THE ENGLISH HOUSE

This is the story of the superbly elegant early eighteenth century Pallant House in Chichester It s the story of 19 Princelet Street in Spitafields built for a Huguenot silk weaver ultimately a synagogue It s also the story of among others a row of two up two downs in Toxteth a block of flats in London s East End and what Ideal Home s magazine described in 1926 as Britain s first modern house in Northampton Together these buildings reveal the ways in which English homes have developed and changed over the past few centuries At the same time as Dan Cruickshank shows they have much to tell us about the lives of their first occupants their aspirations their struggles their place within society and relationship with their local community The English House brilliantly weaves these two strands together blending architectural and social history to create a series of brilliantly observed portraits of fascinating buildings