3rd May – 27th September 2025 | The Pantry, across from the Great Cloister | Entry is included with General Admission
Strawberry Hill’s story did not end with Horace Walpole.
This exhibition spotlights a lesser-known chapter in the house’s history, when, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Lady Waldegrave and the Stern family revived it into a hub of political influence, artistic patronage, and high society.
Lady Waldegrave at Strawberry Hill (1846–1879)
“Strawberry Hill is more like a fairy palace than ever,” wrote Lady Frances Waldegrave in 1876, twenty years after her renovations began. “I now constantly find young people thinking that Horace Walpole made all my pet creations.” Gold stars adorned the vaulted ceilings like constellations in a midnight sky. Even in winter the house remained in perpetual bloom, with ivy climbing along the cornicing and strawberry leaf curling up the garden staircase — Lady Waldegrave’s botanical flourishes entwining with Walpole’s Gothic vision.
Yet, she did not erase his presence, she enshrined it alongside her own — setting his Saracen’s head opposite her countess’s coronet in the Gallery floor and showcasing their heraldry side by side in the Round Room — to ensure their names would forever stand together in the story of Strawberry Hill.
Prime ministers, artists, and royalty flocked to Lady Waldegrave’s famous Saturday-to-Monday gatherings, while her masked balls were among the most sought-after invitations of the season. One young lady left off the guest list for a royal ball, reportedly ‘fretted herself into a fever’ until Lady Waldegrave relented!
The Stern Family at Strawberry Hill (1883–1923)
At the turn of the century, Strawberry Hill entered a new chapter under the Stern family. Herman Stern, a Jewish German banker originally from Frankfurt and ennobled by the Portuguese crown, purchased the estate. His son, Herbert Stern, later married Aimée Geraldine Bradshaw, and together they revived Strawberry Hill’s reputation as a glittering social hub. Following Herbert’s elevation to the peerage as Lord Michelham of Hellingly, the house became the backdrop for dazzling garden parties attended by prime ministers, foreign princes, and Edwardian high society.
Under their ownership, the Blue Breakfast Room was transformed into an opulent ‘Turkish Boudoir’, complete with a dramatic tented ceiling, intricate mahogany fretwork, and rich teal walls — embodying the era’s fascination with Orientalist aesthetics.
This exhibition invites visitors into The Pantry, a newly opened space featuring two remarkable treasures…
Underfoot, the encaustic Minton tiles—originally installed by Lady Waldegrave in the Hall—were relocated here during the restoration. Designed by Augustus Pugin, these tiles mirror those used in the Houses of Parliament, signalling to guests that Strawberry Hill was a place for discussing matters of government.
The space is also home to a neoclassical relief sculpture of Virgilia by Thomas Woolner, a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It was commissioned by Lady Louisa Ashburton, and acquired for the Stern family by the Duveen Brothers at the 1904 Ashburton Sale.
This exhibition was curated by Cas Bradbeer, Sara Pope, and Dr Rosalind White. It is the result of research undertaken during our project ‘Cataloguing the Legacy of Lady Waldegrave & the Stern Family’, funded by the Decorative Arts Society.
Continue your journey inside by following our house treasure trail to uncover the lasting traces of Waldegrave and Stern still visible in the house today.
Entry is included with general admission.
BLOG: As part of our cataloguing project to delve deeper into the post-Walpole era of Strawberry Hill, we are excited to share a research resource from our archives. In 1883, Lady Waldegrave’s possessions, along with her beloved Strawberry Hill, were put up for sale by the auctioneers Ventom, Bull and Cooper. The catalogue that accompanied this auction is now available for download and is on display in our new exhibition ‘Strawberry Hill After Walpole: The Waldegrave and Stern Legacies’.
FIND OUT MOREHOUSE TREASURE TRAIL: Explore the lives and legacies of Lady Frances Waldegrave and the Stern Family with this self-guided treasure trail, created to accompany our Strawberry Hill After Walpole exhibition. As you explore, look closely — you’ll find fascinating traces of the house’s Victorian and Edwardian past hidden in plain sight! You can download the trail as a PDF to use during your visit. Produced by Collections Assistant, Dr Rosalind White.
FIND OUT MORENEWS: We’re excited to announce that the Stern and Waldegrave Collections Project page is now live! Supported by a Collections Access Grant from the Decorative Arts Society, this project catalogued over 700 artefacts related to Lady Waldegrave and the Stern family’s occupancy. You can now explore a flipbook of our collection highlights and inventory, along with two key research resources from our archives.
FIND OUT MORENEWS: Thanks to a Collections Access Grant from the Decorative Arts Society, Strawberry Hill House is set to explore the lesser-known legacies of Lady Frances Waldegrave and the Stern family. Building upon ongoing efforts to establish a comprehensive collections database, this project will allow us to extend cataloguing and research initiatives to encompass their significant contributions to the house’s storied past.
FIND OUT MORE
