Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II

by Adrian Tinniswood

A rollicking tour of the English country home after World War II, when swinging London collided with aristocratic values

As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, its mansions fell and rose. Ancient families were reduced to demolishing the parts of their stately homes they could no longer afford, dukes and duchesses desperately clung to their ancestral seats, and a new class of homeowners bought their way into country life.

A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history—from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Audiobook, Historical, Architecture, Ebooks

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Adrian John Tinniswood OBE FSA (born 11 October 1954) is an English writer and historian. He is currently Professor of English Social History at the University of Buckingham.

Tinniswood studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University.

Tinniswood has often acted as a consultant to the National Trust, and has lectured at several universities including the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Reviews

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is again like sitting down with a maiden Great Aunt, sipping tea and hearing all the family gossip.

More optimistic than The Last Weekend and equally as wonderful!

Another excellent Country House read that I loved.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Redistribution of Wealth in 20th Century UK

This was an interesting book about British country houses in the 20th century. It highlighted how stately mansions fell victim to incredibly high death taxes so that many noble and aristocratic families could no longer afford them. Some were taken over by the National Trust which turned them into tourist sites. For others, a new aristocrat came in, namely wealthy businesspeople and celebrities who bought some up. Other have declined or fallen to ruin.

It’s not unlike the US, when many stately mansions built in the late 1800s and early 1900s has undergone similar results. Many were torn down. Some were sold off. Many fell to ruin. Newport, Rhode Island is filled with such mansions mostly eventually turned over to the Newport Historical Society which has turned them into a major tourist attraction.

I would give this book a 3+ or 4- actually. It was about 3 chapters too long as some were just superfluous. The author periodically got distracted with complex roundabout sentences. He has a penchant for gossipy tidbits, which in my opinion had no point or place in this book. A visual example is the cover of the book — I have no clue what that cover has to do with this book; it’s sole purpose is to titillate and grab attention. Still, the book does have value as a reflection upon an important era in British history with the redistribution of wealth in the last half of the 20th century and it is interesting and easily readable, so I go toward a 4 star rating.

[all_day_dream_about_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thank netgalley and Perseus Books, Basic Books for providing me with a complementary eARC of Noble Ambitions The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II.

The magnanimous English country houses belonging to peers, and nobles run back centuries. With ample staff and servants to maintain these humongous and aesthetic structures, they were a sight to see and a pride to live in and hold and pass on the legacy to the next generation.

In this well-researched and detailed book, Adrian describes the crumbling of such houses due to various reasons that cropped up during the two wars. The two wars and the beginning of modernization, availability of myriad jobs that provided security, the slow downfall of the nobles financially lead to one question which not many would have thought would be important. What happens to the colossal country houses that once housed the elite nobles, owned by their families for centuries?
These colossal houses were given in the service of the war efforts while the owners lived in the same wings of the houses separately while the other parts were used for intended purposes. Due to financial issues of maintaining these structures, sometimes they were given on rent. Irrespective of the owner being well of or not at the time of the war, these houses were neglected and used without any concern, There were cases of jeeps going down the staircases, dry rots, leaky roofs and the list goes on. Death tax was another huge burden that the future peers had to face. Rising costs, inability to maintain and restore the damage caused, these houses were up for sale, but due to lack of modern facilities, it was another hurdle to sell them away.

Adrian Tinniswood has brilliantly written the fall and the rise of these structures which hold a significant importance in the life of it's owners as well as from historical perspective.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian Tinniswood’s ambitious social history of the post-war country house is a complete delight. Fascinating, revealing and surprising in equal measure, Tinniswood knows his stuff and, just as importantly, how to present it to the general reader, with a complex and multifaceted history enlivened throughout by compelling pen portraits of a seemingly endless supply of colourful characters and an ear for a juicy anecdote. The book is beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated, but printed on high quality paper to maximise the impact of the many photographs that accompany the text, it weighs a ton. Unputdownable is not a word I often use to describe non-fiction, but there’s plenty of ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ stuff in Noble Ambitions that means that it truly merits the description.

[BAM IS BACK! · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely a niche book. I'm not feeling very nichey right now.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II by Adrian Tinniswood is a great nonfictional account of the life, times, and societal shifts of not only the stately " English country homes", but also of English society in general.

