Many incredible dogs have lived at National Trust places – and still do. This book tells their stories, from faithful Gelert immortalised in stone at Beddgelert and the celebrated Spaniels bred at Clumber Park, to the tiny Pekingese inhabiting Ightham Mote’s enormous stone-built kennel – originally built to house Dido the St Bernard. Discover the digs at the side of some of Britain’s greatest figures, such as Churchill’s Poodle Rufus, Agatha Christie’s beloved ‘dog in a thousand’ Peter and Thomas Hardy’s tyrannical Terrier Wessex, who delighted his master but terrorised guests. Meet also the canine colleagues who live and work at National Trust properties today. Whether herding sheep, guarding historical homes or greeting guests, these faithful dogs have become an integral, beloved chapter in the stories of their adopted National Trust workplaces and homes.

Blain Southern and the National Trust present Anthony Caro at Cliveden (6 April - 10 November 2019), an exhibition celebrating the work of the internationally renowned British sculptor.This lavish publication accompanies the exhibition, the third in a series of outdoor displays at the beautiful National Trust property which overlooks the River Thames in Buckinghamshire.Featuring essays by curator and publisher, Amanda Renshaw charting the British sculptor's career of 'restless investigation and rule breaking'; and by National Trust curator, Oonagh Kennedy providing a reflection on Caro's work on site at Cliveden.Also included are archive photographs of Caro and his work, complemented by stunning full-colour photography of each of the sculptures in situ. Sixteen monumental works by Caro are displayed across the Grade I listed grounds at Cliveden, charting Caro's career and his distinctive approach to sculpture.Installed along the Green Drive, the ensemble of sculptures, including Scorched Flats (1974) and Slow March (1985), accompany visitors on their journey, offering them an opportunity to contemplate the works and their relationship to the surrounding landscape.

A unique and fascinating series of short stories taking place over five different eras in a English castles past.

A grand anthology that celebrates the many sterling virtues of the canine species Dogs have lived with humans for thousands of years as working partners. By the nineteenth century their role expanded to companions. American dog literature reflects this gradual but dramatic shift that continues even today. Our household dogs are quite literally closer than ever to us: sleeping in our beds, getting dressed in Halloween costumes, and serving as emotional support companions. In Dogs We Trust is the first comprehensive anthology of American dog literature. It features stories, anecdotes, and poetry that celebrate the many sterling virtues of the canine species. By mining the vast American literary archive of nineteenth and early twentieth-century periodicals, Jacob F. Rivers III and Jeffrey Makala reveal the mystique and magic of the human-canine relationship and what they believe is one of the best connections humans have to the mysteries of the natural world. This grand anthology features a rich harvest of fiction and nonfiction in which the canine heroes and heroines think and act in ways that illuminate their unquestioning loyalty and devotion. By taking dog literature seriously, Rivers and Makala believe we can learn more about our animal companions, ourselves, and our national literature. For them dog literature is American literature; it helps us explore and explain who we are and who we wish to be.

William Morris and his Palace of Art is a comprehensive new study of Red House, Bexleyheath; the only house commissioned by William Morris and the first independent architectural work of his close friend, Philip Webb. Morris moved in to Red House as an ebullient young man of 26, with an independent income and a head brimming with ideas and the persistent question of ‘how best to live? Red House, together with its Pre-Raphaelite garden, stands as the physical embodiment of his exuberant spirit, youthful ambition, passionate medievalism, creativity and great sense of possibility. For five intense years from 1860–5, it was a place of halcyon days – happy family life, loyal friendship, good humoured competition, and the jovial campaign of decorating; furnishing the house and designing the garden. Drawing on a wealth of new physical evidence, this book argues that Red House constitutes an ambitious and critical chapter in his design history. It will re-consider the inspiration it provided for the founding of ‘the Firm’ of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (later Morris & Co.), in 1861, and the vital collaboration of Webb, Burne-Jones, Rossetti and their intimate circle in realising Morris’s dream for his house.

From Sir Winston Churchill to Ellen Terry; Beatrix Potter to Vita Sackville-West: many of the National Trust’s former residents were cat-lovers. Cats of the National Trust explores these feline fanatics and the animals (or animal objects) with which they filled their homes. Each entry includes gorgeous photos and accompanying text describing the collection item, person or animal in the photo and their relevance to the Trust. In Cats of the National Trust, we’ll meet Sir Winston Churchill, who requested that a marmalade cat with a white bib and four white socks should always be in (comfortable) residence at Chartwell, Kent. Thomas Hardy’s ‘Snowdove’ is buried at Max Gate, Dorset; Hardy wrote ‘Last Words to a Dumb Friend’ in eulogy. Discover Victorian actress Ellen Terry, who transported ‘Boo-boo’ between her homes in London and Smallhythe, Kent, and Betty Hussey, who crammed Scotney Castle full of feline objects; its current occupant, a cat named Betsy, can sometimes be found roaming the halls. Together with modern-day examples, Cats of the National Trust is an amusing and heart-warming guide to National Trust pets – and the people who revered them.

In 2019 the most comprehensive survey ever of adders was published. According to ‘Make the Adder Count’ the species will disappear from most of Britain in the next 15-20 years unless we take action now to save it. But despite being a priority conservation species under the Biodiversity Action Plan, not a single nature reserve in Britain has been specifically designated to protect it. Throughout our history we have systematically persecuted the adder over generations because it is Britain’s only venomous snake. Now the adder population is in dire straits, its rapidly declining numbers occurring on increasingly small, isolated and fragmented sites. According to Make the Adder Count 90% of the sites where it still occurs have 10 or less adult snakes and are now considered to be very vulnerable to local extinction. Despite the adder population being in dire straits, it is still not too late to save it if we act now. This book contains a 10 point adder action plan which if implemented could help to restore the adder to its former range across Britain. Using many unique photographs of the species published for the first time, it also contains a history of the adder and reveals its secret life which has made it the most successful snake in the world. With a foreword by Iolo Williams, the BBC Springwatch presenter, this book is a story of our times, one which typifies the age of extinction through which we are all living and are all responsible.