Great Houses of London

Description

"This lavishly illustrated compendium suggest that the age of elegance endures" - Mail on Sunday The great houses of London represent one of the marvels of English architecture and yet they are almost entirely unknown. They are for the most part disguised behind sober facades but their riches within are astonishing. There are many architectural wonders, among them Robert Adams 20 St James's Square and William Burges's Tower House. Several - including Bridgewater House with its Raphaels and Titians - have held great art collections. These are houses that hold extraordinary stories: half the Cabinet resigned after breakfast at Stratford House; and on 4 August 1914, at 9 Carlton House Terrace - then the German Embassy - young duty clerk Harold Nicholson deftly substituted one declaration of war for another. With photography by the world-famous and multi-award winning Fritz von der Schulenbur, this title brings these houses to life in all their grandeur, and text from historian and author James Stourton delves into the many fascinating stories hidden behind the walls of these homes. Great Houses of London opens the door to some of the greatest and grandest houses in the world to tell the stories of their owners and occupants, artists and architects, their restoration, adaptation and change.

JAMES STOURTON the author of more than five books, including Kenneth Clark: Life, Art and Civilisation and British Embassies: Their Diplomatic and Architectural History. He was with Sotheby's from 1979 and Chairman of Sotheby's from 2006 to 2013. He is a senior fellow of the Institute of Historical Research and was on the Panel of the Heritage Memorial Fund and the Acceptance in Lieu Panel for ten years.

'"This is a truly magnificent book. The wonderful text tells the story of the architects, owners and occupants, restoration, adaptation and change. And the photographs are exceptional." - Good Book Guide "A treasure ... Best of all are the authors personal asides on builders and those who inspired them" - Economist "Stourton writes elegantly and absorbingly about both architects and owners" - Marcus Binney, The Times "The deft weaving of architectural, social and contemporary history will reveal unexpected pleasures" - Art Quarterly "Writing in a deceptively simple style, Stourton concentrates on architects and artists, on awners and occupants. Idiosyncratic and amusing, he makes you see everything in a new light." - The Tablet "This magnificent book, with illustrations of breathtaking beauty specially taken by Fritz von der Schulenburg, is the fullest account ever written of its absorbing subject. It will come as a revelation, even to those who think they are familiar with London . . . The book is . . . not only about architecture, but about people, whose social, artistic and political ambitions, and manner of living, are vividly brought to life . . . We are familiar with the depressing list of great houses demolished in the 20th century, from Devonshire House to Londonderry House, but this book can surely cheer us up during the recession with its visions of surviving splendour." - David Watkin, Country Life "This sumptuously illustrated volume...extends its reach both sociologically and chronologically... James Stourtons text is very readable, deftly mingling the architectural history and the social, and on the whole reliable, and it is completemented by Fritz von der Schulenburgs specially taken photographs." - Historic House "This lavishly illustrated compendium suggest that the age of elegance endures." - Mail on Sunday "The true fascination resides in the less well-known interiors" - RA Magazine ' - '' - '' - '' - '' - '' -