Strawberry Hill

A Proper Good Morning to You,

On the tube on my way home a nice young man offered me his seat.  I was getting off in two stops, and if I sit I stiffen, so I turned him down.
I finally got to see Strawberry Hill House!  Although getting there and back is rather an expedition (I had my choice between bus, a combo train/bus, and a train that would let me off five minutes walk from the house. Which one do you think I picked?), but I did fulfill the desire of many years.
What's the big deal, Pil?
Let's start with the designer and owner, Horace Walpole, later Lord Orford.  His father was Robert Walpole long time Prime Minister to various King Georges, and our Horace grew up rich and privileged.  He was also clever and creative, and in contrast to the rest of high society was Mad for the Middle Ages.  I was struck by a quote they had at the house.  Walpole said (something like) "To appreciate classical Greece and Rome takes taste, but to appreciate the Middle Ages is a passion."  The passion comes through in his work.
He bought himself some land along with Thames near Twickenham and proceeded to build himself his own castle in pseudo Late Gothic Style to his specifications. That's Strawberry Hill.  He also turned his hand to writing.  These days he's more famed for his letters, in print and very much worth reading for wit and insight into his contemporary society and times, but he also penned and published the first "gothic" novel, The Castle of Otranto, set in a Medieval melange of castles, evil monks, poisoning, and trap doors.  In this and his other activities, he set a fashion.
So there's this fake castle?
Recently restored and reopened although it's not open all that much.  I began by trying to get some cash from my local Barclay's machine, but it was out of order, and Holborn Station is closed much of the morning.  I walked down Oxford Street.  My plan all along was to get the Bakerloo line there, but in addition I had to find another cash machine because I needed to top off my Oyster Card in preparation for the journey to the suburbs.
My first destination was Waterloo Station where I could get a suburban train to the Strawberry Hill Station.  Don't you just love the internet?  I do especially when I'm traveling, because I can look up train times.  I picked one that would get me there a few minutes after opening.  But on those lines most trains were delayed--going and coming.  I eventually got on just tapping my Oyster Card as on the tube.  I did this coming back, too although the return train was also delayed about half a hour.
There was a couple sitting across from me and from their conversation either they or I had gotten on the wrong train.  Fortunately it was they.  The train was a slow local that wound around south of the Thames through mostly unpicturesque neighborhoods.  Twickenham and environs seems pretty traditional although gentrified.  The house was an easy walk from the station.  It is part of St. Mary's University, which is a Roman Catholic College.
I was surprised to find it so white and smaller than I expected.  The rooms are also small, and the place is quite livable and very beautiful.  Walpole paid close attention to every detail of decoration. Many of the rooms are largely empty because the house's furniture, etc. was sold off.  In fact I saw a lot of Walpole's personal effects yesterday at the Victoria and Albert. But the wood work, stained glass, and ceiling paintings are worth the trip. My resolution to take over Chiswick House was severely shaken.  Wouldn't Strawberry Hill be more fun? But eventually I decided to stick with Palladian and leave Gothic Revival to others.
I had a very different reaction to Strawberry Hill than I did to Neuswanstein in Bavaria.  The latter although beautiful also seemed like a desperate and pathetic attempt at escape.  Strawberry Hill comes across as more of fun art project.
Cherrio!