This volume focuses on the manor houses of England. These smaller scale houses, often of more ancient origin than the great houses , are scattered all over the country, ranging from simple Norman halls to picturesque Tudor manor houses and handsome buildings from the reign of the Stuarts. Whereas most of the great houses have now been sold by their original owners and are maintained as museums, many of the manor houses are still privately owned and lived in as homes. Accompanying the photographs of some 40 manor houses, the text descibes the architecture and the families who created the houses.