An insight to one of England's greatest treasures: "A palace-like cottage, the most luxurious and lovely thing I ever saw" according to Mary Gladstone. Ascott in Buckinghamshire, England was the creation of Leopold de Rothschild, whose architect George Devey had progressively transformed a simple farmhouse on the site from 1874. Leopold inherited his father's superb art collection, consisting primarily of Dutch and Flemish 17th century cabinet pictures, and his son, Anthony, added important paintings by Gainsborough, Reynolds and Stubbs, so Ascott today is one of the best small pictures collections in Britain. It also boasts Chinese ceramics of the highest quality. The garden at Ascott has always been one of the property's best-known features with its unusual blend of the formal and natural. AUTHOR: The architectural historian John Martin Robinson, FSA, was educated at Fort Augustus, St Andrews (MA) and Oriel College, Oxford (DPhil). He worked for the Historic Buildings Division of the GLC from 1974, and is an active member of the Georgian Group. The book also includes contributions from other scholars.

SELLING POINTS: *A beautiful guide to one of England's hidden gems, containing some of the very finest pictures in the National Trust ownership and surrounded by splendid 19th-20th and 21st century gardens 75 colour & 4 b/w illustrations.