Lady Diana Beauclerk Cabinet, 1784

Ebony cabinet built for Horace Walpole by Edward Edwards in 1784 to hold drawings by his close friend, Lady Diana Beauclerk. The doors and sides of the cabinet (which originally belonged in Walpole's "little Gothic castle", Strawberry Hill in Twickenham) are inset with several of her drawings and examples of her designs for Wedgewood.

The drawings which Walpole kept in the cabinet were Lady Diana's illustrations for his play, The Mysterious Mother.

Lady Diana was an amateur artist of repute. Formerly lady of the manor at Lydiard Park, her first husband was Frederick St.John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke who notoriously divorced her in 1768.

Lydiard Park is the only place in the UK with a room devoted to Lady Diana. The exquisite boudoir includes portraits of her, examples of her painted murals, her pastel portrait of her eldest son George, watercolours and engravings after her work.