Books on Victorian country houses are mainly about architecture, as one would expect, but Adrian Tinniswood’s new survey is more concerned with the people who lived in these houses. According to Tinniswood, between 1870 and 1914 around 270 country houses were constructed or dramatically renovated in Britain. This is probably an underestimate, and it doesn’t seem a great many, but these houses and their owners are at the core of this entertaining book. 

The leading architect of the day was George Gilbert Scott. Incredibly prolific, he spent much of his time managing building projects all over the country. The men in his London office joked that one day they received a telegram from him asking, ‘Am in St Albans. Why?’

The book starts with an account of the activities of the fifth Duke of Portland, the eccentric tunnelling duke, who excavated miles of underground passages at Welbeck Abbey. Tinniswood considers Cragside one of the greatest Victorian country houses and salutes its architect. Richard Norman Shaw, but he doesn’t linger on