This book comes from ancient times to the Wars of the Roses and 1485. Britain's magnificent architectural history and heritage explored in an expert visual guide. It comes with more than 200 glorious photographs, fine-art paintings, reconstructions and maps. It is a comprehensive introduction and guide to over 90 of Britain's great medieval castles, palaces and manor houses, and the kings, queens and nobles who lived there. You can discover the beauty of World Heritage sites at William the Conqueror's Tower of London, Edward I's castles at Caernarvon and Conway, and the Palace of Westminster. Location maps and an A-Z property listing make it easy to find every building described in this excellent book. This lavish visual history traces and records Britain's finest secular buildings in the years up to 1485. It describes developments in method and style from ancient earthworks and Roman forts to splendid Norman and medieval castles and fortified manor houses with their great tower keeps and concentric groundplans. In this celebration of Britain's historic houses and national treasures, fact boxes focus on architectural features or the lives of famous inhabitants. Beautifully illustrated with over 200 photographs, drawings and maps, this will prove a valuable reference book for anyone who wishes to learn more about the castles, palaces and stately homes of Britain in the medieval period.