2012

TQ1572 : Strawberry Hill, east elevation

taken 12 years ago, near to Twickenham, Richmond Upon Thames, England

Strawberry Hill, east elevation
Strawberry Hill, east elevation
Strawberry Hill was the brainchild of Horace Walpole, generally reckoned to be the single most influential figure in the 18th century Gothic revival. Walpole acquired a smaller property on this site in 1747, and over a period of about 30 years employed a succession of architects to perform a fantastical transformation. At the time Walpole's creation must have seemed pretty outrageous, challenging (as it did) the convention that the design of grand houses should be inspired by Classical antiquity Link Link

Details for the interior were borrowed from all manner of medieval sources, with little regard for their original purpose. For instance, the design of a tomb in Canterbury Cathedral was cribbed for a fire-place. Professor Pevsner's verdict: 'Even with its exact copies here and there the whole of Strawberry Hill remains make-believe.' (See Pevsner's 'The Buildings of England: Middlesex').

Not content with setting a trend in architecture, Walpole's taste for what he called 'gloomth' led him to write 'The Castle of Otranto', generally recognised to be the first Gothick novel.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Stefan Czapski and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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TQ1572, 183 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Stefan Czapski   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 27 January, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 30 January, 2012
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 1586 7233 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:26.2877N 0:20.0698W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 1590 7235
View Direction
West-southwest (about 247 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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