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 honour the past while being suited to twenty-first-century living. English country-house splendour, 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 centuries of 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.

In 1622 Rubens published a splendid volume on Genoese Renaissance architecture, with precise engravings depicting facades and plans of a dozen villas and palaces. In publishing famous examples of 'modern' architecture, Rubens intended to trace the development of architecture in his own country and all over Europe. He believed that the true principles of good building, both aesthetically and functionally, were discovered by the Ancients and rediscovered in Renaissance Italy. In publishing his book at the height of his fame, Rubens succeeded in presenting himself not only as a great painter but also as a connoisseur and authoritative teacher in the field of architecture. This two-volume part of the Corpus Rubenianum explains the history of Rubens's book, analyses in detail his comments and interpretations of the original plans and reproduces all drawings.

With rare access, interior designer and artist Ashley Hicks has photographed the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace, home of Britain's monarch since 1837. An important representation of Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian styles, the palace is the work of such noted architects as John Nash. Hicks's eye brings a vibrant take on the formal spaces, capturing the magnificent rooms furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection. Starting at the Grand Staircase, Hicks leads us through the opulently decorated State Rooms, which include the White Drawing Room and the Blue Drawing Room that both overlook the palace gardens; the Ballroom, which is the setting for twenty investiture ceremonies each year; and the Throne Room, used by Queen Victoria for spectacular costume balls in the 1840s. The long, skylit Picture Gallery is hung with important works of art in the Royal Collection by Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, van Dyck, Vermeer, and Canaletto, among others. Decorative furnishings from George IV's exotic Brighton Pavilion lend a fanciful turn to many of the rooms. This intimate tour through the Buckingham Palace State Rooms is a necessary addition to the libraries of devotees of the royal family, English architecture, decoration, and the fine arts in general.

"What William Cecil has accomplished at Biltmore Estate is one of the great preservation success stories of all time. He has set a high standard for what all historic house museums strive for: magnificently preserved buildings and grounds, engaging interpretation, and--perhaps most challenging of all--economic self-sufficiency. It is no surprise that Biltmore Estate is widely recognized as one of America's finest places to visit."
--Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Biltmore is a glorious national historic landmark that, through creative vision and entrepreneurial management, preserves and provides insight into a way of life in the early 1900s. Bill is the imaginative and multifaceted leader who has built this great monument to enrich his community. George and I admire his dedication and success."
--George and Abby Rockefeller O'Neill

"Bill Cecil and his team at Biltmore Estate have sure proved that they know how to build a successful business. They did it the old-fashioned way: embrace a bold idea that others said could not be done and--through commitment, determination, and hard work--bring it to life. Their achievement against the odds is inspiring, and their vision and perseverance are valuable lessons to us all."
--Don Logan, Chairman, Media & Communications Group, Time Warner

"If George Vanderbilt did nothing more than engage the two most prominent and storied designers of their time, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to carry out his vision of a European estate in the southern Appalachians, he would have created an American icon. The beauty of the method by which the estatewas executed and, even today, the meticulous attention to detail, in the presentation and care of the estate by William Cecil, have brought history to life."
--Gary J. Walters, Chief Usher, The White House

Visits to country houses are an important leisure pursuit throughout the British Isles, not just to appreciate their superb architecture, great paintings and elaborate furniture but also to experience something of the past life of our great families and their households. Mark Girouard suggested in Life in the English Country House that 'even when the customs have gone, the houses remain, enriched by the accumulated alterations, and often accumulated contents of several centuries. Abandoned lifestyles can be disinterred from them in much the same way as from the layers of an archaeological dig'. By the 19th century, life in most country houses changed as a result of various technical inventions such as improved water supplies, flushing water closets, boilers and pipes to provide central heating, internal communications by bells and then telephones, and better lighting by means of gas and electricity. Country houses, however, were usually too far from urban centres to take advantage of centralised sources of supply and so were obliged to set up their own systems if they wanted any of these services to improve the comfort of daily living. Some landowners chose to do this; others did not, and this book examines the motivations for their decisions. It also sets out to discover what evidence has survived for the impact of technological innovation on the buildings, contents, parks and gardens of country houses and on the lives of the people within them. In the course of their research, the authors have visited nearly one hundred houses around the United Kingdom, mostly those open to the public and the majority in the hands of the National Trust. Many books have been devoted to the life of those in domestic service in such houses, but this book looks not so much at the social records of their lives as the actual physical evidence for the greater levels of comfort and convenience sought by landowners in country houses from the 18th to the early 20th centuries.

