Everyman's Castle

'Remarkable... traces the whole story of domestic architecture in Britain.' AN Wilson, Sunday Telegraph

An Englishman’s home has always been his castle. Everyman’s Castle restores people to the panorama of domestic architecture.

Philippa Lewis turns an affectionate eye to the characteristic British types of house – cottages, farmhouses, semi-detached, suburban, flats, terraces, bungalows, country houses – and charts their rise and fall. How were they perceived when they were built, and what happened to them subsequently? What sorts of messages did the design of a house send about the inhabitant, from stairs up to the front door (implying servants living below) in a Victorian terrace to bay windows (implying private ownership) in the twentieth century?

The book is thoroughly and beguilingly illustrated with amusing and out-of-the-way material from a wide variety of sources. Using the same technique as her acclaimed Everything You Can Do in the Garden Without Actually Gardening, Philippa Lewis builds up the story using original specifications, plans and architects’ writings on various types of houses, then layering in the experiences or expectations of those who lived in them, drawing on novels, diaries, letters, magazines and even sale advertisements.