Manor Houses of England

Manor Houses of England by Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780865651562.

Following on the great successes of recently published books on the Great Houses of England, of Wales and of Scotland, here in the same lavish format is a book on the manor houses of England. These smaller scale houses, often of more ancient origin than the "great houses," are scattered all around the country, and range from simple Norman halls to picturesque Tudor manor houses and handsome buildings from the reign of the Stuarts. This is domestic architecture, rather than palaces built to impress the visitor with their owners power and wealth, and as such they are far more closely related to modern life. Not only is this book redolent in history, but it will suggest architectural and decorative ideas to those building a traditional home. While most of the great houses have now been sold by their original owners, most of the manor houses are still privately owned and lived in as a home. His book covers 40 manor houses in all, each one is beautifully illustrated by specially commissioned photographs and accompanied by a lively, readable text that describes the families that created these marvelous houses.