Clik here to view.
So why this blog?
My great love is country houses, particularly those which grace the counties of England. Each is a fascinating example of the hopes, aspirations, aesthetics and wealth of someone. One of the best...
View ArticleClik here to view.
West Wycombe House at risk from high-speed rail link?
Concerns have been raised that the proposed route of the £34bn Network Rail project to provide a high-speed link to Scotland will severely compromise many areas of natural beauty and a large number of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An architectural gem – but still slow to sell: Iver Grove
When it was completed in 1724, Iver Grove was one of the first houses in Britain built using the then radical Palladian styling; pre-dating even Lord Burlington’s famous Chiswick House. Iver Grove is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ferne Park, Wiltshire: the building of a modern Classical masterpiece
The English country house is considered our greatest contribution to the field of architecture – the unified vision of house and landscape combined with fine interiors, superb furnishings and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Conversion reversion? Wardour Castle, Wiltshire
With so many country houses lost in the twentieth century, almost any alternative which saved them from the demolition crew was to be welcomed; no matter how drastic. For some this meant institutional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A justifiable replacement? Parkwood House, Surrey
There is a long tradition of replacing country houses going back hundreds of years ever since the first non-fortified mansions were built in the early Tudor period. Since 1974 when the V&A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What goes around; the use of rotunda in UK country houses
The UK aristocracy brought back many souvenirs from their grand tours to Italy – pictures, sculpture, drawings etc – but also a delight in the architecture inspired by the ancient ruins. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The future of the country house? Alderbrook Park, Surrey
Within any established pattern there is always the shock of the new. Most people when asked to imagine an English country house will usually think of red-brick Jacobean or light-stone Georgian but the...
View ArticleGreeks bearing gifts: Nicholas Revett, Trafalgar Park and the Origins of UK...
William Blake poetically argued that it was possible to ‘To see a World in a Grain of Sand’; in the miniature is a reflection of something much greater. With that in mind, to look upon the manifest...
View Article
