57-538: Edge Hall is a 9 bedroom, country house located at Hall Lane, Brasseys Contract Road, Edge , Cheshire , SY14 8LE, England. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building . It was the ancestral home of the Dod family from the twelfth century (if not earlier) to the early twenty first century. The core of the house dates from about 1600. The main part of
114-450: A château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, a country house, similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified. If fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name "castle" are fortified (for example Highclere Castle in Hampshire ). The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians and other academics. As a description of
171-543: A listed building in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . English country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However,
228-544: A Magazine in Britain which would contrast the ancient and modern, colour and simplicity. Besides the magazine, he launched a series of books on the same theme, starting in 1959 with House & Garden Interiors and Colour. Ten more books followed, his last contributions being the House & Garden Book of Romantic Rooms (1985), and House & Garden Book of Classic Rooms (1989); in 1980 with Miles Hadfield he published British Gardeners:
285-481: A biographical dictionary – this being a reworking of Pioneers in Gardening a book which he had developed with Miles Hadfield and Leonie Highton thirty five years earlier. Harling would admit that some of the fun of life diminished following the death of his friend Fleming in 1964, but he remained alert and active, and could still be found at The Sunday Times late on Saturday evenings until 1985. Nor did his interest in
342-688: A country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans , "The Homes of England", originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was later popularised in a song by Noël Coward , and in modern usage it often implies a country house that is open to visitors at least some of the time. In England, the terms "country house" and "stately home" are sometimes used vaguely and interchangeably; however, many country houses such as Ascott in Buckinghamshire were deliberately designed not to be stately, and to harmonise with
399-428: A fortunate few; it was the centre of its own world, providing employment to hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate . In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent-free accommodation. At the summit of this category of people was the indoor staff of the country house. Unlike many of their contemporaries prior to
456-436: A good ear for dialogue. Fleming, too, had taken to thrillers, and their friendship continued to increase during the period, despite Bond taking over his creator's life to an alarming extent. In 1957 Fleming was about to go to New York, when Harling suggested that he might sound out "Pat" ( Iva Patcevitch ), the head of Condé Nast , about the editorship of House & Garden. Fleming was astounded that his friend Harling wanted
513-571: A job as a trainee at the Daily Mail , but as he would tell friends later "left, quite untrained, a year later". Two six-month stints followed at two of the best printers in the country, Lund Humphries at Bradford (for whom he mounted an exhibition on Rudolf Koch in 1935) and the Kynoch Press at Birmingham , "trying – not all that successfully – to learn more about the technical side of printing". This led him to write and publish two books prior to
570-541: A keen amateur sailor, volunteered for the Royal Navy . Before he finished training, under the legendary Captain O. M. Watts , he found himself at Dunkirk in charge of a whaler . Sub-Lieutenant Harling, RNVR, next found himself navigator of a corvette , on convoy duty in the Western Approaches . This led him to write The Steep Atlantick Stream , published by Chatto & Windus in 1946, based on his experiences in
627-524: A mixture of high architecture , often as interpreted by a local architect or surveyor, and determined by practicality as much as by the whims of architectural taste. An example of this is Brympton d'Evercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone . The fashionable William Kent redesigned Rousham House only to have it quickly and drastically altered to provide space for
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#1732851920358684-633: A new journal, Alphabet and Image (1946–48), which later became Image (1949–52). He was also given a larger room in the Delamere advertising agency, and was a consultant to The Financial Times and in 1947 redesigned Time and Tide for Lady Rhondda . Harling now turned his hand to writing a number of popular 'pulp fiction' titles including: The Paper Palace (1951), The Dark Saviour (1952), The Enormous Shadow (1955), The Endless Colonnade (1958), The Hollow Sunday (1967), The Athenian Widow (1974) and finally The Summer Portrait (1979). He wrote easily and well, with
741-558: A nurse whom he regarded as an aunt . After her marriage they moved to Brighton , bringing him in contact with the Royal Pavilion , and a lifelong appreciation for architecture and design, and the Sea, where he learnt to swim and sail. With the death of his uncle he returned to Islington with his aunt , and was enrolled in Owen's School . This was the story he put about. "Later research showed this
798-473: Is politics; they talk politics; and they make politics, quite spontaneously. There are no written terms for distinguishing between vast country palaces and comparatively small country houses; the descriptive terms, which can include castle , manor and court , provide no firm clue and are often only used because of a historical connection with the site of such a building. Therefore, for ease or explanation, Britain's country houses can be categorised according to
