Dorset Country Houses Volume two

An important new book in a national series, Dorset Country Houses has been over a decade in the making. It incorporates the results of a phenomenal amount of research, drawing on a great wealth of documents, illustrations and printed sources in archives and libraries - as well as innumerable field visits to over 200 significant country houses. In this volume Michael Hill, Dorset's leading architectural historian, assesses the architectural and historical significance of the county's noble heritage of country houses. An introductory chapter discusses and explains the social background of Dorset, the layout and use of country houses and the design and decoration of exteriors and interiors. Including information on owners, architects, craftsmen, landscape design, building materials and style, this is a thorough account, which will appeal greatly to students of architectural, social and local history and to the general reader alike.