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Chiswick House and Gardens Trust
Chiswick House was built in 1729 and is one of Georgian Britain’s keynote architectural statements. Designed by its owner Richard Boyle (Lord Burlington) in collaboration with the multi-talented designer William Kent, the house was conceived as an aesthetic manifesto, gallery and place for entertaining. The collection includes superb examples of painting, furniture and sculpture.
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Description

The Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is a registered charity, created jointly by English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow. Our gardens’ objective is to conserve, restore and enhance the gardens, for the benefit of our local community while improving biodiversity. Garden Guides are needed to conduct group tours that bring alive the story of the House and Gardens and the people who not only influenced them in the past but also of those who currently work in the gardens to help shape their future.

Duties

You will be leading the visiting public for a one hour tour, sharing the history and highlighting key features (historic trees, structures and vistas) around the gardens. You will also share general information on Chiswick House and Gardens Trust and its current goals. A tour script is provided upon which you will base your tour.

You will need to:

  • Have good communication skills and enjoy meeting and talking to people
  • Be keen and able to learn and absorb new information
  • Share a love of history, affection for Chiswick House and Gardens and the ability to engage a wide variety of audiences in an entertaining and lively manner.
  • Be able to adapt the length and content of their tour to respond to the character of the groups visiting. (Tours would not generally be expected to last more than 1 hour)
  • Be generally available, most particularly for tours offered to the public on Fridays and Sundays to conduct a tour starting at Midday. Private tours are also booked on other days for which guides will be booked and have advanced notice.
  • Enjoy being an ambassador for Chiswick House and Gardens Trust.
Who will the volunteers be working with?
What can you expect from us?

· To be part of our team: recognised and appreciated
· An enjoyable experience in a beautiful environment
· English Heritage membership on successful completion of 60 hours volunteering
· Free entry to Chiswick House & the Kitchen Garden for you and a guest
· Discounts in the shop, café and some partner events held on the estate
· Opportunities to meet and socialise with other Chiswick House & Gardens volunteers
· Reimbursement of travel costs up to £5 per shift.
Training
Script is provided

Time commitment

How much time will you be expected to give and when?

· To offer one or two tours a month and possibly more if there are gaps in the tour guiding schedule.
· Friday and Sundays are key to being available, when garden tours are offered to the public starting at Midday.


What will we expect from you?

· Reliability
· A sense of humour!

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UCL Departments

This organisation is one of our community partner organisations.

Like all volunteer recruiters we work with, they have signed up to our service standards, agreeing to abide by our policy on partnership working to keep you safe and supported whilst you volunteer.

You’ll never be out of pocket for volunteering through us – with in-London travel expenses to and from your volunteering guaranteed.

In addition, the team here at Students’ Union UCL Volunteering Service is here to support you throughout your volunteering journey – you can get in touch with us at any time.