On a recent visit home, my mum wanted to take me out for the
day, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Travelling from Essex, and on one
of the hottest days this summer, I dragged my mum from one side of London to
the other to visit a very Gothic location buried in the suburbs of Twickenham.
Three hours, three trains, and a small detour via the Thames embankment later,
we arrived at a Gothic house that you may just have heard of before: Strawberry
Hill.
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(Strawberry Hill, and Laura Fords ‘Days of Judgement (Cats
I-VII))
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In fact, for all lovers of the Gothic, Strawberry Hill is a very familiar name. Constructed in the eighteenth century by Horace
Walpole, this house, or castle, stands as an apt reflection of the theatrical, eccentric,
and Gothic tastes of its owner and designer. As well as reviving the Gothic
style through his architectural creation, Walpole was also a politician, a collector,
and of course the author of the first Gothic Novel, The Castle of Otranto, which was published anonymously in 1764.
The white walls and Gothic turrets of the castle are hard to
miss, and even in Walpole’s own time people found this distinct building
strange and out of place. However, once built, Walpole reveled in the tourism
that his castle and vast collection of pictures, sculpture, furniture, and
artefacts inspired. In fact, his castle proved such a popular attraction that
he introduced a ticketing system for visitors, and even created a guidebook
that was printed at Strawberry Hill’s very own printing press.
It is an edited version of this book that serves as both
ticket and guide for modern visitors. You are encouraged to explore the house
independently, although there are plenty of helpful volunteers scattered
throughout the rooms, and with a wealth of knowledge, who are very happy to
answer any questions.
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| A Description of Strawberry Hill |
Today, like Walpole had intended, the house still offers a
very Gothic and indeed a theatrical journey. Beginning with the ‘gloomth’ of
the hall and staircase, in which ‘by a cord of black and yellow, hangs a Gothic
lanthorn’
that provides a suitably
gloomy atmosphere, each visitor is then guided through a multitude of varied
and carefully crafted rooms, before finally finding themselves in the grand
splendour of the Gallery. The Gallery is awash with lavish red wallpaper, the
ceiling covered with intricately designed, white fan-vaulting laced with gold,
and containing five recesses hung with paintings and covered with small
mirrors. It is truly a journey from darkness to light.
This was actually my second visit to Strawberry Hill, but it
was just as fascinating as the first. The ongoing restoration of the house has
meant that more rooms are open to the public and restored to their
eighteenth-century and Gothic brilliance. Moreover, the house is currently home
to an exhibition of contemporary sculpture by Laura Ford. Many of Ford’s
sculptures on display here were made especially for this exhibition and with
the history and atmosphere of Strawberry Hill in mind.
Ford and her creations are an ideal choice for the first
exhibition of contemporary sculpture at Strawberry Hill. Her sculptures have
been described as ‘faithful representations of fantasy with sometimes bitter
sweet and menacing qualities mixed with tenderness,’ and also as being
‘intensely crafted but playful.’
These are descriptions
that seem fitting for the Gothic which is often formulaic but playful,
terror-inspiring and yet also theatrically camp. Ford’s creatures draw on these
themes through their distinctly child-like and anthropomorphic qualities, appearing
as animals, dolls, or children playing dress up, and that engage with, and are
enhanced by, their Gothic surroundings.
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| 'Medieval Cloud Girls' |
Walking through the house and its gardens, then, each visitor is not only met
with Walpole’s Gothic architecture and distinct interior design, but also the
various contemporary sculptures that have been specifically placed in each room
or part of the garden. Outside, on the
main lawn, a set of cat sculptures cast in bronze and entitled ‘Days of
Judgement (Cats I-VII)’ stand against the white backdrop of Strawberry Hill.
Inside the rooms of the house, the sculptures appear simultaneously playful and
creepy, feeding off of their Gothic setting. For example, upon entering the
house, and finding yourself in the gloomy hall, you are greeted with a
sculpture titled ‘Sorrow Filled Cat I.’ Standing in a corner beneath the
staircase, this cat is attired in a dress and bonnet, staring sorrowfully upwards
and appearing like a child’s toy and uncannily alive.
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| 'Sorrow Filled Cat I' |
So, what are you waiting for? Walpole’s Gothic castle awaits.
