Strawberry Hill House Ticket Portal

On the evening of 14 February, immerse yourselves in a world where romantic beauty and gothic fantasy combine, as you take an atmospheric journey into the past, hearing remarkable stories from across the centuries, complete with intrigue, passion, mystery and drama.

Guided by our resident experts, the Strawberry Hill Gothic Romance Tour will reveal how his own fairytale castle inspired Horace Walpole to write the very first Gothic romance novel, The Castle of Otranto, and take you through the tangled histories of his family as you explore different rooms and parts of this atmospheric house.

Tickets

Standard Admission - £25

Members and Patrons - £20

Students - £20

Tour Times

6.30pm arrival for a complimentary glass of fizz. The tour begins at 7pm and lasts for approximately an hour.

House Tours

Strawberry Hill House is internationally renowned as one of the best examples of Georgian Gothic architecture. Enjoy a guided tour of Horace Walpole's architectural masterpiece exploring the history, interiors and stories of its residents.

Tours departs at 10am. Booking is essential. If you are a group of 15 persons or more you may be interested in booking a private guided tour for preferential rates. Please e-mail tours@strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

Please note that re-entry to the House is available to anyone who has booked to go on the House Guided Tour after the tour is finished.

A fundraiser supported by the Honorary Members

Thursday 13 March 2025, 7.30pm

The Great Strawberry Hill House Quiz raises much needed funds to maintain this Grade I listed building and historic site, as well as supporting our community outreach work.

This event will be held on 8 tables of 6 people in the Gallery. The individual ticket price is £20 or £120 per table. Individual tickets holders will be allocated a table by the organiser.

The ticket price includes bar snacks before the quiz and a Ploughman’s Supper at half time.

Wine and other drinks will be available from the bar and you will be able to settle your bar tab at the end of the evening with cash or card.

Remember to bring pound coins for the Heads and Tails competition.

We look forward to seeing you again!

Timings 

Doors open at 7pm, Quiz starts at 7.30pm

If you have any questions please contact: enquiry@strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

Join us by candlelight for an unforgettable evening where you can enjoy a glass of fizz in a spectacular setting.

As night falls, explore Horace Walpole’s enchanting Gothic castle by candlelight, just as he envisioned it. Wander freely through shadowy corridors and chambers at your own pace—the very spaces that inspired Walpole to write The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel.

Event Highlights:

Candlelit Experience: Step into Strawberry Hill House as Walpole himself might have, wandering freely through rooms illuminated by the enchanting glow of candlelight. Explore at your own pace whilst enjoying a glass of fizz and let the atmosphere unveil its mysteries.

Standard ticket: £25

Members and Patrons: £20

Students: £20

Tickets available for arrival in slots from 5:30pm-7:30pm

Bianca Capello: A Medici Legend in Walpole's Imagination

Talk from Silvia Davoli, Creative Director at Strawberry Hill House

Wednesday 2 April. Doors open at 3:30pm, talk starts at 4pm

Join us at Strawberry Hill House for an enchanting talk exploring the fascinating story of Bianca Capello, the 16th-century Venetian noblewoman who scandalised Renaissance Italy. From her dramatic elopement to her rise as Grand Duchess of Tuscany and her mysterious death, Bianca's remarkable life captured the imagination of collectors, writers, and artists for centuries.

Discover how this captivating figure particularly enthralled Horace Walpole, inspiring both his gothic novel 'The Castle of Otranto' and, remarkably, leading to his creation of the word 'serendipity'—now part of our everyday language. Through Walpole's passionate pursuit of Bianca's portraits and his correspondence with Sir Horace Mann in Florence, we'll uncover how this controversial Medici duchess became a central figure in 18th-century collecting and storytelling.

The talk will reveal new research about recently rediscovered artworks from Walpole's collection and explore how Bianca's legend influenced notable figures from William Beckford to Alexandre Dumas, shaping the Victorian imagination of Renaissance Italy.

This illustrated presentation offers a unique glimpse into the intersection of Renaissance intrigue, 18th-century collecting, and the enduring appeal of a woman who rose from scandal to sovereignty.

Tickets £5

A Long-Lost Italian Portrait Miniature from Horace Walpole’s Miniature Cabinet

Talk from Adriana Concin, Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the V&A

Wednesday 12 February, Doors open 6.45pm and a glass of fizz, sit down for talk 7pm-8pm.

Horace Walpole (1717–1797), 4th Earl of Orford and a key figure in 18th-century English culture, coined the term serendipity—inspired by The Three Princes of Serendip, a 13th-century Indo-Persian tale—to describe accidental yet fortunate discoveries. He first used the term in a 1754 letter to his friend Sir Horace Mann (1706–1786), British Envoy to Florence, recounting how the arrival of a portrait of the Medici Grand Duchess Bianca Cappello (1548–1587) coincided with his own chance discovery of her coat of arms.

Walpole owned three portraits of Bianca Cappello, and in 2024, one of these—a long-lost highlight of his collection, missing since 1842—has resurfaced serendipitously. This presentation traces the miniature's journey: from Walpole's acquisition, its display in the celebrated miniature cabinet at Strawberry Hill, his Gothic Revival villa in Twickenham, London, to its rediscovery in the present day. It further explores Walpole’s enduring fascination with Cappello and investigates the implications of the portrait’s rediscovered provenance. Particular attention is given to the sitter’s identity and the work's attribution, initially ascribed by Walpole to Agnolo Bronzino (1503–1572) but now identified as the work of Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614).

Adriana Concin is Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She completed her doctoral studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2021 with a dissertation focused on the 1565 wedding of Francesco I de’ Medici and the Habsburg Archduchess Johanna of Austria and its wider cultural implications. She has been the recipient of several fellowships, including the Eva Schler fellowship at the Medici Archive Project in Florence and the Studia Rudolphina fellowship in Prague at the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Adriana has also held the Ayesha Bulchandani graduate internship at the Frick Collection in New York. She has written catalogue essays for exhibitions and has published her research in several leading academic journals including the Burlington Magazine. Most recently, she contributed to a forthcoming exhibition on Moghul Miniatures at the V&A.

Tickets £15