A Home for All Seasons

(Paperback, Main)

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Description

Gavin Plumley considered himself a distinctly urban being...until he met his rural husband, Alastair. Together, they bought Stepps House - a three-storey building in Pembridge, Herefordshire - on love at first sight. But then came the inevitable question from an insurance salesman: 'How old is it' With ancient beams crossing the ceiling, the date they'd been given of 1800 seemed out by centuries. As Gavin traced Stepps House through various hands and eras, he saw the picture of a past emerge that resonates powerfully with our present.

A hybrid work of domestic history and European art, of memoir and landscape, A Home for All Seasons is both grand in its sweep and intimate in its account of life on the edge of England.

Reviews

What starts out as a straightforward house history morphs into something else, a wide-ranging meditation on place and past, taking in climate change, rural depopulation, the Reformation
and folklore...A gentle, reflective book. Plumley is at his best when describing the things he loves: his husband, his new home, its history.

* Literary Review *
A richly textured book, replete with illuminating discoveries and observations. * Country Life *
A tender and illuminating history of an overlooked world, A Home for all Seasons is a beautiful portrait of time and place, a palpable labour of love. -- Horatio Clare, author of SOMETHING OF HIS ART
Charming - a love-letter to home, history and nature. -- Leah Broad, author of QUARTET

Author Bio

Gavin Plumley is a cultural historian. He appears frequently on BBC radio, has written for newspapers and magazines worldwide and gives talks at leading museums and galleries. He grew up in Wales, before moving to London, and studied music at Keble College, Oxford. He lives in Herefordshire.