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Tucked inside the Chiswick Club Society building on the High Road, Society Members Club brings two specialist setups under one roof: Wave BJJ for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Forge Warehouse Gym for strength and Hyrox training. It is the sort of place where coaches and members actually know your name, with classes for adults and kids alike. It’s run by people who clearly care about who walks through the door. Less faceless chain, more neighbourhood club. New faces are always welcome.
Reader offer: 50% off monthly memberships for adults and kids. Cancel anytime. Use code INSIDECHISWICK
w: societymembers.club
ig: @societychiswick
Welcome back to Inside Chiswick, your weekly guide to the people, businesses and stories that give the area its character. There's a community thread running through this week's edition: the Cheese Market turns five with a tasting where everyone gets a vote, the Repair Cafe is on hand if you've got something broken at the back of a cupboard, Joel's quiz at The Hogarth is the kind of Friday that feels properly local, and Studio Little Botanica is offering a quiet hour or two with a paintbrush. Add a venue worth knowing about and a couple of cracking local businesses, and there’s plenty to get stuck into. Glad to have you with us.
Each week, we’ll be spotlighting a local food and drink business that adds something special to Chiswick. If you’d like to be featured, or know a local favourite we should include, please get in touch.
Set in the old Victorian police station on Chiswick High Road, The Hound has been a fixture on the corner since 1872. Inside, you'll find British pub classics, draught beer, market cocktails and a thoughtful wine list, in a room that still feels like the building it grew out of.
This week we're pointing you at The Oyster Sitting, their early evening menu running weekdays from 5pm to 6:30pm. Gallagher No.4 oysters for £2, classic Martinis for £10, Billecart-Salmon by the glass for £13, and Dom Pérignon for £30. For a little extra indulgence, add Sturia Oscietra caviar with pomme gaufrettes and sour cream.
w: thehound.london
ig: @thehoundchiswick
Each week, we’ll spotlight a local social media account that captures something interesting, useful or distinctive about Chiswick. If you know an account we should feature, or run one yourself, we’d love to hear from you.
This week’s local account is @chiswickcheesemarket, the market, known affectionately as Cheesewick, takes over the Old Market Place on the third Sunday of every month, with over 20 stalls and 150-odd artisan cheeses from across the UK and beyond. It was started in May 2021 by a group of local women who wanted to bring cheese back to Chiswick (originally recorded as Ceswican, Old English for "cheese farm"), and last year it raised over £23,000 for charity.
🎉 Five years of Cheesewick. This month marks the market's fifth birthday and the launch of The Real Cheese Project, a tasting where everyone gets to vote for their favourite cheese. The next market is this Sunday, 17 May, 9:30am to 3pm.
We also want to make space for the positive things happening across the area. This section is our way of highlighting the community moments, local successes and uplifting stories that help make Chiswick such a good place to live.
Belmont Primary School lands top OFSTED marks
Belmont Primary in Chiswick has come away with strong results in its first OFSTED inspection under the new report-card system, achieving a "Strong standard" across every area. Inspectors praised high achievement in reading, writing and maths, an inclusive culture, and an early years curriculum that gives children "the knowledge they need across all areas of learning." Pupils, the report concludes, leave Belmont as "confident and resilient young people, thoroughly prepared for their next steps." Source: Chiswick Calendar
Gunnersbury Park turns 100
Gunnersbury Park is marking 100 years of public ownership, with the centrepiece celebration landing on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 May, from 11am to 4pm. Expect live music from the 1920s onwards, Charleston and Lindy Hop workshops, over 30 community stalls, and the Gunnersbury Community Picnic Blanket: a 100-square-metre patchwork stitched together by residents, local groups and museum volunteers. Bring a picnic and find a spot on it. Source: ChiswickW4.com
We’re passionate about highlighting the local businesses that help give Chiswick its character. If you’d like to be featured, or know a business we should have on our radar, please get in touch.
Two independent local businesses this week, doing very different things. One handles your social media so you don't have to. One offers a gentle, beginner-friendly way into watercolour at a café you already know. Both exactly the kind of independent businesses we set Inside Chiswick up to celebrate.