This title contains 2 books in slipcase. It includes an history and description of The Palace of Christian VII at the royal castle, Amalienborg, in Copenhagen.

Winner of the International Society of Place, Landscape, and Culture Fred B. Kniffen Award A reexamination of working-class architecture in late nineteenth-century urban America As the multifamily building type that often symbolized urban squalor, tenements are familiar but poorly understood, frequently recognized only in terms of the housing reform movement embraced by the American-born elite in the late nineteenth century. This book reexamines urban America's tenement buildings of this period, centering on the immigrant neighborhoods of New York and Boston. Zachary J. Violette focuses on what he calls the "decorated tenement," a wave of new buildings constructed by immigrant builders and architects who remade the slum landscapes of the Lower East Side of Manhattan and the North and West Ends of Boston in the late nineteenth century. These buildings' highly ornamental facades became the target of predominantly upper-class and Anglo-Saxon housing reformers, who viewed the facades as garish wrappings that often hid what they assumed were exploitative and brutal living conditions. Drawing on research and fieldwork of more than three thousand extant tenement buildings, Violette uses ornament as an entry point to reconsider the role of tenement architects and builders (many of whom had deep roots in immigrant communities) in improving housing for the working poor. Utilizing specially commissioned contem-porary photography, and many never-before-published historical images, The Decorated Tenement complicates monolithic notions of architectural taste and housing standards while broadening our understanding of the diversity of cultural and economic positions of those responsible for shaping American architecture and urban landscapes. Winner of the International Society of Place, Landscape, and Culture Fred B. Kniffen Award

The start of a brand new series from bestselling author Fay Keenan.Life in London has lost its sparkle for Stella Simpson. So when she gets the opportunity to escape to the country for a year, it seems too good a chance to miss. In the beautiful Somerset countryside, the majestic Roseford Hall has been painstakingly restored and is now ready for its grand opening. And as the writer in residence, Stella gets to see it all - from the rowdy resident peacocks, the hidden secrets of the Hall, to befriending the Lord of the Manor himself. At the other end of Roseford, single father, Chris Charlton is facing his own refurbishment woes. Rocked by a tragedy two years previously, his plans for crumbling Victorian wreck Halstead House are as stuck as he is. As Roseford Hall prepares to welcome a new era, and Halstead House's future is under threat, Chris and Stella find themselves drawn to one another. Can they finally leave their pasts behind, and will Chris and Stella be able to embrace their new beginnings together - or apart... Escape to the beautiful, idyllic English countryside with Fay Keenan. Romantic, feel-good and utterly charming, this is perfect for all fans of Julie Houston, Cathy Bramley and Holly Martin. What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan's novels: 'This novel has such a gorgeous setting. A lovely light read and the perfect book to pack in your suitcase and take on holiday. Recommended.' Della Galton 'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm.' Victoria Connelly 'Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston 'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane 'This is a lovely and heart-warming story, that has a serious side hidden within the romance.' Amazon reviewer 'It was a wonderful book, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' Amazon reviewer 'I was so engrossed in the storyline, which is thoroughly heart-warming, that I read the entire book without stopping. I always enjoy Keenan's books and am looking forward to the next one!' Amazon reviewer

