In recent weeks I have had much to do with a country house out in the English landscapes in what we call Civil War area.  This means that the land and property owners would have taken one side or the other in the rediculous situation back then.  Many houses were built with pay offs received for loyalties rendered.  Fortunately most of them, in this region anyway, stayed more or less in tact and we have a huge number of privately owned country houses for looking round and marvelling at on bank holidays.  Since I have been doing hall steward duties,

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I have recently had the good fortune to be inovlved with a new volunteering project at a country house not far from here.  Unusually for this area, this particular house has not had any one aristocratic family owning the land or properties.  From the Doomsday book it can be seen that one family did enclose several shares of land and make one estate, the records are then rather patchy until 1618 when the next landowners decided to put down roots and build a spectacular E shaped residence.  It must have been built sturdily and with good workmanship as it stood

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Building advice comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  You may need architectural design help, or planning issue discussions.  Many people with a property they want enlarging or converting will not have any idea where to start with this process.  Instead of invitng three companies to come round and give a detailed estimate, to be followed by formal written quotation, binding upon receipt of order, they happily give the job to the local jobbing builder.  These projects that involve updating, refurbing, rebuilding a family home needs the utomost care with getting the plans drawn up properly.  Any referall to

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