Written in evocative, imaginative prose and illustrated with glorious images from the National Trust"s photographic library, an essential guide to the built heritage of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland—fully revised and updated for 2013 and featuring more houses than ever beforeThe National Trust cares for a wealth of houses and historic buildings of all types, ranging from the grand to the quirky to the humble. This captivating book showcasing those buildings is a guide to some of the greatest architectural treasures of Britain, encompassing both interior and exterior design. The houses covered include spectacular mansions such as Petworth House and Waddesdon Manor, and more lowly dwellings such as the Birmingham Back to Backs and estate villages like Blaise Hamlet, near Bristol. In addition to houses, the book also covers fascinating buildings as diverse as churches, windmills, dovecotes, castles, follies, barns, and even pubs. The book also acts as an overview of the country"s architectural history, with every period covered: the medieval stronghold of Bodiam Castle, Tudor eccentricity in Hardwick Hall, 18th-century grandeur at Kedleston Hall, Victorian fantasy at Tyntesfield, and the clean-lined Modernism of the Homewood. The book teems with stories of the people who lived and worked in these buildings: wealthy collectors (Charles Wade at Snowshill), captains of industry (William Armstrong at Cragside), prime ministers (Winston Churchill at Chartwell), and pop stars (John Lennon at Mendips).