Intro video here
An article in the Smithsonian magazine that we read just two days after it was published lead us to venture out to Twickenham in southwest London today to visit Strawberry Hill. Our journey involved a walk to the Hampstead Heath Overground Station, a ride to Richmond, a bus trip to Michelham Gardens and a short stroll to the “little gothic castle” built in stages from 1749 to 1776 by Horace Walpole, an English writer, art historian, member of Parliament, man of letters, and antiquarian. He was the youngest son of England’s first Prime Minister and the last Earl of Orford. His novel The Castle of Otranto is considered the be the premier work of gothic fiction. Our quest today was to see the bust of Caligula recovered from the ruins of Herculaneum and gifted to Walpole in 1767 by Horace Mann the British Envoy to Florence, Italy. What we discovered was an amazing villa on the Thames in Twickenham which was once a neighborhood of summer homes that was then to the southwest outside of London. Built in part to house Walpole’s impressive collections of art and books, Strawberry Hill played a significant role in the popularity of Gothic Revival in the 18th and 19th Centuries. We also found a cadre of volunteers anxious to share with us their enthusiasm for this historic house and gardens rescued in 2004, restored and opened to the public in 2010 by the Strawberry Hill Trust. We were entranced as we made our way from the formal entrance, up the staircase, and from grand room to grander hall. Although all the treasures in Walpole’s collections were sold off by his heirs in 1842, a good many pieces have made their way back, often on loan to once again grace this incredible grand home. And it was breathtaking to stand and gaze upon the diminutive bust of the Roman Emperor Caligula created two millennia ago, buried in the ash of Vesuvius in 79 AD, recovered some 1700 years later, sold off in 1842 AD and again lost until this year and once again placed on display at Strawberry Hill just ten days ago.
Looks like a good little adventure! Greats pics!