1984, and there was a refurbishment earlier this year.
Inside it is panelled and low-ceilinged, with banquette seating and a real fire once the weather turns. Dogs are welcome, there are board games, and the drinking and dining areas are separate enough that you can do either without getting caught up in the other.
Worth knowing for later: the Bell & Crown is one of the pubs feeding people at the Tidefest street party on Sunday 6 September, so if you have not made it down to Strand on the Green this summer, that is your excuse.
The local wins, openings and milestones worth knowing about this week.
🍺 The Duchess reopens as The Queen this autumn
The pub on the corner of Goldhawk Road and Bath Road closed its doors on 3 August and will return in the autumn under a new name.
It is getting a Victorian-style refresh inside and out. Expect seasonal menus built on locally sourced ingredients, service running from brunch through to dinner, a longer list of wine, cask ale and spirits, and Sunday roasts back where they belong. The quiz nights and live music stay, and there are reopening events planned.
The new name is less of a reinvention than it sounds. There has been a pub on this corner for more than 150 years, and it traded as The Queen of England before the current brick building went up in 1928. Since then it has been Charlotte's, Café Med, Pacific Bar & Grill, The Brook and, most recently, The Duchess of Cambridge. Call it a homecoming.
320 Goldhawk Road, Stamford Brook.
Source: The Chiswick Calendar
🖼️ A free Hogarth exhibition marks 250 years of American independence
Hogarth's House will host 'How We Lost America' from 22 September to 1 November, telling the story of the American Revolution from the British side.
It looks at the intellectuals, reformers and radicals here at home who backed independence, using the satire, newspapers and letters of the day. It also digs into the hidden histories: the female revolutionaries, the enslaved soldiers who fought for their own liberty, and the radical arsonist who bombed Portsmouth Harbour.
Hogarth's 1763 satirical portrait of John Wilkes is on show, alongside work connected to the historian Catharine Macaulay, the intellectuals Joseph Priestley and Richard Price, and the abolitionist Granville Sharp. It is organised by Aurora Metro Arts & Media with National Lottery funding, and there are academic talks and readings from Howard Ginsberg's play Jefferson & Adams running alongside it.
Open 12pm to 5pm whenever the house is open. Free.
Source: Hounslow Herald
🏥 National award shortlist for West London NHS Trust
The Trust that runs mental health, community and specialist services across Hounslow, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham is up for two prizes at this year's HSJ Awards.
The first is Trust of the Year, entered as "People, Partnership and Continuous Improvement", recognising how services are designed and delivered alongside staff, patients and carers rather than handed down to them.
The second is the Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People and Families Award, for a project called "Reaching the Unreached". Ealing CAMHS Link Workers go into faith groups, schools and community organisations to break down the stigma around child mental health in communities where families have historically been slow to come forward. Community referrals are up roughly 30%, and around 200 more children a month are now getting support.
Winners are announced later this year.
Source: HSJ Awards 2026 shortlist
The Chiswick Cheese Market's account, and worth it for the name alone. Producer profiles, what is coming to the stalls each month, and the sort of close-up cheese photography you should not look at before lunch.
Handy if you want to know who is trading before you turn up, and they post the reminders that stop you realising at 4pm on the third Sunday that you have missed it again. Their next market is this Sunday, 16 August.
This week
🎪 Action Arena | Sat 15 & Sun 16 Aug | 9am to 7pm | Walled Garden, Chiswick House & Gardens
The UK's biggest touring inflatable assault course sets up in the Walled Garden for the weekend. Two full days and a ten-hour window each day, so there is no need to rush Saturday morning. Book through Chiswick House & Gardens. Details
🧀 Chiswick Cheese Market | Sun 16 Aug | 9.30am to 3pm | Old Market Place
We have the only dedicated cheese market in the country, and it is on our High Road. Third Sunday of every month, rain or shine.
Artisan cheesemakers come from all over Britain and beyond, and the whole thing is built around actually talking to the people who made the stuff. Come hungry, bring a cool bag, and give yourself longer than you think you need. Details
🥖 The Food Market at Dukes Meadows | Every Sunday | 10am to 2pm | The Pavilion, Market Drive, W4 2RX
Still going every week in its farmyard setting at Grove Park Farm House. A social enterprise, with proceeds going back into the park. Five minutes from Chiswick and Barnes Bridge stations. Details
🎤 Every week at The George IV | 185 Chiswick High Road
Pub quiz on Mondays with Lucky Cow, Dungeons and Dragons on Tuesdays, open mic with London Unplugged on Wednesdays at 8pm, Hartbeeps on Friday mornings, and supervised arts and crafts for the kids on Sundays from 12pm to 5pm while you get through a roast. Happy hour runs 4pm to 6pm on weekdays, selected drinks £5. Details
Further ahead…
🥢 FoodSt | Sun 23 Aug | 11am to 4pm | Old Market Place
Street food traders take over the Old Market Place the week after the cheese market. Three straight Sundays of something happening on that corner. Details
🪞 The Lazy Flea | Sun 23 Aug | 10.30am to 4pm | Chiswick House Forecourt, Burlington Lane
More than 60 vintage traders selling homeware, furniture, clothing and jewellery, with street food and coffee alongside. Ticketed through Eventbrite, and dogs are welcome. Get there before 1pm for the best of it, though that is also when it is busiest. Details
📸 Human Nature | Opens Tue 25 Aug | Gunnersbury Park & Museum
A photography exhibition put together by Gunnersbury's own young curators, looking at the park and the character of the place. It runs all the way through to May 2027, so there is no rush, but it is worth catching early. Details
🎉 West London Queer Project's 6th birthday street party | Sun 30 Aug | 12pm to 9pm | Old Market Place
WLQP turns six, and it is throwing the party on the High Road. Family and children's activities run from midday to 2pm, then the main stage takes over until 9pm.
Free to attend, with pay what you can donations if you would like to chip in. Book a free ticket through the WLQP website so they know roughly how many to expect. Details
💐 Pick and Arrange Your Own Bouquet | Fri 4 Sept | 2.30pm to 4.30pm | Kitchen Garden, Chiswick House
A two-hour workshop with the florist Lilian Highmoor. You pick from the Kitchen Garden and arrange what you cut, then take it home. Places are limited. Details
📚 Chiswick Book Festival | Wed 9 to Mon 14 Sept | Multiple venues
The 18th festival, spread across St Michael & All Angels church and parish hall, the Boston Room at The George IV, Chiswick Cinema, the Garden Pavilion at Chiswick House, the Tabard and Hogarth's House. Tickets are on sale now through TicketSource. Details
🐕 Chiswick House Dog Show | Sun 20 Sept | 11am to 4.15pm | Chiswick House & Gardens
London's biggest dog show is back for its 22nd year with 17 classes. Registrations are still open. Details
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