The start of a brand new series from bestselling author Fay Keenan.Life in London has lost its sparkle for Stella Simpson. So when she gets the opportunity to escape to the country for a year, it seems too good a chance to miss. In the beautiful Somerset countryside, the majestic Roseford Hall has been painstakingly restored and is now ready for its grand opening. And as the writer in residence, Stella gets to see it all - from the rowdy resident peacocks, the hidden secrets of the Hall, to befriending the Lord of the Manor himself. At the other end of Roseford, single father, Chris Charlton is facing his own refurbishment woes. Rocked by a tragedy two years previously, his plans for crumbling Victorian wreck Halstead House are as stuck as he is. As Roseford Hall prepares to welcome a new era, and Halstead House's future is under threat, Chris and Stella find themselves drawn to one another. Can they finally leave their pasts behind, and will Chris and Stella be able to embrace their new beginnings together - or apart... Escape to the beautiful, idyllic English countryside with Fay Keenan. Romantic, feel-good and utterly charming, this is perfect for all fans of Julie Houston, Cathy Bramley and Holly Martin. What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan's novels: 'This novel has such a gorgeous setting. A lovely light read and the perfect book to pack in your suitcase and take on holiday. Recommended.' Della Galton 'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm.' Victoria Connelly 'Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston 'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane 'This is a lovely and heart-warming story, that has a serious side hidden within the romance.' Amazon reviewer 'It was a wonderful book, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' Amazon reviewer 'I was so engrossed in the storyline, which is thoroughly heart-warming, that I read the entire book without stopping. I always enjoy Keenan's books and am looking forward to the next one!' Amazon reviewer

Escape to hills high above the French Riviera with international bestseller Jennifer Bohnet.After tragically losing her husband, Nicola Jacques and her teenage son Oliver relocate to his father's family's olive farm in the hills above the French Riviera. Due to a family feud, Oliver has never known his father's side of the family but Grandpapa Henri is intent that Oliver will take over the reins of the ancestral farm and his rightful inheritance. Determined to keep her independence from a rather controlling Grandpapa, Nicola buys a run-down cottage on the edge of the family's Olive Farm and sets to work renovating their new home and providing an income by cultivating the small holding that came with the Cottage. As the summer months roll by, Nicola and Oliver begin to settle happily into their new way of life with the help of Aunts Josephine and Odette, Henri's twin sisters and local property developer Gilles Bongars. But the arrival of some unexpected news and guests at the farm, force Nicole and Aunt Josephine to assess what and where their futures lie. This book was previously published as The French Legacy.

"Hall's consummate history is not just the story of the evolution of one of the world's great collections... The book is also a through-the-keyhole insight into the shifting tastes, good or bad, of 1,000 years of monarchs." - The Times The Royal Collection is the last great collection formed by the European monarchies to have survived into the twenty-first century. Containing over a million artworks and objects, it covers all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, from paintings by Rembrandt and Michelangelo to grand sculpture, Faberge eggs and some of the most exquisite furniture ever made. The Royal Collection also offers a revealing insight into the history of the British monarchy from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II, recording the tastes and obsessions of kings and queens over the past 500 years. With unprecedented access to the royal residences of St James' Palace, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, Art, Passion & Power traces the history of this national institution from the Middle Ages to the present day, exploring how royalty used the arts to strengthen their position as rulers by divine right and celebrating treasures from the Crown Jewels to the "Abraham" tapestries in Hampton Court Palace. Author Michael Hall examines the monarchy's response to changing attitudes to the arts and sciences during the Enlightenment and celebrates the British monarchy's role in the democratisation of art in the modern world. Packed with glimpses of rarely seen artworks, Art, Passion & Power is a visual treat for all art enthusiasts. Accompanying the BBC television series and a major exhibition at the Royal Academy, Art, Passion & Power is the definitive statement on the British monarchy's treasures of the art world.

Cabins have become one of the favourite hiding places for people looking for a perfect place to rest and connect with nature. Environmentally friendly homes, cutting-edge sustainable architecture that have ecological solutions and a low environmental impact, and buildings with smart and compact design, in which the spaces are open and shared, connected to each other and to the environment.

