The Story of the Country House

The Story of the Country House PDF Author: Clive Aslet
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300263139
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the present The Story of the Country House is an authoritative and vivid account of the British country house, exploring how they have evolved with the changing political and economic landscape. Clive Aslet reveals the captivating stories behind individual houses, their architects, and occupants, and paints a vivid picture of the wider context in which the country house in Britain flourished and subsequently fell into decline before enjoying a renaissance in the twenty-first century. The genesis, style, and purpose of architectural masterpieces such as Hardwick Hall, Hatfield House, and Chatsworth are explored, alongside the numerous country houses lost to war and economic decline. We also meet a cavalcade of characters, owners with all their dynastic obsessions and diverse sources of wealth, and architects such as Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, Sir John Soane and A.W.N. Pugin, who dazzled or in some cases outraged their contemporaries. The Story of the Country House takes a fresh look at this enduringly popular building type, exploring why it continues to hold such fascination for us today.

The Story of the Country House

The Story of the Country House PDF Author: Clive Aslet
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300263139
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
The fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the present The Story of the Country House is an authoritative and vivid account of the British country house, exploring how they have evolved with the changing political and economic landscape. Clive Aslet reveals the captivating stories behind individual houses, their architects, and occupants, and paints a vivid picture of the wider context in which the country house in Britain flourished and subsequently fell into decline before enjoying a renaissance in the twenty-first century. The genesis, style, and purpose of architectural masterpieces such as Hardwick Hall, Hatfield House, and Chatsworth are explored, alongside the numerous country houses lost to war and economic decline. We also meet a cavalcade of characters, owners with all their dynastic obsessions and diverse sources of wealth, and architects such as Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, Sir John Soane and A.W.N. Pugin, who dazzled or in some cases outraged their contemporaries. The Story of the Country House takes a fresh look at this enduringly popular building type, exploring why it continues to hold such fascination for us today.

The American Country House

The American Country House PDF Author: Clive Aslet
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300105056
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This magnificent book describes the great country houses built with American industrial fortunes from the end of the Civil War until 1940. The American Country House draws on the rich and often amusing writings of contemporaries to evoke the lives the buildings served as well as architectural shapes they took. 275 illustrations.

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle PDF Author: Victoria Kastner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Illustrated here are the Castle's Spanish ceilings and other architectural fragments, medieval tapestries, Renissance furniture, nineteenth-century sculpture, and wide-ranging examples of European decorative arts, including ceramics, metalworks, textiles, and more."--BOOK JACKET.

Life in the English Country House

Life in the English Country House PDF Author: Mark Girouard
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300058703
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Based on the author's Slade lectures given at Oxford University in 1975-76.

The Country House Courtship

The Country House Courtship PDF Author: Linore Rose Burkard
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736947191
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Linore Burkard’s fans devoured her first two Regency novels Before the Season Ends and The House in Grosvenor Square. Now, as her third novel opens, the year is 1818 and Miss Beatrice Forsythe is determined to marry well. After all, her sister, Ariana, married The Paragon, Mr. Phillip Mornay, five years earlier--which all but guarantees that she, Beatrice, can also make a famous match to a wealthy man. But her sister and husband have disappeared from high society as they raise a family at their country estate. Can Beatrice persuade them to chaperone her in London? And what about Beatrice's business with the curate, Mr. O’Brien, whom she rashly promised to marry years earlier. At seventeen now, she has no wish to marry a mere clergyman—despite his agreeable countenance and gentle, understanding ways. When Mr. Tristan Barton becomes the tenant of the Manor House, Beatrice's hopes seem to have found their object. But when Ariana falls gravely ill, secrets come to light, motives are revealed, and the pretenses that are easy to keep up in the darkness begin to crumble. Hearts are bared, truths uncovered, and when all is said and done, a country house courtship like no other has occurred! As always, Linore Burkard delivers “spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul.”