I really enjoyed being able to have the objective to stand and look back at the place in history at this specific time where there was a monumental tipping point of societal shift in society within Great Britain s/p WWII. It was interesting to see how looking at estates and homes and their transitions, we can also look at how the country's people, its priorities, and standards also changed. It is a window into a long-lasting transition.

The author clearly has done the research and has presented a well-thought out book depicting all of these changes, the reasoning, and the far-outstretching outcomes. Enjoyable read.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Basic Books for this arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The decline of the country house after World War II is something that I have read about briefly in other books, so I was quite interested when I saw this book on Audible. The book was very well written, and featured details about lives of many individuals and their country houses. It was amazing the amount of disrepair that some of these houses found themselves in. One house had saplings and fungus growing from the walls! A lot of people found themselves selling off items from inside the houses, as well as surrounding lands. Fans of Downton Abbey would recognize this problem from the show when they were struggling to find a way to make the land pay for itself. I really enjoyed this book for the historical and societal implications, but the gossip that was included was also intriguing.

[Immie Charnley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating dive into the fates of the country houses in the 20th century. How many were painfully demolished because of obscene death duties, and how they rose again as tourist attractions. However the structure was non-chronological and thematic which didn’t quite work for me, but it gave me lots to Wikipedia along the way that I enjoyed a lot. I’d also say it needs more pictures to bring these houses to life.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensively researched look at the cost and liabilities of trying to own a large country home/estate in the 50's and beyond. How did families, often lesser royalty keep up with these homes? A great companion read to the novel The English Air.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about English country homes and the aristocratic families that once lived in them. The social history started out strong; along with a focus on architectural design styles, and the tough decisions about the feasibility of saving ancestral seats while working with the National Trust.
But somewhere in the middle of the book many of the described British elite grew tiresome to read about. Thankfully, it picked up again with the last two chapters.
3.5

[Marguerite Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This is a lovely looking book, with lots of great pictures of the houses in question that make you absolutely desperate for more. You want to step inside these houses and experience them for yourself. You want to see the ones that are crumbling and the ones that have been restored and the ones that have been re-structured (for good or bad) for their new owners. You want to feel and smell the history. But alas, this book isn't about one house but many. It's a general tale with specific examples, not a case study of one or two. That's absolutely not a criticism, it's because the writing and images are so evocative that I yearned for more - I wanted to linger in almost every single house.

But this is a history (lovely and gossipy in places) of the decline and rise of the country house. There's nothing new or sensational in it, but it presents a bleak, well-informed, sympathetic though far from fawning tale of the people who struggled to preserve a way of life in the face of massive taxes, massive social revolution and several wars. There's some profligates in there, some from long lines of profligates, but the majority were families trying their best to beat the odds, keep their homes and their traditions. What to do with a stately pile if the National Trust don't want it? You can sell it to one of the nouveau riche (and there are some fascinating examples of very successful and long-lived purchasers), or you can sell it off bit by bit and bulldoze it, or you can let it slowly crumble. In places this latter was really quite tragic to read. In other places, you got a sense of an old beast whose time was past. The other solution is to open it to the public yourself, and maybe add in a few lions or a theme park. We are so accustomed to this now, that reading about Longleat, for example, and the disgust the owner faced from his fellow peers and landowners, actually really surprised me.

So why didn't I give this book a full four stars? I think because ultimately it was a little bit unsatisfying. I wanted more of some things and less of others. There were enough nice gossipy bits to whet my appetite, but if they'd been left out, there would have been more room for the houses themselves and I wouldn't have missed them. Maybe I'm being unfair. Is it wrong to penalise a book for not being long enough? Or maybe I need to pick and choose my own further research or even attempt some visits!

I really enjoyed this. I adored the pictures, and the narrative was very well-written. It gave me tons of ideas for locations for my own books. It whetted my appetite for more. Maybe that's the point.

