Julia and Dimbola

    Dimbola, 1871

For 15 years between 1860 to 1875, Dimbola was Julia’s home and workplace. Now preserved by the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust and open to the public.

Once two adjacent dwellings in the rural idyll of Freshwater Bay, the Camerons built a central tower to form their new home. The name ‘Dimbola’ was chosen by the Camerons after the tea and coffee plantations they owned in Dimbula, Sri Lanka.

As she records in her memoirs, she turned an old 'glazed fowl house' into a studio, and set about photographing everyone from famous visitors to her own maids, locals and children.

Inside the house now are preserved features including Gothic carvings, William Morris wallpaper, her original design stairway, Victorian glass and a re-creation of her bedroom.