He lived in an opulent London villa

Another interesting fact is that he lived in an opulent London villa. Pope was able to move to a villa in Twickenham in 1719 thanks to the proceeds from his Homer translation, where he established his now-famous grotto and gardens. The accidental discovery of a spring during the excavation of the subterranean retreat allowed it to be filled with the soothing sound of trickling water, which would quietly echo throughout the chambers. "Were it to have nymphs as well – it would be complete in everything, " Pope was supposed to have stated. Although the house and gardens have been demolished, most of the grotto can still be found beneath Radnor House Independent Co-educational School.

When Baroness Howe of Langar (1762-1835) bought the home in 1808, she demolished it and erected a new mansion nearby. The home and grotto inspired poetry and art in the 18th and 19th centuries. On the same site, in about 1845, a neo-Tudor home known as Pope's Villa was built; it has been utilized as a school since the early twentieth century.

Pope's mansion, gardens, and grotto were frequently discussed and represented in poetry and art. Between 1730 and 1888, at least 55 drawings, paintings, aquatints, engravings, etchings, and lithographs depicting the river facade or the grotto survived. These began with drawings and paintings by Pope and his associates and lasted through works he may have commissioned (a sketch of the Shell Temple by Kent and a picture by Peter Tillemans from around 1730) and most of the nineteenth century.