CONTEXT 180 : JUNE 2024 55 AYAKA TAKAKI Restoring Alexander Pope’s Grotto The grotto, designed by Pope and standing as the only surviving element of his villa and garden landscape in Twickenham, provides insight into the life of the poet and satirist. The restoration of Alexander Pope’s Grade II*- listed grotto has been completed by Donald Insall Associates for Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust. Pope (1688–1744), a central figure in the neoclassical movement and often described as the best English poet of the 18th century, came to live in Twickenham in 1719. His villa was designed by James Gibbs, who had designed the Orleans House Octagon (Grade I, 1720) nearby (see Ayaka Takaki, ‘Restoring Orleans House Octagon’, Context 167, March 2021). The cellars of his villa were at ground level, facing the river. Pope devised the grotto as a ‘subterraneous way’, connecting a formal riverfront garden to the more private garden to the rear of his villa. In 1732, Pope employed William Kent to extend the portico for the riverfront of the villa, which can be seen as the remaining facade of the grotto entrance today. After Pope’s death in 1744, the house was acquired by Sir William Stanhope and it remained in Stanhope’s family until 1807. Baroness Howe of Langa (1762–1835), then acquired it and had it demolished in the following year. JMW Turner, who admired Pope’s work, painted a lamenting view entitled ‘Pope’s Villa at Twickenham during its Dilapidation’. Pope was responsible for some of the biggest changes in garden design in his time. His garden and the view of the Thames valley at Richmond was the inspiration for the English landscaping style which was later developed by Capability Brown. The grotto, having been altered several times over the centuries and having suffered natural deterioration and extensive inappropriate repairs carried out in the last century, had A view through the grotto to a projected image (Photo: James Newton)
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