David Gaimster appointed director of Strawberry Hill House

The Strawberry Hill Trust has announced the appointment of David Gaimster as director of Strawberry Hill House & Garden in Twickenham, London.

Gaimster has joined the historic house after moving back to the UK from Australia, where he served as CEO of the South Australia Museum in Adelaide from 2023 to 2024.

Gaimster was previously CEO of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand, and director of the Hunterian, University of Glasgow.

As general secretary and CEO of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Gaimster led the 2007 renovation of the society’s London Piccadilly premises and co-curated its tercentenary special exhibition Making History: Antiquaries in Britain 1707–2007 at the Royal Society of Arts, followed by a national and international tour.

Anthony Nash, chair of trustees at the Strawberry Hill Trust, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr Gaimster to our team. David brings a wealth of experience, both nationally and internationally. He will help us shape our strategy in these challenging times for historic houses.

“Both long-term financial sustainability and strategic development are our key objectives. We shall continue working with our many supporters and stakeholders to ensure that Strawberry Hill House can be enjoyed by present and future generations.”

Gaimster said: “I am delighted and excited to be appointed to the director role at Strawberry Hill. Horace Walpole’s fantasy Gothic castle, together with its collections and gardens, is one of the most inspiring sites of interest in the UK—if not global—cultural heritage landscape.

“With my knowledge and experience in the heritage economy, built nationally and internationally, I believe I can enable the Strawberry Hill Trust to achieve step change in financial sustainability, civic engagement and social impact over the next few years.”

A statement from the institution said: “We look forward to welcoming Dr Gaimster to Strawberry Hill House as we enter this exciting new chapter in our story.”

Designed by the parliamentarian and antiquarian Horace Walpole around 1749, Strawberry Hill House was the starting point of the “Strawberry Hill gothic” style of architecture and prefigured the 19th-century gothic revival movement. It houses Walpole's Strawberry Hill collection, comprising several thousand items.