Our ‘broken society’ is a topical issue, courtesy of the Conservative Leader and Witney MP David Cameron. But in the late 19th-century, a group of influential figures pinpointed rather different solutions.
A breakdown in social values, following financial crises and economic depressions, had led thinkers such as William Morris (right) to blame industrialisation and lack of craftsmanship.
In Cotswold Arts and Crafts Architecture (History Press, £20), Catherine Gordon explores the Arts and Crafts Movement’s ideals, and its heritage. It’s a scholarly work, which looks at individual buildings in detail and then goes on to argue that today’s attitude to the care and repair of old buildings was forged by these idealists.
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