Hill Hall

Handsomely produced and extraordinarily reasonably priced volumes... They tell the reader as much as anyone could ever want to know about the history of the house, its peculiar features, its various incarnations (with elaborate plans), and the course of its restoration.' ~Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement

It is clear that Hill Hall: a Singular House Devised by a Tudor Intellectual succeeds in depicting the richness, innovation and individuality of Sir Thomas Smiths house, putting it within its national and European context. This publication makes a useful and highly interesting contribution to the literature of both the archaeology and architectural history of 16th-century England, whilst documenting the happy ending of a story that so easily could have concluded with the loss of yet another important country house.' ~Lucy Jessop, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Vol. 163, 2010

... magisterial... the authors and others associated with the Hill Hall publication deserve huge credit for marshalling such a massive range of material and for greatly enhancing our understanding of this important house.' ~John Cattell, Vernacular Architecture, Vol. 41, 2010

Anyone interested in the building trades of the Elizabethan and later periods or the social ambitions and domestic life of the wealthy will learn a great deal from these two volumes whose texts and illustrations and ground plans manage to make matters abundantly clear even to the non-expert.' ~Leonard R.N. Ashley, Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance, 2011

What a book it is! - two volumes, lavishly illustrated, and bound in an attractive case..replete with illustrations, maps, and photographs of the house from many eras.' ~Stephanie Hopkins Hughes, The De Vere Society Newsletter vol 17, no. 1, 2010

This sumptuous two-volume boxed account presents a meticulous record of the archaeological excavations and building recording of the fire-damaged mansion.' ~Harriet Devlin, The Historic Record: Policy and Practice, vol 1, No. 1, 2010

This book is valuable not simply for its account of the architecture and wall paintings. It is a quarry of information on a wide range of subjects, notably building materials and techniques, and also artefacts. The decorative programme included stained glass and Dutch decorative tiles. There are observations on the wider settlement pattern, and the development of the Tudor and later landscape and gardens.' ~David Andrews, London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, 2011