[Tara Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched history of the English country manor houses owned by nobility and upper-class members of British society, Noble Ambitions perfectly encapsulates the decline of stately living. Everyone loves the idea of a well-appointed luxurious life of servants in a grand home full of art and artifacts, but the cost of this lifestyle was tremendous. As families could no longer afford the opulent status of maintaining a secondary residence, many were abandoned, turned over to the government, repurposed or even destroyed. A story of transition and changing times, the allure of beauty and the constraints of upkeep showcase excess as both an aspiration and a hindrance to progress and equality. I would love to see this book in the gift shop of historical homes. It has a niche audience of Downton Abbey fans or The Pursuit of Love fans, so it could make a great connection to that audience.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. A look at how post war country houses have evolved, changed and in some cases fallen due to deaths of taxes or both. Some of the stories outlined in this book I knew already but others were new to me this was really interesting.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. If you know anything about the subject, there’s not much new here. And it’s not particularly insightful or uniquely analytical. It’s merely an overview of facts about English country houses in the post war period with some old gossip thrown in. It quickly covers 1950s destruction, 1960s actors and rock stars, the servant problem, a few retreaded royal family stories, etc. Each chapter is well researched, but this is a whisk through the topic and nothing more.

It’s not a picture book per se, but there are some black and white photos, as well as some color images. Disconcertingly, few of these are of houses. Instead they are of people, such as Mick Jagger. So, they’re not useful if you actually care about houses.

Lastly, the cover photo on the hardback, which features what appear to be two nude young men loitering in a country home, is a tip off. The author is interested in the intersection of gay men and country houses. Nothing wrong with that, except in my reading (which admittedly was not always careful because I was bored), he never once mentions women who love women. Well, he does mention some by name, but never references their queerness. But if a man was queer, by gosh we need to know it.

This silly bit of sexism turned my mild boredom into peevishness and then to outright dislike.

I won’t be keeping my copy.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inevitable clash between a penniless British aristocracy, its depleted estates & decaying values with the tidal wave of social changes that hit postwar England is at the center of this delightful journey through the difficult transformation of a nation and its stunning rebirth from the ashes of a long and painful conflict. Teeming with delicious anecdotes & unforgettable portraits, this book is a glorious tapestry of British social life and customs during the second part of the 20th century. A trip to be enjoyed without any moderation!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Perseus for this wonderful ARC

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining history of English country houses but brush up on your Peers of the Realm knowledge before delving in. The author drops hundreds of names of obscure lords, earls, viscounts when describing the elegant houses and I lost track. “In 1939 the golden age of the country house, with its lavish entertaining and its armies of servants, was a distant memory – and, in truth, a memory that had been burnished by the passage of time until it shone more brightly than it ever had in real life.” I like the clear-eyed cynicism of the writer, who acknowledges that much of the country house cachet was manufactured (think Downton Abbey) and built on the backs of peasants. My love of historic architecture temporarily trumped cynicism.

After two World Wars and societal upheaval, most country house owners were forced to sell out and sever their centuries-old ties with the land. “’Chatsworth may not go on as a family home,’ the 11th Duke of Devonshire told his wife as they wrestled with the prospect of maintaining that vast pile in the early 1950s. ‘But I don’t want to be the one to let it go.’” It’s hard to pity them; I just wanted to hear about their malachite staircases, entry halls, and moonlit terraces. The book was a little too heavy on the gossip about owners and too light on architecture. I did learn that 400 country houses were demolished in the 1950s and 300 more in the 1960s. Then a vigorous program of preservation kicked in and now the National Trust manages more than 200 of the most famous historic houses. The other 1,400 or so not preserved were snapped up by foreigners and the occasional celebrity.

The book also does a thorough job of exploring the various interior decorators who became famous for Blenheim Palace or Hinton Ampner, as well as the sports and hunting parties at Rolleston Hall or Belton House. Lots of sunbathing, overeating, drinking, dancing, and garden parties. Some of the castles were turned into zoos and animal parks just to save them. One of the highlights was the chapter on rock and roll musicians who bought English country houses: Roger Daltrey, John Lennon, Bill Wyman, Eric Clapton, they were all in on it. At Holmshurst, a 1650 Jacobean house bought by Daltrey, he wrote cleverly, “You can see for miles and miles, no drugs required.”

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (I purchased the audiobook from Kobo.)

