Strawberry Hill Weathervane Re-installed
September 10, 2009
Grade I listed Strawberry Hill was built by Horace Walpole between 1747 and 1792 with the assistance of John Chute and Richard Bentley, who together called themselves the "Committee of Taste". They took inspiration from a variety of sources, including Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey, to create one of Britain's most iconic and eclectic buildings. It is currently on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register, and after many years in use as part of the adjoining school, it is now in the care of the Strawberry Hill Trust, founded in 2002 to oversee restoration. This is expected to cost £8.2 million and is due to be completed in summer 2010.
On Thursday, September 10th, HOLT director Diana Beattie and fundraiser Tara Draper-Stumm were at Strawberry Hill to hand over a cheque for £3,500 to Strawberry Hill Trust Chairman Michael Snodin. This paid for restorating and re-gilding the weathervane. Decorated with strawberry and vine leaves, the exquisite 19th century weathervane was re-installed atop the Beauclerk Tower to much fanfare from an assembled crowd of historians, conservators and donors who had come to see firsthand how restoration programme is progressing. HOLT fundraiser Tara Draper-Stumm enjoyed a guided tour of the house and the roof, and learned about exterior plasterwork, which is made to a traditional recipe and strengthened with cow hair, as well as the painstaking process of cleaning and repairing rare stained glass window panels, plasterwork and chimneypieces.
Conservation architects Inskip & Jenkins, project managers Fanshawe LLP and building contractors E. Bowman & Sons Lts are overseeing the works. As well as Heritage of London Trust's contribution, the Strawberry Hill Trust have received a £4.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as substantial support from English Heritage, the Architectural Heritage Fund and the World Monuments Fund Britain. The Friends of Heritage of London Trust have been promised a guided tour of Strawberry Hill when the restoration is completed.