St Mary’s Alumni Visit Renovated Strawberry Hill House

Alumni from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham recently gathered at neighbouring Strawberry Hill House for a tour of the recently renovated building, allowing guests to see the house as it was when Horace Walpole was a resident. With graduates from 1956 through to 2011 attending, this was an opportunity that appealed to young and old alike, with some travelling over 100 miles to attend. The tour started on the lawns with an explanation of how the house had come to be as it stands today, before moving inside to view the rooms as they would have looked in the 1790s, at the time of Walpole’s death. The tour was followed with cream tea, and stories abounded from alumni about their memories, from being interviewed by the Vincentians, to welcome letters from the Students' Union, Going Down Ball’s and even a ghost story or two. The tour also gave the opportunity for alumni to contribute to an oral history project being run by the Strawberry Hill Trust and St Mary’s. The project aims to create an oral archive, exploring how such varied groups of people have historically used the house. Alumni are still able to support the oral history project, contributing your memories of Strawberry Hill House for the benefit of future generations. Alumni Relations and Development Manager Sarah Hood said, “The tour of Strawberry Hill House was a great opportunity to welcome alumni back to campus, giving them a chance to see a building they studied next to for several years but for some, have never seen from the inside. It’s always enjoyable for me meeting new alumni and hearing their stories both from their time as students and after. It’s also great to help add to the legacy of such a historic campus and help that history be preserved for years to come.” To find out more about future alumni events at St Mary’s University College, register your details here or visit the website. Alternatively, to suggest an event you’d like to attend then please email us alumni@stmarys.ac.uk. For more information about the Strawberry Hill Trust or the oral archive please email claire.leighton@strawberryhillhouse.org.uk.