Who was the most beautiful woman in England in the twentieth century - and why did she become the most hated woman? Who spent GBP500,000 to remodel her house for a king's weekend visit? What country house has a roof that is seven acres in size? What prime minister's mother had at least twenty lovers? How many million individuals were killed in World War 1? The answers to such startling questions show that history is an unnerving mixture of breathtaking moments and punishing reversals. Written as a rattling good read, The Downton Era takes the reader on a journey through twentieth century England by pointing out the personal landmarks that make up history. When we see elegant country houses, we discover that such great piles of rock record the aristocratic arc of the English upper class from its Victorian heyday onward into the twentieth century. Titles and dances and hunts were social events that linked families and forged governments. By exploring the interwoven family chronicles of the Churchills and their cousins, the Mitfords, we see history at a personalized level. In their lives are woven together stories of great houses, the lure and weight of title, the range and challenge of political influence, and the privileged entrapments that undermined their dazzling social world. As with tragedy, the scale of greatness and disintegration in these families and their class makes for riveting reading.

In Conquest and Construction Mark Dike DeLancey investigates the palace architecture of northern Cameroon, a region that was conquered in the early nineteenth century by primarily semi-nomadic, pastoralist, Muslim, Fulbe forces and incorporated as the largest emirate of the Sokoto Caliphate. Palace architecture is considered first and foremost as political in nature, and therefore as responding not only to the needs and expectations of the conquerors, but also to those of the largely sedentary, agricultural, non-Muslim conquered peoples who constituted the majority population. In the process of reconciling the cultures of these various constituents, new architectural forms and local identities were constructed.

Ancient American palaces still captivate those who stand before them. Even in their fallen and ruined condition, the palaces project such power that, according to the editors of this new collection, it must have been deliberately drawn into their formal designs, spatial layouts, and choice of locations. Such messages separated palaces from other elite architecture and reinforced the power and privilege of those residing in them. Indeed, as Christie and Sarro write, "the relation between political power and architecture is a pervasive and intriguing theme in the Americas."

Given the variety of cultures, time periods, and geographical locations examined within, the editors of this book have grouped the articles into four sections. The first looks at palaces in cultures where they have not previously been identified, including the Huaca of Moche Site, the Wari of Peru, and Chaco Canyon in the U.S. Southwest. The second section discusses palaces as "stage sets" that express power, such as those found among the Maya, among the Coast Salish of the Pacific Northwest, and at El Tajin on the Mexican Gulf Coast. The third part of the volume presents cases in which differences in elite residences imply differences in social status, with examples from Pasado de la Amada, the Valley of Oaxaca, Teotihuacan, and the Aztecs. The final section compares architectural strategies between cultures; the models here are Farfan, Peru, under both the Chimu and the Inka, and the separate states of the Maya and the Inka.

Such scope, and the quality of the scholarship, make Palaces and Power in the Americas a must-have work on the subject.

This book is all about Delhi and the Red Fort as the title suggests. Perhaps no other city in the world can boast its legacy as old as of Mahabharat times. From Rajputs, Delhi passed into the hands of rulers and invaders from Afghanistan and Trans-Oxania region. In Mughal Hindustan from the times of Shahjahan, Delhi became the power seat and his son Aurangzeb, the Alamgir, maintained Laskar-e-Azim, the largest army at that time in the world. The Mughal Emperors who came after Aurangzeb were weak, namby-pamby characters and given more to the life of pleasure. The formidable Mughal Empire started crumbling. The Nadir Shahs, Abdalis, Marathas, Jats and the Ruhelas expedited the ruin. The British East India Company not only completed the task but also became the new Rule, replacing the Great Mughals. The British could not ignore the mood of the people for long and had to leave the country. Finally, India became a free nation when the first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru unfurled the tri-color flag from the ramparts of Red Fort. The narration ends at this note. This book unfolds the tales of fourteen cities starting from Indraprastha to New Delhi of today. The buildings, gardens, bazaars, galis and kutches of old city of Delhi speak about the bygone days of Shahjahanabad. The grandeur of the Red Fort or Qila-e-Muella that included the Places of the Mughals and the Halls of Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas where Shahjahan used to hold his court surpassed those of the kingdoms of Balkh, Bukhara and Samarkand. The book carries 62 carefully chosen illustrations that add fragrance of the by-gone days.

