{"title":"Ben Cowell","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"runnymede-and-magna-carta-book-ben-cowell-9781843594680","title":"Runnymede and Magna Carta","description":"15 June 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta by King John in the water meadows of Runnymede. The 'great charter of liberties' sent ripples round the world. It influenced the political debates surrounding the English Civil War and the American Declaration of Independence. And it still shapes our ideas about human rights today. At the heart of Runnymede stands the Ankerwycke yew, a tree that was already ancient when King John and the barons met here. Runnymede is a landscape of commemoration: from the Lutyens lodges and the Commonwealth Air Forces memorial to the J.F. Kennedy monument. It is also a landscape of pleasure. Visitors came for the Egham races in the nineteenth century and still come to picnic by the river bank. In this new guidebook, Ben Cowell explains how and why Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede and explores its legacy. He also describes the campaign in the 1920s to save this precious place for everyone.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49530052870417,"sku":"GOR007957253","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53339021803793,"sku":"GOR009080060","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1843594684.jpg?v=1751425527"},{"product_id":"heritage-obsession-book-ben-cowell-9780752440965","title":"The Heritage Obsession","description":"Our passion for heritage has never been greater, as demonstrated by the popularity of historic visitor attractions and the ever-growing membership of organisations such as the National Trust. The urge to preserve and protect what previous generations have left behind, however, has not always been with us. It has developed over time, as a result of the efforts of countless campaigners and enthusiasts, obsessive in their battles to save the past.  In this book Ben Cowell traces the rise of heritage consciousness in England over the last 300 years, from its origins in the writings of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century antiquaries to the founding of the first preservationist organizations in the nineteenth century and on to the present day. It covers a wide range of subject areas, from the rise of the museum to the politics of twentieth-century urban development, with a view to addressing the central questions of why do we protect the past?' and 'how is this best done?'  This is an accessible and fascinating study of why heritage is such an important element of our national culture, and how its presence in the landscape can best be protected. It is a unique and important book, with a wide appeal - from general readers, through to students on heritage management courses, to members of conservationist bodies and policy-makers at all levels.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49605353406737,"sku":"GOR004829159","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50770167333137,"sku":"GOR008280942","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0752440969.jpg?v=1766658404"},{"product_id":"british-country-house-revival-book-ben-cowell-9781837650583","title":"The British Country House Revival","description":"Explore the contributions of British country houses to the nation's cultural life since their early 1970s renaissance","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50531437445393,"sku":"GOR013987743","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50934339240209,"sku":"NGR9781837650583","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51054907064593,"sku":"NIN9781837650583","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51509692334353,"sku":"GOR014308322","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52618308026641,"sku":"NLS9781837650583","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1837650586.jpg?v=1765447428"},{"product_id":"british-country-house-revival-book-ben-cowell-9781837652020","title":"The British Country House Revival","description":"British country houses have experienced a renaissance since the early 1970s. A new accord is needed today, recognising the increasingly contested contribution of country houses to British cultural life.   Fifty years ago, the future for country houses in Britain looked bleak. The Victoria \u0026amp; Albert Museum's exhibition The Destruction of the Country House, which opened in October 1974, charted the loss of over a thousand country houses in the preceding century. The makers of the exhibition warned that history could be \"about to repeat itself\" because of the threats besetting mansion properties, principally from higher taxation. Houses faced the prospect of having to be stripped of their collections and sold for use as offices, hotels, or hospitals, with their parks and gardens turned into golf clubs. Government might afford to save just a handful of the most significant of these places, working in tandem with charities such as the National Trust. The rest would be consigned to history.   This book traces the history of country houses in Britain, from the Destruction exhibition to the present day. The wave of country house losses anticipated in 1974 never actually happened. Instead, over the next five decades Britain's country houses experienced a renaissance. Fiscal rules changed in the mid-1970s to make it easier for owners to hold on to their assets. Economic improvements in the 1980s and 1990s allowed many houses and estates to develop profitable commercial businesses. All of this was achieved only after dedicated campaigning from heritage organisations in support of the country house cause. The book argues that a new accord is needed today, to recognise and value the ongoing, if increasingly contested, contribution of country houses to British life and culture in the twenty-first century.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53445946376465,"sku":"NIN9781837652020","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53521574265105,"sku":"NLS9781837652020","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781837652020.jpg?v=1776791357"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-ben-cowell.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}