Conservation in action: Cleaning Horace Walpole's library
Strawberry Hill House. Photo: Matt Chung.
TWICKENHAM
.- To the untrained eye, it might look like glorified housework - but maintaining the treasures of Strawberry Hill House, requires expert conservation. Now, for the first time ever, visitors to Horace Walpoles gothic castle in Twickenham can learn how historic books are cared for.
When Horace Walpole (1717-97) acquired Strawberry Hill in 1747 then a modest cottage it soon became apparent that he needed a library. A bibliophile, he already owned over 1000 volumes, which were crammed into his study. So, as he set about transforming his property into a gothic fantasy castle, Walpole had his friends, the architect John Chute (1701-76) and designer Richard Bentley (1708-82) assist him with realising a grand design for the ever-burgeoning collection. Indeed, such was his passion that, when he died in 1797, Walpole had amassed around 8,000 volumes of books, manuscripts and prints.