Ladybird Tuesday - The Story of Houses & Homes

Ok it's been a while, but we are back on the case with Ladybird Tuesday linky started on the Being Mrs C blog, take a look at her posts here.  I admit that I am a little obsessed with houses and homes at the moment because we have just moved - oh the stress and strain.  And, as a result I am launching a new blog Mrs Fox's Den for all the inevitable posts about our house and garden and it's renovation.

The Story of Houses and Homes 

Written by Richard Bowood with illustrations by Robert Ayton is a Ladybird Achievements book first published in 1963.

"Man must have a house, for shelter from the weather to provide a safe place to sleep with protection from his enemies and to make a home for his wife and children."

Starting with cavemen and ending with a modernist home in the country this Ladybird book spans the history of houses in the UK.

From Norman Castle to Elizabethan half-timber homes, it looks at the history, materials and technology of the British Home:

However, it presents this history primarily in terms of the architecture with a relatively limited amount of social commentary.

There is mention of industrialisation leading to the horror of slum dwellings and this then being cleared to make way for modern council homes.

The beginning of our wonderful planning system with The Better Homes Act, which Parliament passed in 1875 giving local authorities the power to insist that every house built had to fulfil basic conditions.

But it is primarily focused on the homes of the wealthy and the changing architectural styles.

It's interesting that the author is clearly subjective in his opinion of these houses and primarily on an architectural level.  He is a bit of a Prince Charles in his opinions, in the thrall of classical architecture, the Queen Anne Home being the high point of architectural beauty in the UK.  He expresses genuine distaste for the Victorian Gothic style and traditional Victorian parlour - one of the few interior illustrations in the book.

So, with the move to our new home imminent I'm also starting a new strand on the blog; Mrs Fox's Den is a personal story of our move to a little country cottage with an acre of land.

The rest of Mrs Fox's Ladybird Tuesday posts are here and if you have a collection of Ladybird books, please do feel free to join in.