Strawberry Hill House

Strawberry Hill House is a white Gothic Revival mansion in Twickenham, a district in west London, marked by pointed arch windows, battlements, and turrets. The rooms open onto a garden that extends toward the riverbank.

Horace Walpole bought a small cottage in 1747 and over decades transformed it into a Gothic Revival structure that became a model for later architects. Work continued into the 1790s and the house remained in private hands until the 20th century.

The estate sits along the Thames and takes its name from a strawberry patch that once grew here in the 1600s. Visitors today come to see early Gothic Revival interiors and experience how English gentry lived during the 1700s.

The museum opens Saturday through Wednesday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM and offers guided tours plus a café. Some rooms are located upstairs, which may make the visit harder for people with limited mobility.

Walpole wrote his 1764 Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto here, widely considered the first of its genre. The house's architecture supplied ideas for settings and mood in this new literary form.

Location: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Inception: 1749

Architectural style: Gothic Revival

Fee: Yes

Address: 268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, TW1 4ST

Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 11:00-16:00; Thursday off; Friday off; Saturday off

Website: https://strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

GPS coordinates: 51.43800,-0.33511

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:45