1 LISS1002 The English Country House: A Social History ... - API

Thursday 12 th July 9:30-11:00 - The End of the Country House? 1
Questions to consider:
Was the first half of the twentieth century one of „doom and gloom‟ for the aristocracy?
Why were country houses demolished?
Recommended Reading:
David Littlejohn, The Fate of the English Country House (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1997), pp. 3-56.
Suggested Reading:
John Harris, No Voice from the Hall (London: John Murray, 1998).
Peter Mandler, The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home (New Haven and London: Yale
University Press, 1997), pp. 21-221, 311-354.
Giles Worsley, England’s Lost Houses from the Archives of Country Life (London: Aurum
Press, 2002), pp. 7-24.
Thursday 12 th July 11:30-1:00 - The End of the Country House? 2
Questions to consider:
Whose history was displayed in country houses after the war?
How do modern heritage organisations such as the National Trust and English Heritage
present the country house today? Do these differ from the presentation methods of private
owners?
In what ways do you think country houses and their contents should be displayed?
Recommended Reading:
Contemporary Cultures of Display, ed. by Emma Barker (New Haven and London: Yale
University Press, 1999), pp. 200-228.
Suggested Reading:
John Cornforth, The inspiration of the past: country house taste in the twentieth century
(Harmondsworth: Viking in association with Country Life, 1985), pp. 143-221.
Adrian Tinniswood, The Polite Tourist. A History of Country House Visiting (London: The
National
Trust, 1998), pp. 181-209.
Friday 13 th : Visit to Oxford (all modules)
6