Library, Strawberry Hill House Library (1754)*

Artist/Designer: Horace Walpole

Project Location: England

Figure 1: Library. Source: Tủ sách độc đáo với hình dáng lâu đài (Bookshelves unique shape castle). 2011, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 2: Library. Source: Tim Imrie-Tait, Strawberry Hill. 2004, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 3: Library. Source: Stiffleaf, Strawberry Hill. 2012, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 4: Library. Source: Stiffleaf, Strawberry Hill/Walpole Heraldry on Library Ceiling. 2012, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 5: Library. Source: Richard Holttum, Re-opening: Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill House. 2010, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 6: Library. Source: Epistula, Library. 2005, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 7: Library. Source: Epistula, Library. 2005, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Figure 8: Library. Source: Edward Edwards (1738-1806), The Library at Strawberry Hill, about 1781. Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 7, 2014 )

Style/Period(s):
Gothic Revival, Revival Styles

Primary Material(s):
Glass, Wood

Function(s):
Library, Residential Structure

Related Website(s):

http://www.wmf.org/project/strawberry-hill

http://www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk/rooms-library.php

Significant Date(s):
18th Century

Additional Information:
Located in Strawberry Hill House, also known as the “little Gothic Castle” of Horace Walpole, the library built in 1754, was the most “Gothic” of the interiors. The bookcases and chimney piece were designed by John Chute based on a drawings of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the medieval tombs of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral. Considered by scholars to be the first Gothic library in Britain, the library was sparsely furnished in an effort to emphasis the architecture; pointed arches are found throughout, on the bookcases, the doorways and the windows. The ceiling is decorated with heraldic emblems, mythical beasts, coats of arms and crusaders, all of which are reflective of his interests of the medieval period. More libraries were later added to Strawberry Hill House once Walpole’s book collection of approximately 7,000 volumes outgrew the space.

Further Reading:

Chalcraft, Anna and Judith Viscardi. Strawberry Hill: Horace Walpole's Gothic Castle. London: Frances Lincoln, 2011.

Harney, Marion. Place-making for the Imagination: Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013.

Snodin, Michael and Cynthia E. Roman. Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

Additional Information

268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, TW1 4ST

Supporting Designers/Staff
John Chute (1701-1776) designed bookcases, doors, and ceiling
Richard Bentley (1708-82), helped design ceiling decoration with John Chute

Significant Dates:
Begun in 1749
Finished in 1754

Associated Projects:
Gallery, Strawberry Hill House, 1771

Tags:

Strawberry Hill House, Gothic Revival, Libraries, Wood, England, British, Glass

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