Adult Summer Courses
- General English and Culture Programme
- Business English
- Legal English
- General English and Oxford
- Introduction to Shakespeare
- Jane Austen: Her Novels, Life and Times
- Writers of the Great War
- Creative Writing - Fiction
- Stately Homes and Country Gardens
- Interface Between Religion, Science and Philosophy
- Introduction to Psychology
Stately Homes and Country Gardens
The English country house is a unique symbol known the world over. This course will teach you how to analyse the social,political and economic contexts of the country house throughout its history and to study the country house where multiple art forms converge. Students will be able to move from a general interest in English country houses to developing the knowledge and skills to conduct more sensitive analyses situating country houses within broader historical trends.
About the Course
| Course Length | 2 weeks | |
| Dates/Location |
28th July - 10th August 2013 |
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| Accommodation |
All students will be staying in Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford If you would prefer to organise your own accommodation, please contact admin@oxford-royale.co.uk |
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| Fees | 3,395 GBP | |
| Prerequisites | Only suitable for native/near-native English speakers | |
| Participants | Open access. Students attend from all over the world. | |
| Further Information | For further information on the college, the staff and the all inclusive activities and excursions click here | |
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Course Details
This course is designed for people who have an interest in country houses and their role in England’s social and art history. Students on this course will be keen to examine the social, political and economic contexts of the country house throughout its history and to study the country house as a site where multiple art forms converge to meet the needs of owners. Students will be introduced to the critical developments of the English country house over the last five hundred years, and will come to understand the country house as a site which demands multidisciplinary histories that investigate its social, economic, political, and artistic roles. Students will be able to move from a general interest in country houses to being able to conduct sensitive analyses which situate country houses within broader historical trends.
Teaching is carried out via lectures, discussions, presentations, and students are also given the opportunity to carry out their own small piece of research. Included in the course price are visits to stately homes of interest; students will be accompanied by their course tutor.
Course Timetable
| Topics | Description | |
| Week 1 | ||
| Day 1 |
Why is the country house important? • The stately house as a power structure • The medieval country house and garden: Penshurst |
In this introductory session, we will discuss the notion of the country house as a community institution, rather than as a private residence |
| Day 2 |
Elizabethan Prodigy Houses • Burghley House • The Elizabethan prodigy house • Inside the Elizabethan country house • Country house poetry |
In this session, we will look at how the country house was often embroiled in national politics and social upheaval |
| Day 3 |
Country Houses and Classicism in the 17th Century • How classical architecture arrived in England • Inigo Jones and the ideals of classical architecture • Reactions to classicism • Analysing classical buildings |
This session provides you with the skills and knowledge to be able to recognise and identify the fundamental elements of a classical building. |
| Day 4 |
Palaces for a New Era: The Country House after the Glorious Revolution • Hospitality in country houses • The Glorious Revolution and the aristocracy’s power • Building the country house: Castle Howard and Easton Neston • Interiors at Chatsworth |
In this session we will look at country houses in the late seventeenth century and see how similar impulses determined both architecture and decorations. |
| Day 5 |
Inside the Country House: the Impact of the Grand Tour • Travelling to Italy in the eighteenth century • The Earl of Leicester’s itinerary and Holkham House • Collecting on the Grand Tour |
The Grand Tour was increasingly important for country houses and this session is devoted to investigating its influence; we will visit the Ashmolean Museum as part of this morning’s class.
|
| Week 2 | ||
| Day 1 |
The Country House Garden • The early history of the English landscape garden • Landscape gardening’s key figures: Kent, Walpole and Brown • Stourhead • Country-house tourism |
Today is spent looking at the gardens of country houses, and students will discover how an eighteenth century landscape garden would have been “read”. |
| Day 2 |
Metropolitan Influences on the Eighteenth-Century Country House • The relationship between country houses and towns • The country house and its relationship to its estate • Late-eighteenth century interiors • Jane Austen films |
Using some video clips of Jane Austen films, we will discuss how ideas of taste and politeness permeated the country house during this period, as well as urban influences and the increasing politicisation of the country house. |
| Day 3 |
Life in the Nineteenth-Century Country House • The country house’s servants • Life in the nineteenth-century country house for the owner and his family • Queen Victoria’s country house visits • The symbolic importance of the country house |
This session shows us how many of our archetypal notions about country houses have their origins in the stately homes of this period and we will look at the roles of the enormous number of servants who worked in country houses, as well as the powerful symbolic role of the country house itself. |
| Day 4 |
Victorian Tastes • New sources of wealth for country houses • New tastes in architecture • New tastes in gardens |
Today we will focus on looking at the new tastes in the Victorian period by examining the new styles inside houses such as the Italianate at Cliveden and the Gothic Revival at Eaton Hall, and the differences between landscape gardens and Victorian gardens. |
| Day 5 |
Country Houses in the 20th Century • Country houses in the 20th century in film • The decline of the country house • The country house today |
We will look at changes in country houses into the 20th century, and at how the country house has been presented in film, but the major focus of today’s work will be on the small piece of research that students have carried out throughout their two weeks’ study. |
**Please note** While every effort is made to give participants an accurate description of the course content and structure, they should note that details of course content and structure may change as a result of tutor availability, interests, and expertise. In addition, participants should note that tutors will make efforts, where practicable, to address, and include material relating to, students' specific interests and requests where these are notified beforehand.
Useful Downloads
 COURSES FOR ADULT LEARNERS |
FACULTY LIST 2011 |
Further Information about the Summer School
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