There is something about the idea of inheriting a massive family estate with a palace-sized home that seems incredibly romantic… until you start to think about death duties, refurbishment and repairs, taxes, and so on. English country homes are having a bit of a resurgence in the 20th century- so many remaining homes are open to the public, either through the National Trust or open privately, and they are incredibly popular tourist destinations. Whenever the history of these homes is covered, it tends to stop with the Second World War, sometimes earlier. However, Tinniswood begings with WWII, and takes us through to the present!

We get a peek into what refurbishing and redecorating a stately home looks like and the different organisations that are often involved (like the National Trust) He delves into when and how a family decides to sell part or all of an estate- always a complex decision that gets reduced in the retelling. And my favourite- the behind the scenes stories of those balls and parties that feature in shows like The Crown!

One of the highlights for me was absolutely the Irish coverage. As someone who has studied both early and modern Irish history, Ireland tends to sit in limbo as “not quite English”. However, there were/are many Irish country houses! And while much of their history is similar to their English cousins, they have their own history, and I appreciated that Tinniswood specifically covered them.

The audiobook narrator, Roger May, is also fantastic. He has the gravitas that you think a book about grand country estates needs but then also brings in a lot of humour and levity.

[Sula · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

An interesting history of country houses and their story of how they adapted or not after the wars. Full of photographs this is an appealing book to look through. I love the cover featuring Deborah Mitford! Other famous names appear throughout from the aristocracy (of course) to Bloomsberries such as Vita Sackville-West and Frances Partridge to musicians such as George Harrison and Mick Jagger etc.

It is not just about the houses themselves, it at times strays into a more general social history, sometimes related to the houses, sometimes not. This aspect helps bring more life to the book, and while at times perhaps it strays a little far away from country houses, perhaps it is beneficial for readers from other countries to give some additional context. At times it becomes a little dryer, more feeling a little like listing names and houses, but given the topic of the book it's not surprising there's a little of that. I wish it had carried on past the 1970s to the present day!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

Rollicking jaunt through historic English homes…

And it was fun! The book centered around the declining fortunes of some of the most historic families in England and their accompanying estates. Grand mansions, sprawling properties – all of it was threatened by many factors (war, mismanagement, incredibly high inheritance taxes, etc.) and their declines were sad to read about. What stopped it from being too morose was the ingenuity of those who refused to give up. From flower power hippie festivals to guided tours, to offering their beautiful homes as backdrops for movies, owners tried anything and everything to hold off losing their heritage.

Those stories of survival (mostly) were shared with great detail, often with humour, and some gossipy, trivia details that made the telling more real. I don’t think I’ve even visited a grand estate, so the trials of the rich (if not famous) is not something I’m usually concerned with. The author, however, not only made me care about the homes and their fates but also admire those who did everything to save them.

An entertaining read!

*I happily reviewed this book
**Thank you to NetGalley

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful old manor houses, armies of servants, glittering balls, weekend parties - this is how English aristocrats and the nouveau riche once lived. Agricultural depression, death duties, wars, and governments mostly put an end to this extravagant life from the last part of the nineteenth century, however. Adrian Tinniswood studies this lifestyle and its decline in this fascinating book, perfect for lovers of "Downton Abbey".

The book is mainly about the fall of these great country houses, but there are lots of interesting anecdotes and gossip along the way. For example, there is a whole chapter on interior design, and one interior designer wouldn't even look twice at a would-be customer who wasn't an aristocrat! There are lots of stories about famous landed families, such as the Thynnes.

I always enjoy Adrian Tinniswood's books, and this was no exception.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliantly researched and written book of English history in manorial architecture, decoration, ownership and their human custodians.
Twenty years ago I studied European history, so it was pleasantly delicious to dust off knowledge
filed away and enjoy wallowing in again.
Narrated by Roger May, whose vocalization was spot on for each occasional character statement,
was definitely a bit of humour.
We must thank the United Kingdom’s National Trust for enabling the privileged few to ‘retain’
residency, and successive British governments who have ensured English and global tourists
subsidise that financial assistance.
In today’s world of ugly McMansions with no past or future, it is a pleasure to thank you
Adrian Tinniswood, your book of large residential past’s it is very much appreciated. :-)

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sort of book you expect to hate - a tale of how awful life became for all those jolly aristros after WWII what with all that nasty socialism forcing them to tear down their country houses laced with masses of gossip and infuriating nicknames a la Nancy Milford. In fact it is nothing of the sort. Mr. Tinniswood is too good a historian to fall into cliche and his book is both illuminating about what happened after WWII looking as much at what was built and survived as what was lost. A very good generally history which while nowhere near as good as David Canadine's 'Decline of the British Aristocracy' is an intelligent look at how this surprisingly resilient group continues to survive and prosper.

