death duties

It’s a wonder any of our great country houses survived the 20th century

20 November 2021 9:00 am

One of Adrian Tinniswood’s recent books, The Long Weekend, is a portrait of country house life in the interwar years.…

The Long Library at Blenheim Palace, converted into a dormitory for the boys of Malvern school in 1940

What most imperilled country houses in the 20th century was taxes and death duties, not requisition

26 April 2014 9:00 am

Servicemen used paintings as dartboards.   Schoolchildren dismantled banisters and paneling for firewood. Architects from the Ministry of Works acted like…