In this meticulously researched and stunningly illustrated book, David Dimbleby tells the dramatic and heroic story of Britain's architecture - the extraordinary buildings that define a nation and which grew out of the experiences and beliefs of the British people. How did we get from the fortified tower to the grand open mansion and back again to the gated communities of today? How did we lose the marketplace to the out-of-town shopping mall? When did it become so important how libraries andprisons look? What does the way we arrange our city centres say about us? Can architecture really make a difference to our quality of life? This fascinating and authoritative account of a thousand years of change in Britain's buildings tackles these questions and many more.