The Englishman's castle

the long version

From the Roman villa-house to the home of to-day, this history shows how comfort and privacy have evolved; how the idea that an Englishman's House is his castle has developed, and how it has influenced national ideas of home-making; how methods of cooking, heating and lighting have changed and improved, age by age; how house-building has passed through periods of fortification, magnificence, elegance, stern utility, convenience and inconvenience.