What is English country house?
[[File:Holkham Hall South.gif|thumb|right|400px|[[Holkham Hall]], one of the grandest English country houses. Country houses not only displayed the owners' fashionable and cultivated tastes, but was the center of a vast landed [[estate (house)|estate]], providing employment to hundreds]] The '''English country house''' is generally accepted as a large [[house]] that was once in the ownership of an individual who in most of the cases owned another great house in the [[West End of London]]. The country house was not only a weekend retreat for [[aristocrat]]s, but also often a full time residence for the minor [[gentry]]. == Evolution of the English country house == The country houses of England have developed over the last 500 years. Before this time most larger houses were [[fort]]ified, because their owners were [[Feudalism|feudal lords]] or overlords of their [[Manorialism|manor]]. The [[Tudor period]] of stability in the country saw the first of the large unfortified country houses. With the rise of [[Industrial Revolution|modern industry]] and [[urbanization]], when people left the country to go to the big cities the popularity of country houses declined as there were less people in the country. After 1945 it became very difficult to pay for the huge staff that was required to maintain these houses. == References == *Girouard, Mark. ''Life in the English Country House : a social and architectural history'' details the impact of social change on design == Other websites == *[http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk The National Trust - England, Wales, & Northern Ireland] *[http://www.nts.org.uk The National Trust for Scotland] *[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk English Heritage] *[http://toddingtonmanor.blogspot.com An English Manor House Head Gardener's Online Diary] *[http://www.lostheritage.org.uk Lost Heritage - A Memorial to the Lost Country Houses of England] [[Category:Houses]]