Strawberry Hill House & Garden are hosting the Lost Treasures of Strawberry Hill exhibition this year.

The exhibition will run through until February 24, 2019 and reunites over 150 of Horace Walpole's treasures back to the house for a 'one-in-a-lifetime' exhibition.

Strawberry Hill House & Garden has been open to visitors for over 250 years. Acquired by Walpole in 1747, the house was transformed into one of the most famous examples of 18th Century Gothic Revival with Walpole filling it with an impressive collection of artworks.

The collection included paintings, fine furniture, sculpture and curiosities: great portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Peter Lely, Van Dyck, and Clouet; miniature portraits by Isaac and Peter Oliver, Hilliard and Zincke, a monumental ancient Roman Eagle, fabulous Sèvres pieces as well as some oddities such as a limewood cravat, carved by Grinling Gibbons. However, in the great sale of 1842 Walpole’s collection was dispersed, scattered to the winds.

Following 3 years of research work from curators Michael Snodin and Silvia Davoli, Strawberry Hill can be seen as Walpole conceived it, with the original collection in the interiors he designed for it. A staggering 50 lenders will loan works to the show, including 15 country houses, with many of these objects being shown for the first time to the public.

"I consider Strawberry Hill as Walpole’s masterpiece - and by that I mean both the house and the collection," said Silvia Davoli, Strawberry Hill House, Curator: "One of my highlights is the portrait of the Three Ladies Waldegrave, Walpole’s nieces - an absolute masterpiece by Reynolds, and one of the most iconic paintings to return to the exhibition."