The Country Houses of Shropshire

A masterpiece, a magnum opus, a heavyweight book with the calibre of an artillery shell... -- Toby Neal * Shropshire Star *
Mr Williams offers an informed and authoritative outline of the history of each building and its owners to the present day. [...] Quite as remarkable as the text, however, is the accompanying body of illustrations, including prints, paintings and photographs both old and contemporary. * Country Life *
Extraordinary. * Shropshire Parks and Gardens Trust *
Gareth Williams's massive volume on those houses is long-awaited and does not disappoint in any respect. * The Georgian Group *
Three hundred and forty seven houses are documented in total. Williams proceeds in alphabetical order. Each entry is illustrated. The author packs so much into each entry - reaching right back to the origins of houses and their families, and working up the present. While packing in lots of historical and architectural detail, the writing does not become dense or stodgy. It retains a lightness as we trip through a property's timeline. In order to write at depth in such an engaging manner, you have to know your subject inside out - and Williams' scholarship is evident. Each entry is a joy to read. * The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings *
It is difficult to separate the history and development of the country house from the fabric of social, economic and political history. Through his meticulous research Gareth Williams has managed to capture this amalgam in The Country Houses of Shropshire. This impressive book is a tour de force, an illustrated survey of 347 houses of varying significance from the thirteenth century Stokesay Castle to the 2019 Regency-style mansion The Mount in Oswestry. -- Midland History
This is a magnum opus in all senses of the word [...] The book forms an astonishingly detailed and well-researched work of reference. [...] The standard of book production is exemplary, and it is pleasing to note that the binding is strong enough to sustain a work of such size. It has set a very high standard, and will form an invaluable reference book for students of the county, and of country houses in general, for many years to come. -- Local Historian