Written in evocative, imaginative prose and illustrated with glorious
images from the National Trust's photographic library, an essential
guide to the built heritage of England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland--fully revised and updated for 2013 and featuring more houses
than ever before
The National Trust cares for a wealth of houses and historic buildings
of all types, ranging from the grand to the quirky to the humble. This
captivating book showcasing those buildings is a guide to some of the
greatest architectural treasures of Britain, encompassing both interior
and exterior design. The houses covered include spectacular mansions
such as Petworth House and Waddesdon Manor, and more lowly dwellings
such as the Birmingham Back to Backs and estate villages like Blaise
Hamlet, near Bristol. In addition to houses, the book also covers
fascinating buildings as diverse as churches, windmills, dovecotes,
castles, follies, barns, and even pubs. The book also acts as an
overview of the country's architectural history, with every period
covered: the medieval stronghold of Bodiam Castle, Tudor eccentricity in
Hardwick Hall, 18th-century grandeur at Kedleston Hall, Victorian
fantasy at Tyntesfield, and the clean-lined Modernism of the Homewood.
The book teems with stories of the people who lived and worked in these
buildings: wealthy collectors (Charles Wade at Snowshill), captains of
industry (William Armstrong at Cragside), prime ministers (Winston
Churchill at Chartwell), and pop stars (John Lennon at Mendips).
