Refurbishment
The house closed for refurbishment in September 2008. On 14 August 2009, there was a fire in the house, which was empty. No furnishings or prints were lost, but the staircase and one room were badly damaged and other areas suffered from smoke damage and the effects of the water which doused the flames. The entire structure was carefully restored and a major research project carried out on the history of the House and its occupants. A paint analysis has informed the re-decoration, and original features have been repaired and revealed, including window shutters, fire surrounds and hearths, and two areas of original floorboards. The restoration has actually been undertaken twice because of fire damage in 2009 (see below). The Heritage Lottery Fund, the John & Ruth Howard Charitable Trust and the William Hogarth Trust have supported the London Borough of Hounslow in this project with grants and expert advice. Negotiations over insurance and the requirement for complete rewiring, as well as structural repairs, delayed the re-opening until 2011.
Two floors of the house opened to visitors on 8 November 2011. The top floor houses a study/research room for use by appointment. The furnishing includes Shipway's replica pieces and the new exhibition presents the House as a home, as well as celebrating Hogarth's life and work. Some of his best known engravings will be displayed, including the series The Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage à-la-mode.
The House has an attractive walled garden which contains a mulberry tree. This is probably the last survivor of the original orchard established in the 1670s. It was damaged by the parachute mine and brought back to good health by arboriculturists from Kew Gardens.
Read more about this topic: Hogarth's House