Course description
This course aims to
Ten weeks exploring the development of the rich legacy of country houses and their settings from the medieval period
onwards, using sources where applicable and possible. The county has a particularly good legacy from c1100 to 1914 which
deserves to be better known. Some of the owners are very interesting too.
We will begin with the castle and its development as a domestic building, and also seek to understand why and how manor
houses developed. We will then move on to the courtyard house, and then the changes in fashion which resulted in the rich
variations of 'stately piles' with their different ground plans. The impact of the increasing expectations of owners for privacy on
internal design will be explored as well as the influence of changes in exterior and interior designs.
The design and management of grounds altered over time. Fashions in the design and management of parks and gardens
exerted a major influence on the development of the landscapes surrounding houses.
The role and standing of the owners of country houses altered enormously, which affected attitudes towards the local area.
This for example meant that fpr some families, their lives more orientated around life in London and other towns visited rarely.
We will explore some of the sources such as inventories, letters, maps, copies of prints and paintings and plans to see what
the strengths and limitations of the evidence that historians use are.
When ever it is possible, Sussex examples will be used.
There is a good literature on this subject and a full booklist will be given out at the start.
What materials will I need?
LIBRARY
Girouard, M (2009) Elizabethan Architecture Yale
Girouard, M. Life in the English Country House Latest edition Yale
Baird, R (2007) Goodwood Francis Lincoln
Quest-Ritson C (2001) The English Garden: a social history Penguin
Students are advised not to buy books until after they attend the first session.
Contact details for this course
Please contact GAE to enrol on this course or for more information.
Contact name
Support Officer Oliver Fisher
Post
Brighton Junction,
Isetta Square,
Brighton,
BN1 4GQ
Telephone
01273 810210
