Publisher's Synopsis
An insight into the implications of English architecture as social history, using buildings as historical evidence. The development of houses in Hertfordshire is traced over six centuries through both fieldwork and old illustrations. Comparatively few of the buildings discussed conform to established types. Characteristically, they are the result of piecemeal development, something which is equally true of manor and vernacular houses. The large number of engravings and drawings of buildings either demolished or greatly altered permits generalization about the county's architectural history to an extent impossible from surviving buildings alone.
