This pair of Georgian gothic windows are found in completely original condition. Dating from 1776 they are contemporary to the famous Strawberry Hill,built by Horace Walpole between 1747–77. The style is instantly recognisable and embodies the same principles of the Gothic revival movement which spanned this period.
Walpole wrote of the Gothic revival that: ‘It is difficult for the noblest Grecian temple to convey half so many impressions to the mind, as a cathedral does to the best Gothic taste — a proof of skill in the architects and of address in the priests who erected them. The latter exhausted their knowledge of the passions in composing edifices whose pomp, mechanism, vaults, tombs, painted windows, gloom and perspectives infused such sensations of romantic devotion; and they were happy in finding artists capable of executing such machinery. One must have taste to be sensible of the beauties of Grecian architecture; one only wants passions to feel Gothic.’
These windows evoke a genuine emotional response which is both romantic and nostalgic. That they have survived in such remarkable condition is no small miracle. They were removed in the 1920’s and have been waiting in a stable block ever since. They are now ready for the next chapter in their long life and we are excited to see what will become of them.
