Great Houses of London

This lavishly illustrated compendium suggest that the age of elegance endures - Mail on Sunday

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. There are many architectural wonders, among them Robert Adams 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 Schulenbur, 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.