Strawberry Hill House and Garden

Built in the 18th century by Horace Walpole (1717–1797), son of Britain’s first prime minister Sir Robert Walpole and author of the first Gothic novel, the Castle of Otranto, this grand mansion is a distinctive enough example of the early Georgian Gothic Revival architectural style that it spawned an offshoot known as Strawberry Hill Gothic.

The house has undergone a £10 million restoration, reopening to the public in October 2010. However, it has been open to the public for most of its existence and Walpole entertained a constant stream of visitors even when he was still living in the house.

What to see at Strawberry Hill House and Garden

Strawberry Hill House is a magnificent example of Georgian architecture with a distinctive Gothic Revival style. Built in the 18th century by Horace Walpole, the house is renowned for its elaborate design, featuring turrets, battlements and pointed arches that evoke the romanticism of medieval castles.

Visitors can wander through a series of ornately decorated rooms, each adorned with intricate plasterwork, elaborate ceilings, stained glass windows and antique furnishings.

The entrance is a dark space designed to project an atmosphere of ‘gloomth’, a word coined by Walpole to denote a blend of gloom and warmth, and after passing through the entrance, you are greeted by a brighter, more colourful, house. It has been said that the dark entrance was purposely created to draw attention to the rest of the house, which includes rooms decorated with various colour schemes with a lilac room, a blue bedroom and the red Gallery.

The Gallery is the largest room in the house and features an impressive ceiling plus many paintings including a portrait of Catherine de’ Medici and her family.

In addition to the house itself, visitors can explore the landscaped gardens surrounding Strawberry Hill House. Designed in a style popular during the 18th century, the gardens feature meandering pathways, tranquil ponds and lush greenery, providing an escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. The gardens feature a variety of ornamental features, including a replica of the shell bench where Walpole would sit with visitors to admire his estate.

Temporary exhibitions at Strawberry Hill House and Garden

In addition to its permanent collection, Strawberry Hill Gallery also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions. Current and planned exhibitions include:

The Devil is in the Detail: Dürer’s Great Passion and Early Woodcuts from the Schroder Collection and Christiane Baumgartner: There Goes the Sun
This double exhibition (until 10 April 2010) lets you delve into the world of woodcut printing from the German Renaissance to contemporary innovations. The Devil is in the Detail showcases Albrecht Dürer’s complete set of Great Passion woodcuts, illustrating his stylistic evolution and the technique’s rise in Europe, from decorative illustrations to political propaganda. Accompanying this historic display is There Goes the Sun, featuring Christiane Baumgartner’s modern woodcuts, merging traditional techniques with modern technology to capture the beauty of sunsets.

Two masterpieces by Jan van Huysum
This exhibition (18 May–8 September 2024) presents Jan van Huysum’s Flowers in a Vase with Crown Imperial and Apple Blossom at the Top and a Statue of Flora (1731–1732) and Fruit and Flowers in front of a Garden Vase with an Opium Poppy and a Row of Cypresses (1731–1732), on loan from a private collection, rarely seen in public. Art historian Andrew Graham Dixon described them as “the two most brilliant and perfectly preserved paintings by the painter”. The exhibition showcases van Huysum’s mastery in still life compositions, reflecting Horace Walpole’s admiration for floral art.

Visiting Strawberry Hill House and Garden

Strawberry Hill House and Garden is in a residential area of Twickenham, a suburb in southwest London between Richmond and Hampton Court Palace that is noted mostly for its rugby stadium. It is easily accessible by train from Waterloo station to Strawberry Hill station with two train trains per hour and a journey time of a little under 40 minutes.

Despite the suburban location, there are several points of interest nearby including Twickenham Stadium and the World Rugby Museum 2.75km (1¾ miles) north of here as well as Hampton Court Palace, which is 4.2km (2½ miles) south of here and many people combine a visit to Strawberry Hill with a visit to either Hampton Court or Twickenham Stadium.

Strawberry Hill is open from Monday to Wednesday and on weekends (it is closed on Thursdays and Fridays). Admission costs £14.50 but is free of charge with the National Art Pass and English Heritage members get a 10% discount.

It is also possible to take a guided tour of Strawberry Hill for an additional charge with several different tours available. These include the general house tour (£17), the stained glass tour (£17), the landscape tour (£10 or £7.50 if booked along with another tour) and a twilight tour (£25). Tours for visually impaired visitors (£14.50) are also available.

Visitor facilities include a gift shop and the lovely Garden Cafe.

Allow 1–2 hours for your visit.