Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) was one of the great architects of the twentieth century. His Edwardian country houses, surrounded by rhapsodic gardens, beguiled clients with their romance and wit. After 1918, the war memorials that he created symbolized a grieving nation's sense of loss. In the new capital of the British Raj, New Delhi, the Viceroy's House or Rashtrapati Bhavan had a footprint bigger than Versailles. His unfinished Liverpool Cathedral would have rivaled St ...

King Charles III’s affection for architecture is wellknown, but the extent of his engagement has never been fully presented to the public. This is the first book to draw together the many threads, from the "carbuncle" speech, made at Hampton Court in 1984, until his accession to the throne. He has created model settlements such as Poundbury through the Duchy of Cornwall, Dumfries House in East Ayrshire has been made a beacon of social regeneration, and his educational initiatives have chan...

The fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the presentThe 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 c...

'Written with both charm and elegance, The Real Crown Jewels of England is a triumphant tribute to some of England's original treasures . . . lovingly captures the magic of the places that underpin our national identity and is a chance to rejoice in that heritage' CountrysideOn 15 April 2019, Paris's beloved Notre Dame was ablaze. It shocked the world - a revered landmark, a national symbol, a manifestation of French identity was ...

“A humdinging page-turner of a book”The Spectator“This book will give great pleasure”Country LifeTraditional English rectories and vicarages have been neglected by the Church in the post-war years, but have become highly desirable to property buyers, and are now cherished by their new private owners. They combine many coveted qualities: their fine architecture, their air of civilisation, their charm and character, the traditio...

Clive Aslet's War Memorial: The Story of One Village's Sacrifice from 1914 to 2003, is a powerfulstory of those who died in war.Who were the men and women whose names are commemorated on war memorials around the country? Where did they live - and how and why did they die?Such questions usually go unanswered, but this book for the first time unravels the story of one war memorial, in the Dartmoor village of Lydford. Through o...

Villages of Britain is thehistory of the countryside, told through five hundred of its mostnoteworthy settlements. Many of Britain's villages are known for theirloveliness, of course, but their role in shaping the nation over thecenturies is relatively untold, drowned out by the metropolitan bias ofhistory.A consummate storyteller, Clive Aslet deftly weaves the worlds ofagriculture, politics, the arts, industry, folklore, science, ...

From Roman burial rites to the horrors of the plague, from the founding of the great Victorian cemeteries to the development of cremation and the current approach of metropolitan society towards death and bereavement -- including more recent trends to displays of collective grief and the cult of mourning, such as that surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales -- NECROPOLIS: LONDON AND ITS DEAD offers a vivid historical narrative of this great city's attitude to going the way of all...

The quintessential Englishwoman Clarissa Dickson Wright, one of the Two Fat Ladies and author of Spilling the Beans, takes us on a personal journey through the country of her birth.From Cornwall to Cumbria, Norfolk to Northumbria she brings her extraordinary knowledge, huge passion, forthright opinions and inimitable wit to the distinctive history and regional character of every corner of England.In her cornucopia of local knowledge she reveals, for exampl...

In this perfect companion to London: The Biography, Peter Ackroyd once again delves into the hidden byways of history, describing the river's endless allure in a journey overflowing with characters, incidents, and wry observations. Thames: The Biography meanders gloriously, rather like the river itself. In short, lively chapters Ackroyd writes about connections between the Thames and such historical figures as Julius Caesar and Henry VIII, and offers memorable por...

The past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook.If you could travel back in time, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. It is the age of Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and the libertine court of Charles II; Christopher Wren in architecture, Henry Purcell in music and Isaac Newton in science - the civil wars are over and a magnificent new era has begun.But what would it really...

Beyond the Gatehouse is a lighthearted, witty but factual biographical account of the eccentric lifestyles of the builders and residents of some of England's best-known country houses.Extraordinary buildings require extraordinary people, and over the centuries our historic houses have produced more than their fair share of oddballs. Insulated from the outside world by vast wealth, rolling acres and the social status that a title implies, aristocrats have a...