This lavishly illustrated book looks at the art and architecture of episcopal palaces as expressions of power and ideology. Tracing the history of the bishop's residence in the urban centers of northern Italy over the Middle Ages, Maureen C. Miller asks why this once rudimentary and highly fortified structure called a domus became a complex and elegant "palace" (palatium) by the late twelfth century. Miller argues that the change reflects both the emergence of a distinct clerical culture and the attempts of bishops to maintain authority in public life. She relates both to the Gregorian reform movement, which set new standards for clerical deportment and at the same time undercut episcopal claims to secular power. As bishops lost temporal authority in their cities to emerging communal governments, they compensated architecturally and competed with the communes for visual and spatial dominance in the urban center. This rivalry left indelible marks on the layout and character of Italian cities.Moreover, Miller contends, this struggle for power had highly significant, but mixed, results for western Christianity. On the one hand, as bishops lost direct governing authority in their cities, they devised ways to retain status, influence, and power through cultural practices. This response to loss was highly creative. On the other hand, their loss of secular control led bishops to emphasize their spiritual powers and to use them to obtain temporal ends. The coercive use of spiritual authority contributed to the emergence of a "persecuting society" in the central Middle Ages.

During the first to the fifth centuries AD the Danube-Balkan region formed a buffer zone between the Latin speaking world of the west and the Greek speaking lands of the east. This book deals with the development and influence of the architectural plan of the late Roman villa in the Danube-Balkan region. It combines an archaeological and an architectural historical approach to the examination of the plans which form the primary focus of the research. At the same time, the functional and decorative elements of the buildings are considered in detail where appropriate. The research is based on extensive fieldwork and draws together the existing literature to elucidate the architecture of the late Roman villa in the Danube-Balkan region and to establish its broader significance. A systematic study of this nature has not previously been carried out.

This lavishly illustrated book looks at the art and architecture of episcopal palaces as expressions of power and ideology. Tracing the history of the bishop's residence in the urban centers of northern Italy over the Middle Ages, Maureen C. Miller asks why this once rudimentary and highly fortified structure called a domus became a complex and elegant "palace" (palatium) by the late twelfth century. Miller argues that the change reflects both the emergence of a distinct clerical culture and the attempts of bishops to maintain authority in public life. She relates both to the Gregorian reform movement, which set new standards for clerical deportment and at the same time undercut episcopal claims to secular power. As bishops lost temporal authority in their cities to emerging communal governments, they compensated architecturally and competed with the communes for visual and spatial dominance in the urban center. This rivalry left indelible marks on the layout and character of Italian cities.Moreover, Miller contends, this struggle for power had highly significant, but mixed, results for western Christianity. On the one hand, as bishops lost direct governing authority in their cities, they devised ways to retain status, influence, and power through cultural practices. This response to loss was highly creative. On the other hand, their loss of secular control led bishops to emphasize their spiritual powers and to use them to obtain temporal ends. The coercive use of spiritual authority contributed to the emergence of a "persecuting society" in the central Middle Ages.

Noted for its magnificent architecture and extraordinary history, the Yuanming Yuan is China's most famous imperial garden. The complex was begun in the early 18th century, and construction continued over the next 150 years. Chinese historians, and many Chinese in general, view the garden as the paramount achievement of Chinese architecture and landscape design. This text provides a comprehensive study of the palatial garden complex and a tour of its architecture and history. Wong begins by inspecting the garden's physical appearance and its architectural elements. He discusses the origin and evolution of these structures and the aesthetics of their design and arrangement. He refers throughout to maps and original models of individual buildings and other existing gardens of the Ming-Qing period, including the well-preserved Yihe Yuan and the Chengde Summer Mountain Retreat in Rehe. The book also explores the activities and daily life of the royal household.