Ben Cowell

British country houses have experienced a renaissance since the early 1970s. A new accord is needed today, recognising the increasingly contested contribution of country houses to British cultural life. Fifty years ago, the future for country houses in Britain looked bleak. The Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition The Destruction of the Country House, which opened in October 1974, charted the loss of over a thousand country houses in the preceding century. The makers of the exhibition warned that history could be "about to repeat itself" because of the threats besetting mansion properties, principally from higher taxation. Houses faced the prospect of having to be stripped of their collections and sold for use as offices, hotels, or hospitals, with their parks and gardens turned into golf clubs. Government might afford to save just a handful of the most significant of these places, working in tandem with charities such as the National Trust. The rest would be consigned to history. This book traces the history of country houses in Britain, from the Destruction exhibition to the present day. The wave of country house losses anticipated in 1974 never actually happened. Instead, over the next five decades Britain's country houses experienced a renaissance. Fiscal rules changed in the mid-1970s to make it easier for owners to hold on to their assets. Economic improvements in the 1980s and 1990s allowed many houses and estates to develop profitable commercial businesses. All of this was achieved only after dedicated campaigning from heritage organisations in support of the country house cause. The book argues that a new accord is needed today, to recognise and value the ongoing, if increasingly contested, contribution of country houses to British life and culture in the twenty-first century.

British country houses have experienced a renaissance since the early 1970s. A new accord is needed today, recognising the increasingly contested contribution of country houses to British cultural life. Fifty years ago, the future for country houses in Britain looked bleak. The Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition The Destruction of the Country House, which opened in October 1974, charted the loss of over a thousand country houses in the preceding century. The makers of the exhibition warned that history could be "about to repeat itself" because of the threats besetting mansion properties, principally from higher taxation. Houses faced the prospect of having to be stripped of their collections and sold for use as offices, hotels, or hospitals, with their parks and gardens turned into golf clubs. Government might afford to save just a handful of the most significant of these places, working in tandem with charities such as the National Trust. The rest would be consigned to history. This book traces the history of country houses in Britain, from the Destruction exhibition to the present day. The wave of country house losses anticipated in 1974 never actually happened. Instead, over the next five decades Britain's country houses experienced a renaissance. Fiscal rules changed in the mid-1970s to make it easier for owners to hold on to their assets. Economic improvements in the 1980s and 1990s allowed many houses and estates to develop profitable commercial businesses. All of this was achieved only after dedicated campaigning from heritage organisations in support of the country house cause. The book argues that a new accord is needed today, to recognise and value the ongoing, if increasingly contested, contribution of country houses to British life and culture in the twenty-first century.

A hymn to the British landscape. From the dramatic hills of the Lake District to the beaches and covers of Cornwall, this richly illustrated book brings together new perspectives on the places that have inspired artists, writers and film-makers and shaped the nation's identity. The third in the bestselling series of Houses of the National Trust and Gardens of the National Trust, this is a richly illustrated book providing new perspectives on the British landscape. From the dramatic hills of the Lake District to the mysterious fens of eastern England and the beaches and coves of Cornwall, landscapes provide the settings for our daily lives, as well as an important part of our identity. The inspiration for artists, writers and film-makers, our landscapes are cultural, man-made creations far more than we may be aware. But how much do we know about how these landscapes came into being? How were different sorts of landscapes valued in the past? And how can landscapes today and in the future best adapt to the ever-changing world in which we live? Chapters include The Art of Landscape, Ancient Places, Homes and Gardens, Lost in the Woods, Open Country and Shifting Shores. Landscapes of the National Trust will appeal to all those who care about the past, present and future of the British landscape and is superbly illustrated throughout with stunning photographs.

The first biography of the 18th-century landscape gardener, Uvedale Price, showing the key interconnections between his roles as landowner, art collector, forester, landscaper, connoisseur and scholar. Uvedale Price achieved most fame as the author of the influential Essay on the Picturesque of 1794 in which he argued that the work of the greatest landscape artists, such as Salvator Rosa, Rubens and Claude, should be usedas models for the "improvement of real landscape". His attack on the smooth certainties of Capability Brown sparked off a public controversy, drawing in Richard Payne Knight and Humphry Repton, which became a cause célèbre. This is the first biography of Uvedale Price, bringing out his contradictory and elusive character and revealing an astonishing cast of friends and acquaintances, including Gainsborough, Voltaire, William Wordsworth and ElizabethBarrett Browning. The book shows how he developed his ideas through practical experimentation on his own land and buildings and provides an understanding of the context of Price's practices and theories and the key interconnections between his roles as landowner, art collector, forester, landscaper, connoisseur and scholar. Charles Watkins is Professor of Rural Geography, University of Nottingham; Ben Cowell is Regional Director - East of England, National Trust.

15 June 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta by King John in the water meadows of Runnymede. The 'great charter of liberties' sent ripples round the world. It influenced the political debates surrounding the English Civil War and the American Declaration of Independence. And it still shapes our ideas about human rights today. At the heart of Runnymede stands the Ankerwycke yew, a tree that was already ancient when King John and the barons met here. Runnymede is a landscape of commemoration: from the Lutyens lodges and the Commonwealth Air Forces memorial to the J. F. Kennedy monument. It is also a landscape of pleasure. Visitors came for the Egham races in the nineteenth century and still come to picnic by the river bank. In this new guidebook, Ben Cowell explains how and why Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede and explores its legacy. He also describes the campaign in the 1920s to save this precious place for everyone.

The first biography of the 18th-century landscape gardener, Uvedale Price, showing the key interconnections between his roles as landowner, art collector, forester, landscaper, connoisseur and scholar. Uvedale Price achieved most fame as the author of the influential Essay on the Picturesque of 1794 in which he argued that the work of the greatest landscape artists, such as Salvator Rosa, Rubens and Claude, should be usedas models for the "improvement of real landscape". His attack on the smooth certainties of Capability Brown sparked off a public controversy, drawing in Richard Payne Knight and Humphry Repton, which became a cause célèbre. This is the first biography of Uvedale Price, bringing out his contradictory and elusive character and revealing an astonishing cast of friends and acquaintances, including Gainsborough, Voltaire, William Wordsworth and ElizabethBarrett Browning. The book shows how he developed his ideas through practical experimentation on his own land and buildings and provides an understanding of the context of Price's practices and theories and the key interconnections between his roles as landowner, art collector, forester, landscaper, connoisseur and scholar. CHARLES WATKINS is Professor of Rural Geography, University of Nottingham; BEN COWELL is Assistant Director, External Affairs, National Trust.

Ben Cowell traces the rise of heritage consciousness over the last 300 years, from its origins in the writings of the seventeenth - and eighteenth - century antiquarians to the founding of the first heritage organizations in the nineteenth century and on to the present day.