Posh pads

Something you notice whilst rambling about is, how many posh gaffs there are dotted around the place. The country 'piles' and mansioned estates of those to whom the exploitation of the colonies had brought substantial wealth are hidden in every nook and cranny. And, I remember seeing a program some years ago about how many of these 'piles' where abandoned or left to fall into decay through the 60's and 70's, as a result of changing financial circumstance and the loss of heirs through the two wars. That got me thinking today, did the wars have a disproportional effect on the landed demographic? Proportionally, did more toffs die than regular folk? I don't know. Anyway, what we're seeing are only the remnants of what was a far greater phenomena, one which helped shape today’s countryside. The majority of the big houses which endure have often seen a massive change in use, many may have remained in the hands of a landed family, many are now corporately owned, though nearly all have been forced to diversify in to events, holiday lets or some such. This Beech avenue belongs to West Lodge built in 1753, the last surviving royal hunting lodge in the Chase.