Looking at the building of country houses as a whole, this book investigates why owners embarked on extensive building programmes, often following a grand tour. It explores the cost of building and the cost of furnishing and decoration.
A gazetteer of the many fine Shropshire country houses, which covers the architecture, the owners' family history, and the social and economic circumstances that affected them.Shropshire is the largest English inland county, and has a wide variety of important landed country houses, with owners from diverse social groups, with links to trade in Liverpool, Manchester and London as well as the local gentry. This book is not simply about the houses they built, but also about the people who lived in them and the context in which the houses are set. The architecture is of course fully covered. What is distinctive about the author's approach is that he treats the histories of the families, their a...
“A beautiful collection of thoughts, views and biographical notes... “ goodreads.com “Original, thoughtful, honest and often very funny…” Guy Chambers “Nakedly honest and warmly generous... “ goodreads.com