Picturesque Old Houses. By Allan Pea. (S. H. Bonfield and
Co. 10s. 6d. net.)—It gives one a good idea of the great wealth which England possesses in the way of "picturesque old houses" to see how many Mr. Fea has mentioned and described in this volume, and how many he has, nevertheless, omitted to notice. And yet, as he says in his last chapter, he has " kept almost ex- clusively to the Home Counties." We suggest no sort of blame in what we say. Mr. Fea has given us a good book, with excel- lent description of many picturesque houses and abundance of illustrations. He is intending, he tells us—and we are glad to hear it—to "go further afield" on some future occasion. Meanwhile there is something still to be done near London. There is Ightham Mote, for instance, one of the very finest houses in England; and Yaldham Manor, in the adjoining pariah of Kemsing. There is Brickwall, in Northiam (Sussex), and a multitude of half-timbered houses, ranging in date from 1580 to 1620 (circa), in the Sedlescombe region, once the abodes of Sussex ironmasters. Then, again, there is Littlecote, between Hungerford and Newbury, a house which is probably as little changed from its original condition as any that could be named. There is, indeed, material sufficient for many volumes of this kind. Nor would it be easy to find a person better qualified to deal with it than Mr. Fea.
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