The Georgian London Town House

For every great country house of the Georgian period, there was usually also a town house. Chatsworth, for example, the home of the Devonshires, has officially been recognised as one of the country's favourite national treasures - but most of its visitors know little of Devonshire House, which the family once owned in the capital. In part, this is because town houses were often leased, rather than being passed down through generations as country estates were. But, most crucially, many London town houses, including Devonshire House, no longer exist, having been demolished in the early twentieth century. This book seeks to place centre-stage the hugely important yet hitherto overlooked town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, exploring the prime position they once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. It explores the owners, how they furnished and used these properties, and how their houses were judged by the various types of visitor who gained access.

This title takes a fresh look at a familiar building type - the town house in 18th century London - and investigates the circumstances in which individuals made decisions about living in London, and particularly about their West End house.

First published as London: The Art of Georgian Building, this book has been widely acclaimed as a classic study of London's town houses built between 1700 and 1821 - the greatest period of British architecture. Dan Cruickshank's text, combined with numerous photographs and Peter Wyld's superbly executed measured drawings of facades and details, is a unique record of these buildings. Now, this book has been re-issued at £14.99.

Beautifully illustrated history of the Georgian home.

Imagine some obscure bar. Imagine light bulbs going back and forth above tables filled with empty glasses. Imagine men with perfect haircuts begging beautiful women for a long, sensuous dance, and end up with Room Eleven. Or, with as much ease, imagine that final holiday night in which seductive glances have their last shot and a lonely mosquito gets lost in the blazing campfire. The list of atmospheric sketches one can come up with is endless, but as long as they sway back and forth between melancholic, summery, seductive and fiery, they are accurate. So, imagine Room Eleven, a band that came into existence because of a simple note pinned on a notice board at the Conservatorium in Utrecht. With their 2006 debut album Six White Russians And A Pink Pussycat, they have managed to impress an increasingly bigger audience with a catchy mixture of jazz, pop, funk, blues and a touch of folk. Whether a strict jazz lover or a young pop fan, in the end you will be won over by the their incredible stage presence. Not only music fans have come to appreciate the band, Room Eleven has also managed to convince the press. Their debut album has received much critical acclaim. One magazine poetically described Janne Schra's voice as 'a juicy green meadow, just after sunset, covered in fresh dew.' As one radio DJ put it: 'She seduces you, moves you and makes you happy, all in one sentence.'

Continuing her exploration of English interiors, Ros Byam Shaw visits 14 distinctive townhouses full of charm, character and style. In Perfect English Townhouse, Ros Byam Shaw examines the timeless English style of decoration in a variety of Georgian, Victorian, and contemporary townhouses. Architecturally, these tall, narrow properties present challenges. How do you make the best of a basement kitchen with a low ceiling and little light? Or allocate space effectively when you live across five floors? And how do you maximize any outdoor space? Perfect English Townhouse features case studies of such homes, not only in London but also in the provincial towns and cities of England. Some feel like little corners of countryside surrounded by sidewalks, others have a more sophisticated urban allure; some are endearingly quirky, others more classical. All the interiors featured are interesting, inspiring, and reflect the personalities of the people who live in them. These are the kinds of spaces that most of us are familiar with, and that many of us occupy. What is unusual is how cleverly and creatively these examples have been decorated and designed, in the Perfect English style.

During the 18th century, the narrow cluttered streets of towns were replaced by regular terraces of town houses built to classical designs. The author has previously written "London: the Art of Georgian Building" and "A Guide to the Georgian Buildings of England and Ireland."

What is it about old pine panelling layered with flaking paint that enchants the eye and tugs at the heart? The soft shine of wooden boards, worn and gappy. Sunlight shafting through an open door out to an unevenly flagged yard where a clay pipe might turn up alongside a Thames oyster shell or a pottery shard. Blue-and-and white export ware; the molten lustre of mahogany or worn silver; the curiosity of tricorn hat boxes or a fragment of Spitalfields silk; portraits whose owners might once have lived here. Would they have believed that these houses would stand 250 years later? Time has imbued all these things with unforgettable patina not only in museums, but even more in old Georgian houses still lived in and loved, repaired, and regenerated. The majority of these extraordinary dwellings began as ordinary terrace houses, built to a pattern, often in pairs or small groups. Clusters exist in the East End of London: in Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Shadwell, Mile End. They are mostly Grade II-listed, and their owners put up with the bone-curdling cold of winter howling through gaps, with mending and colour-matching, patching and piecing. Not just put up with-- they embrace it. And among them are some unrepentantly furnished with 20th- and 21st-century modern, finding poetic harmony across the centuries.