25.09.02
Britain's
Best Buildings
by Dan Cruickshank
"The
history of Britain is enshrined in its buildings." So begins
Dan Cruickshank's fascinating account of a thousand years of Britain's
history through the stories of eight of our best known and loved
iconic buildings.
Featuring
four buildings from the accompanying television series - Durham
Cathedral, Windsor Castle, Bleinham Palace and Tower Bridge and
four additional buildings added exclusively for this book - Holyroodhouse,
Cardiff Castle, the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras and Highpoint
One, Britain's Best Buildings uncovers the stories behind their
construction and investigates the mysteries embedded in their stones.
Beginning
with Durham Cathedral, Dan enters the mind of medieval man to unlock
the hidden meaning of this magnificent building, investigating the
sacred geometry underpinning its design and construction. Windsor
Castle and Holyroodhouse are portrayed as unrivalled theatres of
history, in which many dramas of state have been played out. The
creation of Blenheim Palace is also a story of high drama, involving
a bitter power struggle between the architect John Vanbrugh and
the Duchess of Marlborough, which sheds light on the way great works
of British architecture have been produced.
The
three 19th century buildings explored in this book - Midland Grand
Hotel, Tower Bridge and Cardiff Castle each reflect aspects of the
great developments and debates that galvanized that tumultuous century.
Highpoint One is London's first example of modern high rise housing
and Dan Cruickshank explores how it was meant to revolutionise the
way people live in cities and the way cities are planned and built.
All
eight buildings have fascinating individual stories to tell but,
collectively they present a portrait of Britain, and identify and
investigate some of the key issues that have possessed the nation
over the last 1000 years.
With
over 120 pictures and specially commissioned photography, Britain's
Best Buildings is a lavishly illustrated celebration of eight of
the country's greatest architectural achievements.
The
author
Dan Cruickshank is a distinguished architectural historian and author
of several books, including London: the Art of Georgian Buildings
and Life in the Georgian City. He has presented a number of architectural
television programmes, contributing to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ2's One Foot in the Past
and making regular appearances on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV series House Detectives.
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