Lost mansions: essays on the destruction of the country house

In seven provocative essays by historians, curators and architects, this volume invites us to question the nature of our interest in country houses. The focus is lost houses, itself a highly controversial issue. Over twelve hundred English, four hundred Scottish and three hundred Irish country houses (or about a sixth of the total) were demolished during the twentieth century. This book's essays debate the loss of these mansions from several perspectives: historical, archaeological, architectural and literary. Why should we care about their loss? And what is 'loss' when, quite apart from actual physical destruction, the changing use and appearance of the houses we visit or see on television often involves the loss of historical understanding? The volume debates the 'heritage' challenge in rescuing and interpreting the sites and material presence of destroyed mansions and offers some incisive ideas about the process of breathing new life into 'lost' mansions.