Essay : The Queer Neo-Gothic of Horace Walpole
In order to understand how queerness and sexuality were appropriated spatially in the past I diverted my focus in 18th century London and looked at the fascinating history of Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham. Strawberry Hill is a Neo-Gothic palace envisioned by Horace Walpole, a queer man, writer, architect, socialite and the son of United Kingdom’s first prime minister. Inside his secluded mansion he created a world of his own, where he could explore his identity freely from the wondering eye.
The house was not a product of one man alone, but it was developed with Horace’s inner circle of male friends, between 1747 and 1777. Designers John Chute, Richard Bentley and leading architect Richard Bentley collaborated with Walpole in creating a house that essentially introduced a new style of Gothic as an architectural language-at a time when ‘Palladianism’ was still in fashion. The four of them proclaimed themselves as the Strawberry Hill Committee, or the Committee of Taste (Haggerty, 2011). Inside the House, the committee created a sensory and mysterious environment, reminiscent of Medieval architecture and the Gothic cathedrals that Horace had encountered during his travels to Italy. Intricate Papier-mache ceilings, molding, antique furniture and stained-glass windows all encapsulated the character of the Neo-Gothic. In fact, Horace was so fond of his achievements, that he meticulously documented every architectural detail, furniture, art and belongings inside the house– room by room. He then published the book: ‘A description of the Villa of Mr Horace Walpole’ which was essentially a ‘written’ portrait of himself.
Over the years, Strawberry Hill became a sort of an amusement park for its patron. In a letter to dignitary Henry Seymour Conway, Horace himself referred to it as ‘a little plaything-house and the prettiest bauble you ever saw’(Haggerty, 2011 p.7). Anachronistically historian Mathew Reeve described Strawberry Hill as: ‘A large Gothic closet to which Walpole could sometimes retire when he wished to express his true persona with intimate friends’ (Reeve, 2013 p.411). Timothy Mowl, a contemporary biographer of Horace Walpole, claimed that his homosexuality was an abiding yet overlooked subject in understanding his aesthetics and the development of the Neo-Gothic( Mowl, 1996 ). Indeed, one could argue whether Horace’s employment of the Gothic was in fact a ‘high-camp’ act of defiance against normative conventions and his disregard of the Palladian style that prevailed. (Reeve, 2013 p.411).
In short the Neo-Gothic of Strawberry Hill House can be understood as a ‘deliberate rebel counter-culture’(Mowl, 1996 ). This act of Queer architectural rebellion is not any less relevant today, where we encounter the replacement of our collective spaces with towering glass architecture.
Sources:
Haggerty George (2006) “Queer Gothic”, USA . University of Illinois Press.
Haggerty George (2011) “Horace Walpole's Letters: Masculinity and Friendship in the Eighteenth Century” USA. LB University press
Mowl Timothy (1996). “Horace Walpole : The Great Outsider”. London. Faber Finds.
Reeve Matthew (2013 Sep.) “Gothic Architecture, Sexuality, and License at Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill’ The Art Bulletin in Vol. 95, No. 3 pp. 411-439
Digital illustration of Strawberry Hill House , inspired by a 19th century painting of an unknown artist.