Studio Little Botanica runs gentle, beginner-friendly watercolour workshops at The Post Room Café on Chiswick High Road. Denise's sessions are about slowing down, paint in hand, in a warm and welcoming space, no experience needed, just an evening to yourself. The next workshop is Wednesday 20 May, 7pm to 10pm, and tickets are available now.
Inside Chiswick readers: 10% off with code CHISWICK10 at checkout.
The Social Club Media is a Chiswick-based digital marketing agency, Meta-certified and award-winning, run by Randa Safieh-Angeles. The team helps local businesses with content, email campaigns, Meta ads and websites, all built around a strategy tailored to who they’re actually trying to reach.
Inside Chiswick readers: 20% off one-off services or your first month's invoice.
A few highlights from the week ahead, hand-picked from our new events calendar. It's already brimming with what's on through the end of May, with new events being added daily for the rest of summer and beyond.
Looking for an event space?
Tucked away on Elmwood Road, St Michael's Church has two excellent spaces for hire. The St Michael's Centre is the more flexible of the two: a refurbished Edwardian hall with a fitted kitchen, accessible facilities, an enclosed play area and courtyard, and a fully equipped stage and lighting rig. The Church itself offers a grander setting, an open-plan space with stained-glass windows and the kind of natural light and proportions that lift any occasion. Suitable for everything from milestone birthdays to community gatherings and corporate events.
Three-hour party hire starts from £165 (two hours of party time plus set up and clean down). Business rates may be available for regular use.
Book: stmichaelschiswick.org/venue-hire
Enquiries: [email protected]
Joel's Hogarth Quiz: Friday 15 May: 7:30pm to 10pm at The Hogarth Bar & Kitchen
A friendly quiz night with pies served from 6:30pm and the bar open throughout. Teams of up to six, or turn up solo and they'll find you a team. £14 a head includes entry and your choice of beef & ale, chicken & leek, or vegetarian pie. Book at Hogarth Reception. More details
Chiswick Repair Cafe: Saturday 16 May: 10:30am to 1pm at Christ Church Turnham Green
Bring your broken kettle, wobbly chair, blunt knives or moth-bitten jumper, and the volunteer repairers will help you fix it (or teach you how). They handle small electricals, carpentry, sewing, ceramics, jewellery, bike fixes and more. No booking needed, just turn up, register your item, and have a coffee while you wait. Last entry 12:30pm. More details
Chiswick Cheese Market: Sunday 17 May: 9:30am to 3pm at Old Market Place
Cheesewick turns five this month, and the next market lands on Sunday. Expect 20+ stalls and a huge range of artisan cheeses from across the UK and beyond, alongside the launch of The Real Cheese Project, a tasting where everyone gets to vote for their favourite. More details
The Big Lazy Flea: Sunday 17 May: 10:30am to 4pm at Chiswick House & Gardens
The Lazy Flea returns to Chiswick House courtyard with 60+ vintage traders, double the space of last year, and a carefully curated mix of vintage homeware, furniture, clothing and jewellery. Street food and coffee on site. Tickets available on the door, but peak hours are 10:30am to 1pm if you'd prefer a quieter browse. Tickets here
IYA London Walks: Sunday 31 May: 11am to 12:30pm
Hammersmith Radicals is a guided riverside walk exploring the area’s artistic and activist past, from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the birth of the private press movement. Starting at Ravenscourt Park Station, the walk traces the stories of William Morris and other creative figures who lived and worked along this stretch of the Thames, offering a thoughtful look at how art, design and social change shaped the neighbourhood. More details about this walk, plus Future Walks.
Want to be featured in a future issue?
We work with a small number of local businesses each week, and every advertiser gets something most newsletters don't bother with: a proper post-edition report.
A real advertiser report. Sent after every placement.
Clear reach, real clicks, equivalent paid-media value and useful benchmarks, so you can see exactly what your placement delivered.
If you've enjoyed this week's spotlights on The Hound, Studio Little Botanica, The Social Club Media and Society Members Club, yours could be next. We're offering a limited number of free placements through the end of May.
👉 See how it works or just reply to this email and I'll be in touch personally.