With its fan-vaulted ceiling, golden canopies and crimson damask walls, The Gallery is the jewel in Strawberry Hill House’s crown. Built between 1760 and 1763, it was used for entertaining Walpole’s distinguished guests and displaying his extensive art collection.

The largest room in the house at 56 feet (17m) long, its show-stopping papier mâché and gold leaf ceiling was inspired by Henry VII’s chapel in Westminster Abbey.

The architectural use of papier mâché reached the height of fashion in the mid-18th century in England, used to great effect in this stunning state room, which poet Thomas Gray described as "...all Gothicism and gold and crimson and looking glass".

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