Horace Walpole and the Gothic Taste

The development of antiquarian studies from the sixteenth century onwards, combined with a taste for medievalism in architecture, provided the foundation for the mid-eighteenth century gothic taste and the building of Horace Walpole’s  legendary Strawberry Hill.

This course will look at the great antiquaries and their impact on eighteenth-century taste, the continuing appeal of the gothic style in architecture, the rise of the gothic novel, as well as Horace Walpole’s range of interests, brilliant writings and extraordinary collections at Strawberry Hill.

Horace Walpole and his Patronage of Modern Artists
Cynthia Roman, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Paintings, Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University, and Co-Curator of the V & A exhibition

Visualising the British Past From Camden to Dugdale
Dr. Phillip Lindley, Reader in the History of Art, University of Leicester

Seventeenth-Century Gothic and the Play Castle at Bolsover
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces

From Agreeing with 'Founders worke' to Imparting a 'Castle Air': The Influence of Gothic Architecture in the Work of Wren, Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh
Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner, Research Associate, History of Art Department, Trinity College, Dublin

Horace Walpole’s Circle
Lecturer to be confirmed

Our National Antiquities: Eighteenth-Century Antiquaries and the Medieval Past
Rosemary Sweet, Professor of Urban History, University of Leicester           

Gothic Gardens and Saxon Sentiment: Political Gardening in the Eighteenth Century
Richard Wheeler, Garden Curator for the National Trust

The Strawberry Hill Press and the Origins of  the Gothic Novel
Emma Clery, Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature, University of Southampton

"...everything was gothic; our houses, our beds, our books, our couches..." The Gothic Taste in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
Philippa Barton

Strawberry Hill: Walpole’s House and Garden
Peter Inskip, Peter Inskip & Peter Jenkins, Architects         

Horace Walpole and his Collections
Michael Snodin, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria & Albert Museum and Co-Curator of the exhibition "Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill".

Visit to the exhibition "Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill" at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Sarah Bowles and Philippa Barton

The cost of the full course is ££252. The cost of the morning lectures only (lunch not included) is £144. The lectures will take place at The Medical Society of London,
Lettsom House, 11 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, London W1. Each day will begin at 10.30am and finish at about 3.30pm.

To apply, please contact us.