LECTURE 3 Thursday, 11 December 7.15 pm
Christmas lecture (please note earlier time) followed by optional dinner in The Gold Saloon and Drawing Room, see below for details.
Prof. Christopher Ridgway (Curator, Castle Howard)
The Making and Breaking of the Country House in Europe during World War One
In 1914 aristocratic families across England and Europe responded to the outbreak of war by enlisting, often mobilising their staff, tenants, and estates in the name of patriotism. The conflict witnessed sacrifice and loss on an unprecedented scale with the shattering effects of bereavement. Many houses and estates were requisitioned by the military, some experienced physical depredation at the hands of new occupiers, and others, if situated in conflict zones, were annihilated completely. The burden of physical loss (human and material) was exacerbated by additional economic, political, and social pressures that caused many houses to founder in the aftermath of war. However the experience was not the same for every family, region, or country, and the talk will conclude by examining how aristocratic families did or did not survive in the post-1918 world.