{"title":"Hilary Townsend","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"silk-hay-book-hilary-townsend-9781780881461","title":"Silk Hay","description":"Silk Hay is Hilary Townsend's account of the painstaking restoration of Silk Hay, her medieval\/Tudor house in Dorset. It recounts, in fascinating detail, the historical and architectural background of the house and is laced through with the human story behind the renovation; including the persistent setbacks, difficulties and frustrating delays that beset her during the thirty years the restoration took. As a passionate conservationist, Hilary Townsend was delighted to discover the original Tudor curing cupboard and fireplace in the parlour of Silk Hay, and eventually, to her delight, also discovered a crude sketch of a Crusader Knight carved on a re-used stone. The need to preserve Britain's architectural heritage is also discussed by Hilary in Silk Hay as she acknowledges the tremendous help she received from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the invaluable grant from the Thomas Hardy Memorial Fund during the renovation of the house. This book is an eye-witness account of 30 years of intensive restoration work on this medieval\/Tudor house by one unqualified woman.  It will appeal to any readers interested in architecture, building, restoration and to the general non-fiction reader. Silk Hay is also a significant record of the struggles of a lone female having to negotiate and employ successive groups of somewhat uncompromising male builders, often in fraught and daunting circumstances. It also reveals how Silk Hay was a crucial inspiration to Douglas Adams for the bulldozer scene that opens The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49548362219793,"sku":"GOR005159797","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53140137148689,"sku":"GOR005799996","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780881460.jpg?v=1751423783"},{"product_id":"blackmore-vale-childhood-book-hilary-townsend-9781904349501","title":"Blackmore Vale Childhood","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49648127574289,"sku":"GOR001897935","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50341817581841,"sku":"GOR010588956","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51882024861969,"sku":"GOR006825278","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1904349501.jpg?v=1750964362"},{"product_id":"blackmore-vale-book-hilary-townsend-9781904349341","title":"The Blackmore Vale","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49649248960785,"sku":"GOR002292360","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735005634833,"sku":"NGR9781904349341","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50750718279953,"sku":"GOR004659157","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/190434934X.jpg?v=1750804030"},{"product_id":"silk-hay-one-woman-s-fight-for-architectural-heritage-rare-book-hilary-townsend-1645689948tmb","title":"Silk Hay: One Woman's Fight for Architectural Heritage","description":"2012. No Edition Remarks. 220 pages. Signed by the author. Pictorial paper cover. Flat signed by author to title page. Pages are in good condition with minimal tanning and foxing. Occasional thumb-mar","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50071109337361,"sku":"1645689948TMB","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1645689948TMB_1.jpg?v=1722872160"},{"product_id":"silk-hay-one-woman-s-fight-for-architectural-heritage-rare-book-hilary-townsend-1670623912lee","title":"Silk Hay: One Woman's Fight for Architectural Heritage","description":"2012. No Edition Remarks. 220 pages. Signed by the author. Paperback book with pictorial cover. Flat singed by author on title page. Binding remains firm.Pages remain bright with minimal tanning. Pape","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50075378188561,"sku":"1670623912LEE","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1670623912LEE_1.jpg?v=1722887119"},{"product_id":"silk-hay-one-woman-s-fight-for-architectural-heritage-rare-book-hilary-townsend-1778230763mep","title":"Silk Hay: One Woman's Fight for Architectural Heritage","description":"2012. No Edition Remarks. 220 pages. Signed by the author. Paperback book with pictorial cover. Flat signed by author to title page. Black and white photographs throughout. Pages and photographs remai","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53696968917265,"sku":"1778230763MEP","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1778230763MEP_1.jpg?v=1782139322"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-hilary-townsend.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}