The country house and the Great War

Irish and British experiences

Terence Dooley & Christopher Ridgway, editors

Drawing on archival materials, and incorporating never-before-seen images, this volume presents a spectrum of experience: from owners, to servants and tenants, as well as the local communities that lived in the shadows of the country houses. These personal narratives identify lost or forgotten figures, uncover unknown stories and military records and excavate the more hidden histories of those who endured the war at home. They are a powerful reminder of the experiences common to many during the 1914–18 period, as well as a record of how individual lives were shaped by personalities and unique circumstances.

Contributors: Fergal Browne (ind), Edward Bujack (Harlaxton College), Philip Bull (La Trobe U, Melbourne), Fidelma Byrne (Maynooth U), Caroline Carr-Whitworth (English Heritage), Ian d’Alton (TCD), Terence Dooley (Maynooth U), Ronan Foley (Maynooth U), Donal Hall (ind), Paul Holden (Lanhydrock, Cornwall), Christopher Hunwick (Alnwick Castle), Brett Irwin (ind), Ida Milne (Maynooth U), David Murphy (Maynooth U), Colm McQuinn (Fingal County Council), Ciarán Reilly (Maynooth U), Christopher Ridgway (Castle Howard, North Yorkshire), Dawn Webster (Kiplin Hall, North Yorkshire).

Terence Dooley is director of the Centre for Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University. Christopher Ridgway is curator at Castle Howard in Yorkshire. Together they co-edited The Irish country house: its past, present and future (2015).