The Lost Treasures of Strawberry Hill is a temporary (running until February 2019) exhibition staged by the trustees of the house. Normally shown as an empty shell, the aim of the exhibition is to display some of Horace Walpole's most famous and important masterpieces in the atmospheric interiors he designed for them.
The 'Great Sale' was held in the grounds in 1842 (after the then owners, John and George Waldegrave, who were related to Walpole through the illegitimate daughter of his brother, Edward, had spent most of the family fortune) and left the house virtually stripped of its contents. The building was bought by neighbouring St Mary's University, Twickenham, in 1923.
The curators undertook a major treasure hunt to find the collection, some of which was in public museums around the world and some hidden away in private collections.
Horatio- known as Horace- Walpole (1717-1797) was the 4th Earl of Orford and son of Sir Robert Walpole, the first British Prime Minister. He was a politician himself, as well as an antiquarian, passionate collector and social commentator. He was also a man of letters and wrote The Castle of Otranto (1764), which is considered to be the first Gothic novel, and which was inspired by Strawberry Hill.
Largely designed by Walpole and his group of friends, the house was Walpole's summer villa and, to use a modern-day colloquialism, his 'baby'. Created between 1749 and 1790, it predated the Gothic Revival of the early 19th century. He filled it with a massive collection of paintings, decorative arts, curiosities and antiquities; collecting objects not only for their beauty, but also their historical interest and the stories they told.
Horace Walpole described Strawberry Hill as "The castle (I am building) of my ancestors." But it was certainly not for his ancestors as he never married and died childless. Some reports mention that he could have been homosexual, but the general consensus is that he was asexual.
Walpole, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, circa 1756-57.
It was a lovely late October day when me and my SuperDean took ourselves off to Twickenham and visited, having pre-booked. Here is the house front, with a touch of added glare...
Walpole rebuilt the existing house in stages, in 1749, 1760, 1772 and 1776. Gothic features such as crenellations and towers outside, and elaborate design inside were used with the intention of creating a 'gloomth'.
I loved these mini-arches. It's possible to clamber underneath them (although I didn't give it a go!)
The side of the house...
The back, and I thought it was a pity that this tent, which acted as a visitors' reception centre, had been put up, spoiling the view.
Piece of useless information:- Whilst updating my portfolio when working as a freelance designer, I once designed a collection called 'Gloth', which is a marriage of both goth and glamour. I am quite macabre and my college final major project was also quite Gothic, in that it was influenced by the romantic aspect of Dracula- that point where he goes to kiss his victim's neck (or so she believes) and instead goes in for the kill.
I called it 'The Seduction Metaphor' and it was inspired by this Bela Lugosi 1931 film still...
Back to main subject, and I loved this stained glass window. They feature all over the house.
Gothic tower...
As we were a bit early, we looked around the gardens first. It is not known what happened to the original Shell Seat. It was recreated by Architectural Heritage using layered laminated oak strips to form the shell. The gardens were designed to be 'riant' (cheerful), to add a touch of contrast to the gloominess of the house.
Me having an Amphitrite moment... Or am I just being shellfish?! 😃😃😃😃
I spied these stone and iron steps, peeking through the trees. The adjoining building is the aforementioned St Mary's University, Twickenham.
The Cedar of Lebanon.
The Lime Grove.
This was the small garden directly in front of the house, inside the wall.
We then ventured into the house, which was breathtaking BUT.... and it's a big BUT... photography, even without a flash, wasn't allowed. I've come across this before, at other tourist attractions (notably the Brighton Pavilion) and it's something to do with conditions imposed by those lending the artefacts.
It's something I find REALLY annoying. I mean, what do they think I'm going to do- photograph a Hogarth, blow it up to full size, frame it and try to sell it on eBay as an original? I don't think so!!!!
I don't really like using PDFs but, as I have no choice, here are a handful I like...
The staircase...
The Blue Bedcamber. When I was there, this had a recreation bed in it but, outside of the exhibition, appears to be kept empty (hence the reason photographs were allowed then)...
The Blue Breakfast Room. This had a stunning ceiling, consisting of dyed silk velvet draped upwards and held tight in the centre of the room. It had a Turkish tent kind of feel and was added after Walpole's time. This was probably my most favourite room...
Coming in at a close second was the Holbien Chamber. Cardinal Wolsey's sixteenth century red cardinal's hat sat in a case in the corner...
The Gallery had paintings on display. The house abounded with gorgeous pictures and portraits by the likes of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Peter Lily, Anthony van Dyck and Hans Holbien, to name but a few...
The Tribune. Many treasures were on display here as it was originally designed, in 1761, to show off various personal memorabilia. A gold locket containing a lock of hair belonging to the youngest surviving daughter of Henry VII, Mary Tudor (1496-1533, not to be confused with Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary) is on display here. Unfortunately, I missed seeing it!
The promotional pamphlet also mentions a 'magic mirror' used by Dr. Dee, Elizabeth I's necromancer, to conjure up the spirits. But I didn't see it and it's not listed in the exhibition guidebook, even though a bit of Googly research tells me that this obsidian disc should sit in the Great North Bedchamber. Oh well...
As it's quite a small house and garden (it will only take up an hour of your time) I do think that the £18 admission fee (£16 if you pre-book) was a bit steep. Having said that, I enjoyed the exhibition immensely, although I was seriously annoyed by the no photography rule. I would definitely return, but AFTER the exhibition is over- I saw all I had to see of these artefacts and want to take some pictures of the rooms!
We finished our Strawberry Hill excursion with a walk back to central Twickenham through the picturesque Radnor Gardens.
Radnor House was totally destroyed by a bomb in September 1940, during World War II. Only a few walls, indicated by commemorative stones remain, as does this summerhouse.
The gardens and the war memorial...
Views over the Thames...
I'll complete this blog with a close-up of the war memorial- quite fitting, as in eleven days' time it will be the centenary of the end of World War I.
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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