Description

England's country houses have for centuries been where the rich and grand families have displayed their wealth and status. Today, England is still well endowed with these houses although many of them are now popular visitor attractions instead of private homes but there also numerous houses which have disappeared over the years. Some have been demolished as they could no longer be sustained due to the changes in social habits, surrounding development or because of the cost of repairs or death duties; others have been lost through fire, requisitioning, decay and rot. In this book Ian Greaves examines the lost country houses of Greater Manchester and the eastern part of Lancashire which saw huge losses to its architectural heritage due to the massive expansion of the industrial northwest of England in the nineteenth century and urban growth in the twentieth century. Many of these lost houses are now covered by new housing and others stand as ruins or have a few scanty remains in the landscape, but in this book the once vibrant life of these houses and their significance in this part of the country is evoked once again.

This fascinating picture of an important but often forgotten part of the history of Greater Manchester and Lancashire over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in this area or know it well.