death duties
It’s a wonder any of our great country houses survived the 20th century
One of Adrian Tinniswood’s recent books, The Long Weekend, is a portrait of country house life in the interwar years.…
What most imperilled country houses in the 20th century was taxes and death duties, not requisition
Servicemen used paintings as dartboards. Schoolchildren dismantled banisters and paneling for firewood. Architects from the Ministry of Works acted like…