England's Lost Houses: From the Archives of Country Life Paperback – November 1, 2013

I would recommend this book particularly to fans of Downton Abbey for the glimpses it provides of the real life losses suffered by the great families who lived in all these wonderful houses. Lives, fortunes, and properties are lost or threatened with loss at every stage in the histories of these surprisingly vulnerable structures, which were usually built to last forever. Some of these houses survived for only a single generation, one at least survived for 27 generations in the same family only to be ultimately sold and then demolished. Fires and enemy bombs took a huge toll. A number of houses were damaged then abandoned as a result of wartime requisitioning. Punishing estate taxes had to be paid sometimes several times over in a single generation, until all the money was gone. Lives were lost in war, with entire generations of heirs wiped out, and quite a few also died in traffic accidents and other mishaps. Reading this book makes one realize to what extent the Downton story is a struggle for survival, with no certain future at all.The black and white archival photographs are perfect, since they are large, many full page, and very clear, depicting the best features of these houses as they appeared in their heydays. There are no pictures of ruins, even picturesque ones (well, maybe just one), or of ruinous interiors. Only one house is shown unfurnished, and this was a special case where the magazine was trying to help save an important threatened house. The author emphasizes that the magazine's editorial policy was to publish only furnished and thriving houses, though as it turned out this state was sometimes only very temporary. Most of the houses, of course, were incredibly beautiful, though a very few, the Victorian McMansions of their day, reflect their own era but are of less interest than their Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Georgian predecessors.

Bought this gorgeous book for my husband as part of his birthday gift. He's been devouring it fir hours, but I've not had a chance to review it fully yet. However, he's shown me many pictures and discussed them with me and I've had a couple of good flip throughs. Old architecture is one of his great interests and he knows a lot about stone, wood, and brick construction, as well as building lovely paneling. He's amazed at the man-made beauty forever gone from the British Isles! The pictures in this book are detailed and he had never seen them before. What a shame the world has lost hundreds of gorgeous ancestral homes! But the writing which accompanies these black and white photographs explains in great detail the reasons for the losses. Understanding sometimes softens the sadness.Informative, interesting, lovely and well worth the small investment to see and learn of the past. This book is destined to become a classic and one we're proud to own and enjoy and share.

This is a great book. It is well written and beautifully photographed.Giles Worsley goes into much detail about all the beautiful houses/manor houses/castles, etc. that were demolished, left to ruin, or destroyed by fire. He gives the family history of each house and what in particular brought about its downfall. It gives the reader a good look at mansions that no longer exist, and an idea of the past historical value of the houses that were not preserved for posterity. It is a terrible shame that such beautiful English architecture has not survived, and that in quite a few cases not much was done to preserve them. In other instances, preservation was tried but failed due to lack of finances, public apathy, and in some cases families that had too many estates and lacked the funds to keep them all in shape. As a lover of antiques and antique architecture I found some of the photographs quite shocking and sad - especially to see something that was so very beautiful in a ruined condition. This book has good historical value for someone interested in the English estates of the past and English history. I would highly recommend it.

I initially ordered this book before Christmas, using a discount code from Amazon. The item was backordered, but that was ok. Then it was canceled, a couple of months later. Since that time, the prices have been mostly for 'used' copies, but have also been thoroughly outrageous. Out of the blue, last week. there it was again, new, just one copy left, at a very reasonable price. I clicked, and now I own it.The book is gorgeous. It's black and white photos galore and a history lesson about bastions of refinement and money, long gone. It's a lovely read for rainy days, near a fireplace, with a cup of tea.

In the form of holiday in England. The focus of my trip was England's country houses. When I learned of this publication naturally it was great interest to me. I found the photography, right, and all of the information to be very compelling and interesting. What a great read. Should you be interested in architecture, interior design, carpentry, landscape design, old money, etc. this book will definitely, told your interest

Really enjoyed this book. In black and white is my only downfall. For now it has been a solid accent to our coffee table in living room, people pick it up a flip through it. If anyone who read this has any recommendations on colored reads that are similar comment on this review please.

i really enjoy black and white photos. These pictures of houses albeit country housesare interesting

.... and, to think all these homes have been lost - these wonderful homes with photos gives us the intense wealth of the empire in England.

Excellent archival record of sadly destroyed history.

England's Lost Houses is an invaluable archive of the great houses of Britain lost to the demolition man and architectural scrap merchant. Country life have preserved a record of their grandeur and magnificence which exhibit the craftsmanship and artistrey funded by an age of opulence and destroyed by the travesty of death duties and feeble local authorities.Without this splendid photographic record much of this heritage would be lost without trace and all we would be left with is the tragedy of modern architecture and the grotesque concrete monoliths which some poor souls are actually trying to get listed.Revel in the nostalger of GREAT BRITAIN for a while and enjoy the experience of how things can be when exquisite taste combines with serious money. England's Lost Houses: From the Archives of Country LifeEngland's Lost Houses: From the Archives of Country Life

An incredible book, obviously a labour of love to record a rapidly fading age, so many houses destroyed. The photographic content is worth the price alone, very well laid out with an easy to use index. I live in Nottinghamshire an area that suffered its share of Country House losses some who which I was only vagulely aware of, this book brought them to life. In the well writtem text I found the saddest reason for decline the destruction of a whole generation in the First World War, repeatedly thinking about that world as narrated by Vera Brittains in her "Testament of Youth"

A rare and incredible collections of lost houses. A sad story but this book is it!

This is a simply marvellous book that will have pride of place in many a bookshelf, and which will be read time and time again. It takes one back to a vanished world that was superbly captured in L.P. Hartley's "The Go-Between". The size, range and breadth of the amazing country houses illustrated in these pages takes one's breath away and the accompanying text is both intelligent and poignant, matching the sadness of the photos themselves. Highy recommended.