Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:   

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

In 1747 Horace Walpole purchased the lease of a small house, Chopp'd Straw Hall, and 5 acres (about 2 hectares) of land on Strawberry Hill shot (Batey 1994). In 1748 he was able to purchase the freehold of Strawberry Hill and an additional 4 acres (about 1.6 hectares) of land. Walpole started to plant up the grounds even before he started work on the house, and gradually over the years he acquired 46 acres (about 19 hectares) allowing him access and control of the view towards the Thames.

After his death in 1797 the estate was left to his niece, the sculptress Anne Seymore Damer, who relinquished it to the Waldegrave family. By 1835 the house was empty and in 1842 Walpole's collection of books, works of art, and curios was sold at auction raising £33,450.11.9d. In 1848 Frances Waldegrave, widow of George, seventh Earl Waldegrave, remarried. This, her third marriage, was to the much older George Granville Harcourt (of Nuneham Courtnay). By 1856 Frances had decided to restore and expand the now derelict Strawberry Hill and imposed many of her own ideas on the scheme, which included the grounds as well as the mansion. By the time of her death in 1879 she had turned Strawberry Hill once more into one of the most famous houses in London.

The estate was eventually bought in 1923 by the Catholic Education Council as a new home for St Mary's Teacher Training College (now St Mary's University College) and extensive developments including a chapel, lecture room, and dormitory blocks were built in the grounds.

During the Second World War the college suffered extensive bomb damage and the necessary renovations were conducted by the architect Sir Albert Richardson. A new chapel was built on the west end of the serpentine walk, cutting off the 'Chapel in the Woods' from Walpole's garden.