Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham.

Recently I had a lovely day out visiting this wonderful house. It is somewhere that I have wanted to visit for several years now. Built by Horace Walpole in the mid-eighteenth century. You can learn all about it here.

The tour started outside the house. Our group stood shivering whilst admiring the Gothic Revival facade, but anxious to get inside!

Once inside we were able to inspect the many beautiful stained glass windows, many of the panels came from the continent.

One of my favourite parts was the hallway and staircase with its incredible carved bannister... and the beautiful stained glass lamp which spread a gloomy sort of light down though the stairwell. Note how the walls are "patchy" as a result of ongoing painstaking restoration to expose the original underneath.

The contrast of light and darkness is deliberate as Horace Walpole wanted to create a gloomy atmosphere of medieval castles and coined the word "Gloomth" to describe this.

The rooms leading from the hallway are cosy and domestic in their proportions. Most of the windows have their original amazing sliding shutters and beautiful fireplaces.....

Sadly, there are few original furnishings, pictures or mirrors as the contents of the house were sold off in the Great Sale of 1842 when one of Walpole's descendants sold everything to pay his debts.

Where you see plain glass in the windows means that the original has been lost.

The final room of the tour was the large Gallery which was a real contrast. Opulent and grand in comparison to the smaller rooms.

This is the ceiling of The Round room which was quite stunning. Do visit Strawberry Hill House if you get the chance. It really is a treat!