The Culture of the English Country House



Overview

Explore the culture of the English country house from its architectural form, furnishings and social distinctions to its artistic manifestations of taste, as an expression of power and influence in a changing society.  In this course you will examine all of these aspects through the lens of an institution which has become a central part of England’s national heritage in the twenty first century.

The architecture of the country house was an opportunity to advertise wealth and values, while its built configuration directed the social engagement within. The country house also acted as a repository for collections of art and artefacts, which exhibited fashion, taste and resources. The connection of the elite house and its holding of land was established in the Middle Ages. As society changed, each successive generation embraced and adapted the idea of the country house. It became a vehicle for the display of new wealth in the Tudor period before shifting towards commodities of comfort in the later seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century it expressed the power, refinement and the taste of the landed elites before shifting once again to a display of new wealth for industrialists in the nineteenth century.

This course will explore the English country house as an evolving institution spanning seven centuries, focusing on social and cultural activities and the expression of power and ideologies.  It will also consider the global and colonial contexts of country houses, as well as the changing relationship between domestic servants and their employers.

For information on how the courses work, and a link to our course demonstration site, please click here.

This course has no live sessions. You will study structured materials at your own pace each week with support of a tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

Unit 1: The Medieval elite house: the house and the land

Unit 2: The Tudor country house: re-ordering the world

Unit 3: The early Stuart country house: enlightenment, revolution and Restoration

Unit 4: The later Stuart country house: comfort and curiosity

Unit 5: The early Georgian country house: the Palladian ‘New Romans’ and the grand tour

Unit 6: The mid-eighteenth century country house:  power and confidence

Unit 7: The later Georgian country house: enlightenment and exploitation

Unit 8: The early Victorian country house: making a present  from the past

Unit 9: The later Victorian and Edwardian country house: taste and authenticity

Unit 10: The twentieth and twenty first centuries: decline, destruction and salvation

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

Textbooks

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following book:

  • Girouard, M., Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History (Yale, 1993)

Any edition between 1978 (first publication) and 1994 will serve equally well. Even though the book is relatively old, it is still a very useful text because it skilfully blends architectural and social history in a scholarly, but accessible style. When the book first came out, it was hailed as a landmark study of the English Country House as it discussed not only the architects and patrons of these great buildings, but also the craftspeople and domestic servants, on whose existence they relied.  The book is still very influential, although some more recent scholars have expanded Girouard’s approach by highlighting and researching less well-understood topics such as the role and influence of women in the household and the impact of England’s global expansion on the financing, furnishing and decoration of the country house.

This is the key text in the course. A new copy of the book can prove to be expensive but good quality used copies are available. Please check you can purchase a copy of the book before enrolling on the course.

Please ensure you are able to access copies of any required textbooks prior to enrolling on a course but please keep in mind that courses with insufficient students enrolled will be cancelled. The Department accepts no responsibility for books bought in anticipation of a course running.

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online courses are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £415.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Katy Layton-Jones

Cultural historian and historical consultant Katy Layton-Jones grew up in South Manchester. Originally an art historian, she received her BA in Fine Art and Art History from Goldsmiths, University of London and her MPhil and PhD in from the University of Cambridge.

In 2006, Katy was engaged on the Liverpool Parks and Open Spaces research project, co-funded and supported by the ESRC, English Heritage, and Liverpool City Council. In 2014 Katy authored the National Review of Research Priorities for Urban Parks, Designed Landscapes and Open Spaces (English  Heritage, 2014) followed by History of Public Park Funding and Management (1820 – 2010) (Historic England, 2016), and Uncertain Prospects: public parks in the new age of austerity (The Gardens Trust, 2016). Her first book, Places of Health and Amusement was published by English Heritage in 2008 and her monograph, Beyond the Metropolis: the image of urban Britain 1780 – 1880 was published by Manchester University Press in 2016.

Katy has been a regular contributor to the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, for which she has written on subjects including illicit behaviour in Victorian public parks. Her radio appearances include BBC Radio 4’s Making History and The Matter of the North. Her television appearances include the BBC television series, People’s Palaces: The Golden Age of Civic Architecture and Channel 4’s Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed. 

Course aims

  • To explore the multifaceted nature and development of the English country house, through its architectural configuration, decoration and art objects as expressions of social relationships and values.
  • To investigate the diverse elements of the country house culture: material, social and conceptual.
  • To interpret the country house and its culture from our own perspectives.
  • To examine the development of the country house in its wider political, economic and social contexts.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students will be expected to understand:

  • the relationships between the architectural, decorative, artistic, artefactual and conceptual elements of the country through progressive developments
  • the connections between the country house as an artefact/assemblage and social and political relationships
  • the manner in which successive generations both assimilate and modify this assemblage
  • the way in which these elements constitute a biography of the house as ‘read’ in the present

By the end of this course, students will be expected to have gained the following skills:

  • the ability to discriminate and critically evaluate the various elements of the country house – architectural, decorative, artistic, artefactual, social and conceptual
  • the ability to evaluate and articulate the relationships between the elements of the country house.
  • an understanding of the chronological development of the English country house

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

 

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

Level and demands

This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level) and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

IT requirements

This course is delivered online; to participate you must to be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support