A Story in Stone: Country Houses of the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is an area in south-west England (including large parts of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire) well known for its historic country houses, iconic villages, and ancient parish churches all built in a honey-colored limestone.

Architectural historian and author of Secret Houses of the Cotswolds, Jeremy Musson will take us on an informative and highly visual tour of twelve Cotswolds country houses, including Sudeley Castle, Stanway House, Chavenage Manor, Owlpen Manor, and Hilles, all in private family hands, as well as Snowshill and Chastleton, both cared for by the National Trust.

This is a region whose buildings have long shaped the very idea of the Englishness of English architecture, and Jeremy Musson will explore their architecture as well as their remarkable interiors and gardens.

A view through the orchard towards the house at Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire

Jeremy Musson, Historian and Author

Jeremy Musson is a leading commentator and authority on the English Country House. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and sits on a number of boards and trusts including the Country House Foundation. He was awarded an M Phil in Renaissance History at the Warburg Institute, University of London, in 1989 and was Architectural Editor of Country Life from 1995-2008. Before joining Country Life in 1995, Mr. Musson was an assistant regional curator for the National Trust in East Anglia, curating historic houses such as Ickworth House, and at the same time setting up the research and interpretation of new sites such as, the ex-bomb testing range and nature reserve at Orford Ness in Suffolk. He has written and edited hundreds of articles on historic country houses, from Garsington Manor to Knebworth House.

Mr. Musson also presented 14 programmes on BBC 2, making up two series called The Curious House Guest, in 2005-07, and he also lectures and supervises for academic programmes with Cambridge University, London University and Buckingham University, and the Attingham Summer School. His books include How to Read a Country House (2007)Up and Down Stairs: The History of the English Country House Servant (2009), English Country House Interiors (2011), Robert Adam: Country House Design, Decoration & the Art of Elegance (2017)The Country House: Past, Present, Future: Great Houses of the British Isles (2018), and Henbury: An Extraordinary House (2019). His latest book is Romantics and Classics: Style in the English Country House (Rizzoli, 2021).

LIVE

Tuesday, October 12 | 2:00 p.m. (EDT)

Online via Zoom Webinar

$15 members; $20 non-members

Register for Live

*If you are a Royal Oak member, you must be signed into the website to register as a member. Click the sign in button at the top right of the shopping cart. Add the standard ticket to the cart and the discount will apply at check out. 

RENT

Between Tuesday, December 21 to Tuesday, January 4

Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure

$15 members; $20 non-members

Register to Rent

The video link will be emailed to you after purchase.
Please check your spam or junk folder if you do not receive the link in your inbox. Contact us right away at zoom@royal-oak.org
 
The rental video will be hosted on the Zoom website and only available for streaming until Tuesday, January 4 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern).  The video will not be available after that date and time. It cannot be downloaded.
 
*If you are a Royal Oak member, you must be signed into the website to register as a member. Click the sign in button at the top right of the shopping cart. Add the standard ticket to the cart and the discount will apply at check out.