From May to October 2024, the Decorative Arts Society provided a Collections Access Grant to fund our database project, Cataloguing the Legacy of Lady Waldegrave & the Stern Family. This has resulted in a significantly more comprehensive database, now representing over 700 objects that were made during the period 1850-1923 or directly relate to the impact of Lady Waldegrave and the Stern family on the house.
Each object is now represented on our digital database hosted by TMS Collections. To collate our data, we cross-referenced dozens of sources, ranging from handwritten ledgers to architectural research files and spreadsheets compiled previously by volunteers. Updates include organising objects by our latest list of departments, photographing them, as well as confirming objects’ current locations, the periods they were brought to the house, and where in the house they were originally installed.
You can explore our collection highlights and inventory, along with two key research resources from our archives, via the links below.
Access to our database can be facilitated by our Collections Team, which includes Cas Bradbeer, Nitasha Giran, Sara Pope and Rosalind White. To organise access, please contact our Artistic Director, Silvia Davoli, at silvia.davoli@strawberryhillhouse.org.uk
Preparing Lady Waldegrave’s armorial canvases to be compared to their original locations in the Round Drawing Room.
Two panes of glass with Lady Waldegrave’s initials, made by Thomas Baillie & Co, 1858, installed by Lady Waldegrave in the Armoury.
As part of the project’s conservation efforts, the team cleaned a selection of artefacts that had become detached from the building using ionised water and microfibre cloths.
NEWS: Thanks to a Collections Access Grant from the Decorative Arts Society, Strawberry Hill House is set to explore the lesser-known legacies of Lady Frances Waldegrave and the Stern family. Building upon ongoing efforts to establish a comprehensive collections database, this project will allow us to extend cataloguing and research initiatives to encompass their significant contributions to the house. FIND OUT MORE
