Discover the stories of some of the most breathaking and historic great houses of London, along with their secrets, in this lavishly illustrated compedium.

London has a wealth of truly stunning great houses, seen by many as one of the marvels of English architecture, and yet to many their histories, their interiors and their occupants remain unknown.

This book, illustrated throughout with sumptuous photography of these breathaking residences, reveals to us this secret world of riches and splendour.

From the baroque and imposing magnificence of 10 Downing Street, perhaps London's most famous address, to the extraordinary Pre-Raphaelite mosaics of Debenham House to the confident, futuristic steel and glass of the Richard Rogers House in Chelsea, this book showcases these properties and details their origin as well as the many transformations they have undergone from their construction to the present day.

There are many architectural wonders, among them Robert Adam's 20 St James’s Square and William Burges’s Tower House. Several — including Bridgewater House with its Raphaels and Titians — have held great art collections.

These are houses that hold extraordinary stories: half the Cabinet resigned after breakfast at Stratford House; and on 4 August 1914, at 9 Carlton House Terrace — then the German Embassy — young duty clerk Harold Nicholson deftly substituted one declaration of war for another.

With photography by the world-famous and multi-award winning Fritz von der Schulenburg, this title brings these houses to life in all their grandeur, and text from historian and author James Stourton delves into the many fascinating stories hidden behind the walls of these homes.

Great Houses of London opens the door to some of the greatest and grandest houses in the world to tell the stories of their owners and occupants, artists and architects, their restoration, adaptation and change.

Now available in a more compact format. 

About the Author:

James Stourton is Chairman of Sotheby's UK. He writes regularly for The Times, the Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Spectator and Apollo. Previous books include Great Smaller Museums of Europe (2003) and Great Collectors of Our Time (2007).

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The great houses of London represent one of the marvels of English architecture and yet they are almost entirely unknown. They are for the most part disguised behind sober facades but their riches within are astonishing.

This book will range from the romantic 17th century Ashburnham House, nestling in the shadow of Westminster Abbey, through the splendid 18th century aristocratic palaces of the West End, to the curious and quirky arts and crafts houses of Holland Park and Kensington, to the cool modernist houses of Hampstead and the exuberant post-modern interiors of the last thirty years.

Every house has its own story to tell. This might be the colourful history of the occupants (such as the Duke of Wellington entertaining ladies at Apsley House), the great art collections they held (the Titians at Bridgewater House or Sam Courtauld's Impressionist paintings at Home House), or the architectural wonders of William Kent's 44 Berkeley Square and Burges's Tower House in Melbury Road. The book promises to be a great revelation.

To see the great art galleries, stately homes and museums up and down Britain today is to witness the rich story of the British as art collectors, a narrative that mirrors the history of the country. In this remarkable new book, James Stourton and Charles Sebag-Montefiore present a comprehensive survey of British art collectors down the centuries.

The major collecting landmarks covered include Henry VIII, who harnessed the arts in the service of the crown, Charles I and the Whitehall Circle, the Grand Tour and the country house boom, the bonanza created by the Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution, French taste, the collecting of Spanish art, the passion for Florence, the 19th-century heyday for the creation of museums, the private collectors who sparked the belated British love affair with Impressionism, the State's role in patronage and collecting after World War II, and the manner in which London has recently become a metropolis of contemporary art. Yet the authors' strengths lie not only in these grand themes, but also in their mastery of detail through the different eras. They write with equal authority about the royal patronage and collecting of the Tudor period, with which they begin, and the collectors of today.

Includes over 300 illustrations, including many of the greatest works of art to have featured in British collections.