Some Cotswold Country Houses - A Personal Selection

Wimbourne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press, 1987. This is from the dustwrapper: "No one could be a more knowledgeable or entertaining guide to the country houses of the Cotswolds than James Lees-­Milne. He was brought up in their shadow, for a while lived in one of the houses included in this book, and now lives beside the gates of another. As Adviser on Historic Houses to the National Trust, for whom he worked for thirty years, he became an influential authority on the history and architecture of the English country house. Reviewing one volume of his diaries in The Observer, Maurice Richardson described him as 'a naturally graceful writer, he is as observant as a fly and a master of detail who knows exactly when to stop.' Alas, in this book at least the stops come all too soon. In his Introduction, James Lees-Milne remarks that 'Most, but not all, of the houses in this book I have known over a lifetime.' It is a lifetime that nearly spans the century, and it is this familiararity with the houses and friendship with many of the owners that makes him so sympathetic and engrossing a guide. Architecture and anecdotes mix happily together. The tastes and eccentricities of those who have occupied the houses leaven the scholarship. The twenty-eight houses represent a very personal selection: how else could one tackle an area so architecturally rich as the Cotswolds? If the ommissions are many, the choice is distinctive. No period is neglected, no house too humble. Castle, palace and yeoman's manor all have a place, combining to call the roll on some of the most beautiful country houses in England. The book is illustrated with over 200 watercolours, engravings, portraits and photographs. James Lees-Milne was born in 1908 and brought up at Wickhamford Manor, Worcestershire. ' After passing through the conventional, and expensive seats of learning (Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford), he emerged in the late 'twenties ill-equipped to earn a living.' In 1933 he became private secretary to Lord Lloyd, ex-High Commissioner to Egypt. In 1936 he was engaged by the National Trust as first secretary of the Historic Buildings Committee, responsible for the Trust's historic houses and their contents. On the outbreak of War in 1939 he was commis­sioned into the Irish Guards, to be invalided out after being nearly hit by a bomb in Hyde Park Square. In 1941 he returned to the National Trust, remaining on the staff until his retirement in 1966. He is the author of some twenty-five books, including several on architecture, an autobiography, novels and biographies, and four volumes of diaries. He lives with his wife Alvilde, the well-known garden expert, in the village of Badminton,Gloucestershire." Illustrated with over 200 watercolours, engravings and photographs.159 pages, 8.25 X 10.5 inches.Very good book in a very good dustwrapper with no tears and only some slight edge wear, internally clean throughout ,no ins criptions and price unclipped.. First Edition.