855-638: Is the ITV series Downton Abbey . Robert Harling (typographer) Robert Henry Harling (27 March 1910 in London – 1 July 2008 in Godstone , Surrey ) was a British typographer , designer, journalist and novelist who lived to the age of 98. Robert Harling's success came despite an unpromising upbringing. He was born in Highbury , London, in 1910, and was orphaned at an early age being brought up by his mother's friend,
912-754: The Harling style , many of whom he has outlived. If the style itself has changed, the Harling message of clarity, simplicity, and economy etc., has not. Robert Henry Harling, typographer, graphic artist and designer, editor and novelist: born London 27 March 1910. Married Phoebe Konstam (who predeceased him in 2006) in April 1945, having met at the Gargoyle Club . They had two sons and a daughter, and set up home at an old house in Suffolk , before moving to an 18th-century Gothic vicarage on
969-642: The North Atlantic and Mediterranean between 1941 and 1942. Following a meeting in London in 1941 Fleming recruited Harling to work in the Inter-Service Topographical Department (ISTD), where he put him to work examining photographs of enemy held terrain and applying the knowledge he had gained researching maps for the News Chronicle. This led to an adventurous air-trip to various parts of
1026-399: The agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle. Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive. While
1083-502: The 1850s, with the English economy booming, new mansions were built in one of the many revivalist architectural styles popular throughout the 19th century. The builders of these new houses were able to take advantage of the political unrest in Europe that gave rise to a large trade in architectural salvage. This new wave of country house building is exemplified by the Rothschild properties in
1140-419: The 18th century with houses such as Castle Howard , Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall . Such building reached its zenith from the late 17th century until the mid-18th century; these houses were often completely built or rebuilt in their entirety by one eminent architect in the most fashionable architectural style of the day and often have a suite of Baroque state apartments, typically in enfilade , reserved for
1197-474: The 20th century, they slept in proper beds, wore well-made adequate clothes and received three proper meals a day, plus a small wage. In an era when many still died from malnutrition or lack of medicine, the long working hours were a small price to pay. As a result of the aristocratic habit of only marrying within the aristocracy, and whenever possible to a sole heiress, many owners of country houses owned several country mansions, and would visit each according to
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#17328519203581254-621: The Typography journal, which was setting new standards for the design and display of printed matter. During their meeting he learned that Harling was also writer and designer of "News-Reel Maps" for the News Chronicle , and "demi-semi-resident art director" of Lord Delamere 's up-and-coming advertising agency. This led him to commission Harling to redesign the Admiralty's weekly intelligence report, but they were not to meet again until 1941. Harling,
1311-467: The best-known examples of the showy prodigy house , often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. By the reign of Charles I , Inigo Jones and his form of Palladianism had changed the face of English domestic architecture completely, with the use of turrets and towers as an architectural reference to the earlier castles and fortified houses completely disappearing. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque ,
1368-463: The building dates from 1721, and additions have been made from about 1790, and later. Its architectural style is Jacobean . The house is constructed in brick, standing on stone plinths , and has a slate roof. 53°02′51″N 2°46′33″W / 53.04748°N 2.77578°W / 53.04748; -2.77578 This article about a Cheshire building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
1425-520: The circumstances of their creation. The great houses are the largest of the country houses; in truth palaces, built by the country's most powerful – these were designed to display their owners' power or ambitions to power. Really large unfortified or barely fortified houses began to take over from the traditional castles of the crown and magnates during the Tudor period, with vast houses such as Hampton Court Palace and Burghley House , and continued until
1482-513: The country saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the King's favourites, who then converted them into private country houses. Woburn Abbey , Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in
1539-428: The design of the wing around the next corner. These varying "improvements", often criticised at the time, today are the qualities that make English country houses unique. Wealthy and influential people, often bored with their formal duties, go to the country in order to get out of London, the ugliest and most uncomfortable city in the world; they invented the long week-end to stay away as long as possible. Their métier
1596-427: The early 1970s, hundreds of country houses were demolished . Houses that survived destruction are now mostly Grade I or II listed as buildings of historic interest with restrictions on restoration and re-creation work. However such work is usually very expensive. Several houses have been restored, some over many years. For example at Copped Hall where the restoration started in 1995 continues to this day. Although
1653-486: The graphic arts wain. His publication The Letter-forms and Type-designs of Eric Gill (1976) is still considered the best assessment of Gill's work, which perhaps is no surprise given Harling was also a master of lettering. He also contributed his memories to The Wood-engravings of Tirzah Ravilious (1987). Harling's greatest legacy to Printing and Publishing can probably be summed up as his generous approach to helping younger designers, editors and authors in understanding
