Members: £90
Non-members: £112
Concessions: £20 (call the office 020 8340 3343)
Spring term 2025: 28 February -11 April (7 weeks)
This course is for anyone interested in learning more about the rise and fall of the English aristocracy, but mostly their fall. For centuries, England had a well- defined social class hierarchy, which dwindled significantly in the twentieth century due to a number of factors, including two world wars. This class examines how country houses, the estates where the aristocracy made and maintained their power, represent the highs and lows of the elite.
Each week we will look at a different house and examine its history, its architectural style and interiors, and its significance for examining the decline of the aristocracy. We will explore shifting roles for women, the master and servant relationship, and collections of art, artefacts and books at country houses. We’ll be looking at images, video, and archive sources, including letters, records, and country life magazine. We’ll briefly look at how country houses have been represented in film and television, and how popular culture reflects the declining aristocracy. This course is ideal for anyone wanting to know more about architecture history in different historical periods, social and political history, and how the landscape of social power shifted over time in England.
Houses covered will include:
- Bramshill House, Hampshire (early 1600s)
- Basildon Park, Berkshire (1783)
- Pitzhanger Manor, London (1800)
- Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire (1722)
- Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire (mid-1700s)
- Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire (1883)
The course will also include a trip to Pitzhanger Manor, date TBC.
Sarah Moody began her career teaching drama and English in schools and colleges, and working with adult learners. Following this, Sarah decided to follow her interest in heritage and architecture history, winning a scholarship to study an MA at The National Gallery whilst working part time as a tour guide at Sir John Soane's former country house. Sarah is now studying for a PhD that combines architecture history and literature to examine women in the twentieth century country house.
