Pitzhanger Manor, The Committee of Taste: Soane at Pitzhanger. London Luminaries talk by Clare Gough

This talk by Pitzhanger Manor is the fourteenth in the London Luminaries series 4 entitled Pitzhanger Manor, The Committee of Taste: Soane at Pitzhanger.

For Sir John Soane, Pitzhanger’s gardens were as important as the Manor, which he designed as a space for hospitality and entertainment centred around food. In his kitchen gardens, he grew a variety of herbs and vegetables, and he kept the lake stocked with fish not only to provide dinner but also an opportunity for social interaction. Drawing on the detailed records of Soane and his wife Eliza’s diaries, this talk will explore the major role that food played in their life.

Clare Gough is Director of Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Sir John Soane’s ‘country’ house in Ealing, west London and its adjacent contemporary gallery. Pitzhanger reopened to the public in March 2019 with an acclaimed Anish Kapoor sculpture exhibition in the Gallery, following a three year, award -winning restoration of the Manor to Soane’s original design, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Ealing Council and many others. It runs a programme of exciting exhibitions, diverse speakers and events, and extensive learning and outreach initiatives to engage local schools and communities. Clare’s career combines experience of the arts and commercial sectors. She was previously a Trustee of the Museum of the Home, Director of Communications at the National Gallery, and New Media Director at National Gallery Co. Ltd, before setting up an arts consultancy working with the V&A and other institutions.

In our own times, issues of the sustainability of food production and equity of its distribution are hot topics. In this series of 14 talks, we explore how food was produced and consumed in the past by our Luminaries to help inform discussions on the future of food and drink. Much food was produced locally; great houses such as Chiswick House and Fulham Palace had their own kitchen gardens and Alexander Pope boasted of the sources of his meat supply: ‘To Hounslow Heath I point, and Banstead-Down, / Thence comes your Mutton, and these chicks my own.’ Yet modern luxuries such as tea and coffee stretched supply chains around the globe. Wining and dining also provided hosts with opportunities to display their hospitality and particular taste through the choice of menu and table setting.

This varied banquet of 14 talks thus also explore cultural dimensions of food and drink.