1710-473: The home counties and Bletchley Park (rebuilt in several styles, and famous for its code-breaking role in World War II). The slow decline of the English country house coincided with the rise not just of taxation, but also of modern industry, along with the agricultural depression of the 1870s. By 1880, this had led some owners into financial shortfalls as they tried to balance maintenance of their estates with
1767-435: The household. These houses were always an alternative residence to a London house. During the 18th and 19th centuries, for the highest echelons of English society, the country house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the country with one's equals at the end of the week, with some houses having their own theatre where performances were staged. The country house, however, was not just an oasis of pleasure for
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1824-551: The immediately preceding war then in World War I, were now paying far higher rates of tax, and agricultural incomes had dropped. Thus, the solution for many was to hold contents auctions and then demolish the house and sell its stone, fireplaces , and panelling . This is what happened to many of Britain's finest houses. Despite this slow decline, so necessary was the country house for entertaining and prestige that in 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham donated his country house Chequers to
1881-438: The income they provided. Some relied on funds from secondary sources such as banking and trade while others, like the severely impoverished Duke of Marlborough , sought to marry American heiresses to save their country houses and lifestyles. The ultimate demise began immediately following World War I . The members of the huge staff required to maintain large houses had either left to fight and never returned, departed to work in
1938-736: The job, but did what he was asked, and the deal was done surprisingly quickly. Harling now established a new routine, four days at House & Garden , and Friday and Saturday at The Sunday Times , where he was architectural correspondent as well as designer (and from 1961 he would become Editor of the Sunday Telegraph ). At House and Garden he had a staff of 18 which included Leonie Highton, and later John Bridges, and three outstanding advisers: Elizabeth David (on food), Loelia, Duchess of Westminster (to discover unknown houses), and Olive Sullivan (on interior design). With his dedicated and happy crew he revitalised House & Garden, and produced
1995-484: The landscape, while some of the great houses such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall were built as "power houses" to dominate the landscape, and were most certainly intended to be "stately" and impressive. In his book Historic Houses: Conversations in Stately Homes , the author and journalist Robert Harling documents nineteen "stately homes"; these range in size from the vast Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard to
2052-540: The latter two are ducal palaces, Montacute, although built by a Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I, was occupied for the next 400 years by his descendants, who were gentry without a London townhouse , rather than aristocracy. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century. However, the vast majority of English country houses, often owned at different times by gentlemen and peers , are an evolution of one or more styles with facades and wings in different styles in
2109-583: The minuscule Ebberston Hall , and in architecture from the Jacobean Renaissance of Hatfield House to the eccentricities of Sezincote . The book's collection of stately homes also includes George IV's Brighton town palace, the Royal Pavilion . The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years. Before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords , de facto overlords of their manors . The Tudor period of stability in
2166-416: The most eminent guests, the entertainment of whom was of paramount importance in establishing and maintaining the power of the owner. The common denominator of this category of English country houses is that they were designed to be lived in with a certain degree of ceremony and pomp. It was not unusual for the family to have a small suite of rooms for withdrawing in privacy away from the multitude that lived in
2223-399: The munitions factories, or filled the void left by the fighting men in other workplaces. Of those who returned after the war, many left the countryside for better-paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II ; having been requisitioned during the war, they were returned to the owners in poor repair. Many estate owners, having lost their heirs, if not in
2280-468: The names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace , castle , court , hall , mansion , park , house , manor , and place . It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I , and under her successor, James I , that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House , Longleat House , and Hatfield House are among
2337-450: The nation for the use of a prime minister who might not possess one of his or her own. Chequers still fulfills that need today as do both Chevening House and Dorneywood , donated for sole use of high-ranking ministers of the Crown. Today, many country houses have become hotels, schools, hospitals and museums, while others have survived as conserved ruins, but from the early 20th century until
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2394-468: The owner of a "power house" or a small manor, the inhabitants of the English country house have become collectively referred to as the ruling class, because this is exactly what they did in varying degrees, whether by having high political influence and power in national government, or in the day-to-day running of their own localities or "county" in such offices as lord/deputy lieutenant , magistrates , or occasionally even clergy. The Country house mystery
