From chimneys to gates, medieval cottages to Georgian crescents, this is a photographic introduction to five hundred years of British domestic architecture. It takes individual architectural features and through chronologically organized illustrations shows how each detail has developed and changed under the influences of period, fashion and technological advance. The book explores in detail the different elements that make the design of doors, windows, ironwork, ceramics, terracotta, stone and brickwork, among many others so fascinating. It also includes a glossary providing anecdotal defininitions of everything from almhouses to villas, helping readers identify styles quickly and easily by just a few characteristics.