In Search of the Perfect House: 500 of the Best Buildings in Britain & Ireland - Hardcover

Binney, Marcus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297844555 ISBN 13: 9780297844556

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

Most books on country homes focus only on those open to the public. Here, celebrated architectural campaigner Marcus Binney goes further, presenting 500 of the most remarkable and unusual houses that survive on the British islands. Gabled Cotswold manors, 14th-century timber-framed hall houses, cozy Queen Anne rectories, and grand Regency villas are all here, shown in full-color photographs that wonderfully compliment Binney’s descriptions of each exquisite piece of architectural heritage. From Highcliffe Castle in Christchurch, Dorset to Tyninghame House in East Linton, Scotland, you’ll find over 900 pages of dream homes arranged by county each page overflowing with spectacular cupolas,
luxuriant gardens, eccentric histories, lavish domestic comforts, and extravagant foyers. It’s a unique view into the architectural practices and decorative fashions of centuries past.

 

About this title

About the Author:

Marcus Binney studied the history of art at Cambridge, and became editor of Country Life magazine in 1984. From the beginning a force in the conservation movement he co-curated the famous 1975 V&A exhibition 'The Destruction of the Country House', which generated huge publicity and inspired the foundation of SAVE Britain's Heritage which, with Marcus as chairman, rapidly became Britain's most vigorous conservation body. He has curated other exhibitions, founded or helped to create numerous preservation trusts and societies including the Railway Heritage Trust and the Thirties Society and has lead many successful attempts to conserve Britain's built heritage. He was awarded the OBE for services to conservation in 1983. Since 1991 he has been Architecture Correspondent of the Times, writing extensively on architecture including the House of the Week column. His books range from Our Vanishing Heritage (1984) to Great Houses in Europe (2003) which is also the title of a 39-part TV series which has been broadcast extensively in North America, the Middle and Far East.

Review:

'Colleagues who have seen Binney at work...will know his pocket notebooks...Some of us may have wondered what would be come of their contents; we now have our answer. This book is a memorial to Binney's Flying Dutchman-like pursuit of architecture throughout Britain, and his remarkable eclecticism of taste.' -- COUNTRY LIFE Clive Aslet

About this edition

• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0297844555
• ISBN 13: 9780297844556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 880