Lunchtime Lecture: The Destruction of the Country House: 50 Years On

2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of one of the most influential exhibitions ever staged by the V&A: The Destruction of the Country House, 1875-1975. Join Dr Oliver Cox as we explore how the exhibition made the case for the country house as an endangered species; galvanised one of the largest petitions ever presented to parliament; and has shaped the way in which we think about country houses as a particularly English phenomenon ever since.

Dr Oliver Cox is Head of Academic Partnerships at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has published widely on the history of the country house. He is particularly interested in the role of country houses as sites for generating new stories about local, national and international history.