In the beginning…
In January 2018, the walls underneath the bridges at Turnham Green tube station were transformed by a wonderful mural – the Chiswick Timeline: A History in Art and Maps. It combines historic maps, showing the development of Chiswick through the centuries, with works of art depicting local landmarks by some of the best-known artists who have lived and worked here, from William Hogarth to Sir Peter Blake, and historic local images such as the one of Fuller’s Brewery on the River Thames (above).
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The Timeline was opened on January 28th 2018 in front of large crowd by Sir Peter Blake (pictured below right, with Karen Liebreich and Chiswick Book Festival director Torin Douglas) and by two other distinguished local artists Jan Pienkovski and Marthe Armitage. See more at Abundance London.
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To mark the 10th Chiswick Book Festival in September 2018, we created a new online timeline – a literary archive celebrating the writers who have lived here or written about the area – spearheaded by a Writers Trail of notable dramatists, novelists and poets.
We’re very grateful to the Chiswick Timeline creators, Karen Liebreich and Sara Cruz of Abundance London for their help and support. Nor could we have created it without the work of local historians such as Val Bott of the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society and the late Gillian Clegg and David Budworth; several editors of ChiswickW4.com and The Chiswick Calendar; and other local enthusiasts. Thanks also to Horton & Garton and Foster Books for supporting the Chiswick Timeline and the Writers Trail; and to Bown Design & Build who sponsored the original Exhibition.
Launch of the Writers Trail: September 2018
We asked you to help us choose Chiswick’s top writers and books with ChiswickW4.com.
Read more about the project and the Writers Trail in its article here.
The First Edition of the Chiswick Timeline Writers Trail lists 21 notable novelists, poets and playwrights who have lived in Chiswick.
Phase 1: 175 writers on the Timeline: October 2018
Chiswick Timeline of Writers and Books Now Lists 175 Writers –
And see who won the prize of a 19th Century edition of Vanity Fair – ChiswickW4.com.
Phase 2: 250 writers on the Timeline: April 2019
Chiswick Timeline of Writers and Books hits 250 entries – Chiswickbuzz.com
Put the word out: Chiswick may be Britain’s most literary location – The Observer (below)
Phase 3: 350 writers on the Timeline: November 2019
Around 350 names ‘likely to be final total’ for Chiswick Timeline of Writers and Books – The Chiswick Herald
Timeline of Chiswick Writers and Books Now Totals nearly 350 – ChiswickW4.com
Phase 4: 400 writers on the Timeline: January 2020
Ant and Dec bring the Chiswick Timeline of Writers total to 400: ChiswickW4.com
plus The Chiswick Calendar
Phase 5: Timeline of Ealing Writers launched: May 2020
Timeline of Ealing Writers & Books: The writers range from Henry Fielding, born in 1707, to Honor Blackman (1925) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (1985) – and include such diverse names as Agatha Christie, Ho Chi Minh and EL James.
Chiswick Book Festival creates a timeline of Ealing writers – The Chiswick Calendar
Phase 6. ‘Writers Lives’ launched by the CWRG: October 2020
‘Writers Lives’ pages: written by members of the Chiswick Writers Research Group (CWRG), brought together by the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society
Phase 7: Exploring Chiswick launched: January 2021
Exploring Chiswick campaign launched – ChiswickW4.com
Explore Chiswick’s cultural history, online and on foot – The Chiswick Calendar
EM Forster, Nancy Mitford, Iris Murdoch, Harold Pinter – Profiles on The Chiswick Calendar
Phase 8: First additions to the Writers Trail: May 2022
Dylan Thomas and James Berry added to Chiswick Writers Trail
Michael Flanders and Stephen Potter added to Chiswick Writers Trail
Six centuries of famous Chiswick poets
Phase 9: WB Yeats Smartphone Trail launched: January 2023
WB Yeats Bedford Park Artwork Project
Launch of WB Yeats trail in Bedford Park – The ChiswickCalendar