Description
A reconstruction of the 'Strand palaces', where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to build and furnish new, secular cathedrals
This book reconstructs the so-called "Strand palaces"-eleven great houses that once stood along the Strand in London. Between 1550 and 1650, this was the capital's "Golden Mile": home to a unique concentration of patrons and artists, and where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to establish themselves by building and furnishing new, secular cathedrals. Their inventive, eclectic, and yet carefully-crafted mix of vernacular and continental features not only shaped some of the greatest country houses of the day, but also the image of English power on the world stage. It also gave rise to a distinctly English style, which was to become the symbol of a unique architectural period. The product of almost two decades of research, and benefitting from close archival investigation, this book brings together an incredible array of unpublished sources that sheds new light on one of the most important chapters in London's architectural history, and on English architecture more broadly.
Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
About the Author
Manolo Guerci is an architectural historian, and senior lecturer and BA RIBA Part 1 programme director at the Kent School of Architecture and Planning, University of Kent.
Reviews
"This book presents discrete 11 studies of these outstanding buildings...Part of its fascination lies in the rich body of historical illustrations it assembles."-John Goodall, Country Life
"A beautifully produced book by Yale University Press. They always produce rather sumptuous books. It's also a piece of detective work, about the great buildings that were created on the Strand between roughly the 1550s through to the 1650s."-Paul Lay, Five Books 'Best History Books of 2021'
Book Information
ISBN 9781913107239
Author Manolo Guerci
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Publisher Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
This book reconstructs the so-called "Strand palaces"-eleven great houses that once stood along the Strand in London. Between 1550 and 1650, this was the capital's "Golden Mile": home to a unique concentration of patrons and artists, and where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to establish themselves by building and furnishing new, secular cathedrals. Their inventive, eclectic, and yet carefully-crafted mix of vernacular and continental features not only shaped some of the greatest country houses of the day, but also the image of English power on the world stage. It also gave rise to a distinctly English style, which was to become the symbol of a unique architectural period. The product of almost two decades of research, and benefitting from close archival investigation, this book brings together an incredible array of unpublished sources that sheds new light on one of the most important chapters in London's architectural history, and on English architecture more broadly.
Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
About the Author
Manolo Guerci is an architectural historian, and senior lecturer and BA RIBA Part 1 programme director at the Kent School of Architecture and Planning, University of Kent.
Reviews
"This book presents discrete 11 studies of these outstanding buildings...Part of its fascination lies in the rich body of historical illustrations it assembles."-John Goodall, Country Life
"A beautifully produced book by Yale University Press. They always produce rather sumptuous books. It's also a piece of detective work, about the great buildings that were created on the Strand between roughly the 1550s through to the 1650s."-Paul Lay, Five Books 'Best History Books of 2021'
"How historic a gateway it was is the focus of Manolo Guerci's sumptuously illustrated new book."-Jack Watkins, Country Life
"Manolo Guerci has pieced together clues from visual sources such as early maps and views of London, and knitted that information together with details gleaned from documentary sources...He has done an excellent job of conjuring up a lost urban landscape."-Elizabeth Goldring, Times Literary Supplement
Book Information
ISBN 9781913107239
Author Manolo Guerci
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Publisher Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
