The British stable / Giles Worsley ; photography by William Curtis Rolf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Worsley, Giles.

Contributor:

Rolf, William Curtis.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stables--Great Britain.

Stables.

Architecture--Great Britain.

Architecture.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

vii, 307 pages : illustrations(some color) ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Published for the Paul Mellon Centre fo Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, [2004]

Summary:

Until the early years of the twentieth century, horses played an essential role in the agriculture, transport, industry, warfare and sport of Britain. Their stables served as practical shelters, but they were also more than that - in many cases a handsomely appointed stable was designed as much for the elegant display of horses as for utilitarian purposes. This beautiful book, illustrated with over one hundred specially commissioned photographs, focuses attention for the first time on the history, the variety and the importance of stables in the British Isles.

Leading architectural historian Giles Worsley examines stables from the twelfth century to 1914 and discusses how this specialized building type came to be of central importance in British architectural history. Worsley focuses especially on country-house stables - including those at Chatsworth and Kedleston - where the finest examples of stable design are found. He discusses the aesthetic issues that influenced stable designers as well as the social, economic and equestrian factors that directed their decisions. Nearly every British architect of note took a turn at designing stables, whether for royalty, nobility, the great brewing companies or the military, and the stable became the physical expression of the importance of the horse in British culture.

Fascinating and lucidly written, The British Stable will appeal equally to those with an interest in horses, country houses, architectural history or the special relationship between horses and the people of Britain.

Contents:

The medieval stable

The Tudor and Jacobean stable

The riding house and the forgotten art of Haute Ecole

The Stuart stable

Housing the urban horse

The Palladian stable

The Georgian riding-house revival

The thoroughbred and the late-Georgian stable revolution

Commercial, industrial and military stables

The Victoria country-house stable.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0300107080

OCLC:

55738241