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A stately home is, strictly speaking, one of about 500 large properties built in England between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property (after the Dissolution of the Monasteries). They are usually distinguished from true "castles", being of a later date and built purely as residences. These houses became a status symbol for the great families of England who competed with each other to provide hospitality for members of the Royal Household. Famous architects and landscape architects such as Robert Adam, Sir Charles Barry, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir John Vanbrugh, Capability Brown and Humphrey Repton were employed to incorporate new styles into the buildings. Great art and furniture collections were built up and displayed in the houses. World War II changed the fortunes of many houses and their owners, and now there remains a curious mix of living museums, part-ruined houses and castles, and grand family estates.The following organisations are responsible for the upkeep of numerous stately homes.
However, many stately homes are owned/managed by private individuals or by trusts. The costs of running a stately home are legendary. Many owners rent out their homes for use as film and television sets as a means of extra income, thus many of them are familiar sights to people who have never visited them in person. The grounds often contain other tourist attractions, such as safari parks, funfairs or museums.
The term stately home is a quotation from the poem The Homes of England originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827Events February 20 Battle of Huzaingo February 28 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad offering commercial transportation of both people and freight. March 7 Ellen Turner is abducted The Shrigley Abduction case begins by Felicia HemansFelicia Hemans ( 1793- 1835), British poet, was born Felicia Dorothea Browne in Liverpool, a granddaughter of the Venetian consul in that city. Her father's business soon brought the family to Denbighshire in North Wales, where she spent her youth. They m, which begins as follows.
- The stately Homes of England,
- How beautiful they stand,
- Amidst their tall ancestral trees,
- O’er all the pleasant land!
Noel CowardSir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noel with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and "Peirce" is the correct spelling) ( December 16, 1899 March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. Born at Tedd wrote and performed a parodyIn contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. Parody exists in all art media, including literature, music, and cinema. In ancient Greek literature, a parody was a type of poem that imitated an of the above:
- The stately homes of England,
- How beautiful they stand,
- To prove the upper classes
- Have still the upper hand.
In the later, Las Vegas phase of his career Coward revised his lyrics:
- The stately homes of England we proudly represent,
- We only keep them up for Americans to rent....
Quentin CrispQuentin Crisp ( December 25, 1908 November 21, 1999), born Denis Pratt became a gay icon in the 1970s after being one of the first men to come unashamedly out of the closet. Known for his clever and often insightful witticisms, Crisp authored several book referred to himself as "one of the stately homos ( homosexuals) of England".
The plain-spoken expression their owners use for these houses is simply "country houses." "Stately homes" is a real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty , in contrast with personal property, or dwalers' phrase, more suited to Robin LeachRobin Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" in the early 1980s, which focuses on the lavish luxurious mansions, cars, yachts of celebrities, and sometimes has interviews with them, eith's enthusiastic gush on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and to the poised vocabulary of Dame Edna Everage.
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