The Scottish Country House

The Scottish Country House PDF Author: James Knox
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 9780500291726
Category : Architecture, Domestic
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
At the heart of this stirring tale and visual delight is a group of ten extraordinary houses and castles that have survived the vicissitudes of Scotland's history with almost all of the original families who built them still in residence today. Their histories are peopled with strongwilled men and women--from the notorious General Tam Dalyell of the House of the Binns, who served not only the Stuart kings but the czar of Russia, to the first Duke of Queensberry, who built one of the most sensational castles in Britain, to a love match worthy of the "auld alliance" between the Earl of Stair and his French-born countess. Each house also represents a landmark in Scotland's architectural history, ranging from the early seventeenth to the early twentieth century. The cutting-edge classicism of William Bruce at Balcaskie, the sensational French chateau-inspired Drumlanrig, the splendor of William Adam's baroque at Arniston, and the sublime Palladianism of his sons, the Adam brothers, at Dumfries House, are a roll call of architectural genius. The Victorian passion for all things Scottish is displayed in Lochinch Castle, a bravura example of the Baronial style, bristling with turrets, bartizans, and stepped roofs. And Robert Lorimer's beautifully crafted reconstruction at Monzie at the turn of the twentieth century reveals him as a major talent who synthesized European and purely Scottish styles, expressing, like his fellow architects in this book, a uniquely Scottish sensibility. The architectural revelation is matched by the houses' sensational settings, which merge the historically designed gardens and landscape with the unparalleled wildness and vistas of Scotland. But, as author James Knox writes in his lively, insightful text, "The glory of Scottish country houses is not just their architecture but their contents, which add layers of personality to the interiors." As Knox guides the reader on an intimate tour of the houses, he recounts their fascinating histories and profi les the colorful, often eccentric, lairds, lady lairds, clan chiefs, and nobles who have called them home. And James Fennell's masterly photographs, which rely solely on natural light for effect, capture the distinctive atmosphere of each residence. The Duchess of Buccleuch's boudoir at Bowhill is a frenzy of chinoiserie, needlepoint, and silk tassels. At Ballindalloch, the Macpherson-Grant tartan carpets the entrance hall and Victorian paintings of the family's prized Aberdeen Angus herd--the oldest in Scotland--adorn many a room. The motto of the Munro clan, "Dread God," is emblazoned throughout Foulis Castle--on china, wall plaques, not to mention the clan chief 's bonnet. All of these cherished houses are chockablock with memories of the past, from swagger portraits to sporrans, from vintage photographs to ancient weaponry, from curling stones to fading chintz. Some are also treasure houses, not least Dumfries House, saved from the auction block by a consortium headed by the Prince of Wales, which boasts an unrivaled collection of documented Chippendale and Scottish rococo furniture. "The Scottish Country House" will enthrall anyone with an interest in Scotland, history, architecture, or interior decoration--all wrapped in a compelling narrative of past lives and taste. Praise for "The Scottish Country House" "If you like historic homes, this book is for you. It's filled with beautiful photos of historic Scottish castles and grand estates." -"Design*Sponge" "Who can resist a beautiful chateau set in the lush green countryside of Scotland? I, for one, cannot. In James Knox's new book, he focuses on ten standout examples of Scottish country living. With each house, he details the history of the establishment, and follows through to how it stands today." --"Home Design with Kevin Sharkey" "This book, filled with lavish photography by James Fennell, profiles ten outstanding Scottish castles and mansions, from sprawling Walter Scott

Treasure on Earth

Treasure on Earth PDF Author: Phyllis Elinor Sandeman
Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag
ISBN: 9781905400294
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
A vivid and charming account of Christmas in an Edwardian country house. Phyllis Sandeman, who was brought up at Lyme Park in Cheshire, recalls the celebrations, the theatricals, the relationships between family and servants, and her own childhood hopes and fears. Lyme Park is now in the care of the National Trust.

Noble Ambitions

Noble Ambitions PDF Author: Adrian Tinniswood
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473569168
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
From the bestselling author of The Long Weekend: a wild, sad and sometimes hilarious tour of the English country house after the Second World War, when Swinging London collided with aristocratic values. 'Preposterously entertaining' Observer 'Brilliant' Daily Telegraph 'Rollicking' Sunday Times As the sun set slowly on the British Empire in the years after the Second World War, the nation's stately homes were in crisis. Tottering under the weight of rising taxes and a growing sense that they had no place in twentieth-century Britain, hundreds of ancestral piles were dismantled and demolished. Yet - perhaps surprisingly - many of these great houses survived, as dukes and duchesses clung desperately to their ancestral seats and tenants' balls gave way to rock concerts, safari parks and day trippers. From the Rolling Stones rocking Longleat to Christine Keeler rocking Cliveden, Noble Ambitions takes us on a lively tour of these crumbling halls of power. * A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year * * Longlisted for the William MB Berger Prize for British Art History *

The Rebirth of an English Country House

The Rebirth of an English Country House PDF Author: The Earl of Shaftesbury
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 0847863204
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
The brilliantly restored St. Giles House, in the idyllic Dorset countryside, offers high-point Georgian architecture and interiors that bridge many historical styles. The 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, 39-year-old Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, invites the reader into the house that his family has called home since the fifteenth century. In recent years, his award-winning restoration has brought the house back to life, transforming exquisite spaces that honor the past while being suited to twenty-first-century living. English country-house splendor, through the hands of some of the world’s top artisans and craftspeople, returns to the house in the form of re-created wallpapers, customized paints, revived furniture from the Georgian and Victorian periods, reworked antique Brussels tapestries, restored plasterwork and textiles, and a complete overhaul of the landscape, with its sunken garden, woodlands, avenue of beeches, lake, and shell-encrusted grotto. With stories of noteworthy architecture, beautiful interiors, and centuriesof a single family’s involvement in British and world history, this book will appeal to devotees of country living, the aristocratic life, historic houses, and English interior design.

The Country House Library

The Country House Library PDF Author: Mark Purcell
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300248687
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Beginning with new evidence that cites the presence of books in Roman villas and concluding with present day vicissitudes of collecting, this generously illustrated book presents a complete survey of British and Irish country house libraries. Replete with engaging anecdotes about owners and librarians, the book features fascinating information on acquisition bordering on obsession, the process of designing library architecture, and the care (and neglect) of collections. The author also disputes the notion that these libraries were merely for show, arguing that many of them were profoundly scholarly, assembled with meticulous care, and frequently used for intellectual pursuits. For those who love books and the libraries in which they are collected and stored, The Country House Library is an essential volume to own.