[Reason Restored · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very interested in this particular bit of social history, the book does pull together many strands that give an insight into the life of the great and not so great country houses of England.
However I found the author wanders in directions that are perhaps only tenuously linked (E.g. all those fifties and sixties scandals) and a clearer narrative line or other focus might have been better.
I also found his voice (not the reader, the author) sometimes rather snide and unnecessary.
That the book finishes in 1974 (now almost half a century ago) suggests there is room for an update, if one is to be undertaken, I would like to know more about the collections these houses contained and how they came to be, less about the vicissitudes of the various owners fortunes.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating history of the decline of the English country house, primarily in the post-World War II period. Soaring death duties, coupled with rapid social change, signaled the long overdue downfall (to a certain extent) of the British upper class. As houses were turned over to trusts, opened for tours, and sold to people with money rather than purported "class," the nature of country house changed. While the loss of architectural treasures, artwork, and furniture is tragic, the change in the structure of English society is not. (although the worldwide fascination with royalty shows how slow change really is). #NobleAmbitions #NetGalley

[John Sinclair · Rating 2 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW ⭐️⭐️
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa: I did it again. I chose a book that I thought would enthrall me — the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the English stately home. Not so fascinating in one book. I would love to tour one or more of these homes and learn about it, but all of them at once proved too much. Not the book’s fault. Mine.

#bibliophile #book #bookish #booklover #books #books2022 #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookworm #homelibrary #instabook #instabooks #reader #readers #reading #readingroom #readersofinstagram #bookreview
2022 📚 10

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really need to stop reading books about country houses because they are always disappointing. This book is better than most but it still pretty dry and would benefit from a lot more photos, illustrations, etc. It is very hard to visualize most of the properties. It would really help if the book contained a list (NOT the index) of all the houses mentioned so it would be easier to look them up. The pros of Noble Ambitions are that there are a lot of amusing anecdotes and the book tackles a period not usually written about, after WW2 up to the seventies. Interesting what havoc is wrought when you ruin your tax base!

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tinniswood charts the decline of country houses in England over the 20th-century. While telling the stories of the houses he also relates the stories of the owners often in a gossipy style that makes for fun reading. However, because there are so many houses and so many locations listed that may not be familiar to those who don't live in Great Britain, the book really needed pictures of the houses he discusses and maps showing where they are all located. I found myself flipping back and forth between the book and online sources in order to understand about the houses he was describing.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book for sale at Chatsworth House last autumn and requested it as a Christmas present - I knew at once that it would be just the kind of book for me! I’m a total nerd for historic country houses and I love learning about their inner workings and stories - the personal kind that are so often left out of country house narratives. Focusing on the post-war era, this book details how houses had to adapt in a modernising world; politically, culturally and socially comparing the “new” way of life to the “old”. Very much enjoyed it.

[Thomas Barrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Adrian Tinniswood's book on the Great Fire Of London and although this one also had tip-top research it just didn't click with me. The writing style was wildly different for starters as he adopted a snooty tone aimed squarely at Telegraph readers who love country homes. I was hoping for a more critical look at them but he seemed determined to present the toffs who own them as victims, with nasty Labour taxing them due to pure envy. I loved the chapter on 60s rock stars though. It would have made a good book on its own.

[Yaya507 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially wanted to read this book since I’m a fan of English country houses and wanted to learn more about the houses I’ve visited in my historical fiction hobby. I was in for a big surprise as this book not only revealed the burden of maintaining and running an English country home post-war but also introduced me to the gossip that I never expected to experience.
Loved the author’s writing style and depth of research and I’m looking forward to checking out his other works!