2451-521: The owner's twelve children. Canons Ashby , home to poet John Dryden 's family, is another example of architectural evolution: a medieval farmhouse enlarged in the Tudor era around a courtyard, given grandiose plaster ceilings in the Stuart period , and then having Georgian façades added in the 18th century. The whole is a glorious mismatch of styles and fashions that seamlessly blend together. These could be called
2508-502: The ownership or management of some houses has been transferred to a private trust , most notably at Chatsworth , other houses have transferred art works and furnishings under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme to ownership by various national or local museums, but retained for display in the building. This enables the former owners to offset tax, the payment of which would otherwise have necessitated
2565-457: The private sale of the art works. For example, tapestries and furniture at Houghton Hall are now owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum . In addition, increasing numbers of country houses hold licences for weddings and civil ceremonies . Another source of income is to use the house as a venue for parties, a film location or a corporate entertainment venue. While many country houses are open to
2622-467: The public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. The lifestyles of those living and working in a country house in the early 20th century were recreated in a BBC television programme, The Edwardian Country House , filmed at Manderston House in Scotland. Another television programme which features life in country houses
2679-509: The season: Grouse shooting in Scotland , pheasant shooting and fox hunting in England. The Earl of Rosebery , for instance, had Dalmeny House in Scotland, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, and another house near Epsom just for the racing season. For many, this way of life, which began a steady decline in 1914, continued well into the 20th century, and for a few continues to this day. In
2736-444: The second category of Britain's country houses are those that belonged to the squirearchy or landed gentry . These tend either to have evolved from medieval hall houses, with rooms added as required, or were purpose-built by relatively unknown local architects. Smaller, and far greater in number than the "power houses", these were still the epicentre of their own estate, but were often the only residence of their owner. However, whether
2793-508: The term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832 . Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until
2850-488: The true English country house. Wilton House , one of England's grandest houses, is in a remarkably similar vein; although, while the Drydens, mere squires, at Canons Ashby employed a local architect, at Wilton the mighty Earls of Pembroke employed the finest architects of the day: first Holbein , 150 years later Inigo Jones, and then Wyatt followed by Chambers. Each employed a different style of architecture, seemingly unaware of
2907-534: The war: The London Miscellany (1937) and Home: a vignette (1938). Both drew on his love of 19th-century architecture and design. By the start of the war , he was becoming known as an expert on typography and design. In 1940 he was named an associate editor of Art and Industry . In 1939 Robert Harling met Ian Fleming , the meeting was (as Harling found later) no accident. Fleming, was serving in Naval Intelligence , and had heard about Harling's editorship of
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#17328519203582964-421: The world to collect data. On forming 30AU (30 Assault Unit) Fleming again tapped Harling. Landing soon after D-Day , he pursued the task assigned to the unit to pick up enemy code-books, security documents and wireless equipment through fierce fighting round Cherbourg , and on into France. Cautious, eventually cordial relations with American forces brought a memorable meeting with General George Patton , which
3021-511: Was a popular genre of English detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s; set in the residence of the gentry and often involving a murder in a country house temporarily isolated by a snowstorm or similar with the suspects all at a weekend house party. Following the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, a third category of country houses was built as newly rich industrialists and bankers were eager to display their wealth and taste. By
3078-478: Was complete invention. He grew up and went to school in Islington, with a living mother and a father who drove a London taxi . He had a brother and a first wife who, like his parents, had been ruthlessly excised by Harling from his biography, and came as a revelation to his middle-aged children." He attributed his interest in lettering from his study of Pears' Cyclopaedia , which he was given on his 12th birthday. He
3135-514: Was fascinated by the reproductions of assay marks for plate, fine examples of English vernacular lettering. His "uncle" would enlarge them for him photographically so he could laboriously copy them. This love of letter-forms and contemporary gothic led him to the Central School of Arts and Crafts , having rejected a place at Oxford . He briefly kept a bookshop in Lamb's Conduit Street , and then got
3192-615: Was followed by a lightning dash across Germany to Magdeburg to round up German scientists. A final mission to Norway to disarm German naval forces brought a close to Harling's war. In between convoy duty and the ISTD Harling had redesigned the ailing Daily Sketch for Lord Kemsley , who liked Harling's work but thought it too advanced. He now invited Harling to become typographical adviser to The Sunday Times , where his friend Fleming had become Foreign News Manager. With his old friend James Shand, printer and sponsor of Typography, he launched
3249-422: Was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam . Some of the best known of England's country houses were the work of only one architect/designer, built in a relatively short, particular time: Montacute House , Chatsworth House , and Blenheim Palace are examples. While
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