George Myers was one of the great Master Builders of the Victorian Age. Born in 'Hull in 1803, he gained renown as 'Pugin's Builder' and - from his workshops in Hull and then in London - directed a nationwide contracting business. Myers executed many of Pugin's buildings, such as cathedrals in Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham and Southwark and the Medieval Court for the Great Exhibition of 1851. In fact Myers undertook work for nearly 100 other architects. This included the original camp at Aldershot, military hospitals and the Staff College, Broadmoor Hospital and restoration work at the Guildhall, the Towers of London, Windsor Castle and extensive work for the Rothschilds. He died in London in 1875. This book, based on original research, provides a fascinating account of mid-19th century England and some of its most interesting figures. It contains hitherto unpublished drawings by Pugin.

Pub. for Bard Grad. Ctr. for Studies in Decorative Arts, NY, Exhibition catalog.

God's Architect is the first modern biography of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852), one of Britain's greatest architects. The author draws on thousands of unpublished letters and drawings to recreate Pugin's life and work as architect, propagandist, and Gothic designer, as well as the turbulent story of his three marriages, the bitterness of his last years, and his sudden death at forty. -- Inside cover.

Looking at the building of country houses as a whole, this book investigates why owners embarked on extensive building programmes, often following a grand tour. It explores the cost of building and the cost of furnishing and decoration.