The Country Houses of Shropshire

Midland History:
It is difficult to separate the history and development of the country house from the fabric of social, economic and political history. Through his meticulous research Gareth Williams has managed to capture this amalgam in The Country Houses of Shropshire. This impressive book is a tour de force, an illustrated survey of 347 houses of varying significance from the thirteenth century Stokesay Castle to the 2019 Regency-style mansion The Mount in Oswestry.

Three hundred and forty seven houses are documented in total. Williams proceeds in alphabetical order. Each entry is illustrated. The author packs so much into each entry - reaching right back to the origins of houses and their families, and working up the present. While packing in lots of historical and architectural detail, the writing does not become dense or stodgy. It retains a lightness as we trip through a property's timeline. In order to write at depth in such an engaging manner, you have to know your subject inside out - and Williams' scholarship is evident. Each entry is a joy to read.

Gareth Williams's massive volume on those houses is long-awaited and does not disappoint in any respect.

Extraordinary.

Mr Williams offers an informed and authoritative outline of the history of each building and its owners to the present day. [...] Quite as remarkable as the text, however, is the accompanying body of illustrations, including prints, paintings and photographs both old and contemporary.

Toby Neal:
A masterpiece, a magnum opus, a heavyweight book with the calibre of an artillery shell...