In this fascinating journey into our nation’s past, leading historian Simon Thurley reveals the hidden narratives behind just a few of the many buildings we have lost from our landscape. Once they were places of great importance and beauty. Today they are no more, destroyed by fire, neglect, war and even progress. In some cases, fragments of the buildings stand to indicate what is lost; for others, their original sites have been built over and few traces remain.

Some were symbols of national power, like Nottingham Castle, founded by William the Conqueror, and where the myth of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham weaves together with the true story of Richard the Lionheart; the Palace of Whitehall, three times the size of Versailles and home to the Tudor and Stuart royal families; and Millbank Penitentiary, a vast prison on the banks of the Thames, built where the present-day Tate Britain gallery now stands. 

Others were repositories of our cultural identity, like Glastonbury Abbey, Britain’s oldest monastery, rebuilt by the Normans and desecrated during the Reformation to enrich Henry VIII’s war coffers; or the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where Samuel Pepys was enchanted by Nell Gwynne and where, under David Garrick, modern drama began.  The last, Fonthill Abbey, was a fantastical folly, financed by the proceeds of the slave trade, that ruined its owner and then collapsed under its own extravagant design.

In The Lost Buildings of Britain the lives, ideas, customs and dreams of those who designed, built and worked in these places are vividly recreated in an exciting act of historical detective work that brings the past alive.

In this fascinating journey into our nation's past, leading historian Simon Thurley reveals the hidden narratives behind some of the many buildings we have lost from our landscape. Once they were places of great importance and beauty. Today they are no more, destroyed by fire, neglect, war and even progress. In some cases, fragments stand to indicate what is lost; for others, the original sites have been built over and few traces remain.

Some buildings were symbols of national power: Nottingham Castle, founded by William the Conqueror, and where the myth of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham weaves together with the true story of Richard the Lionheart; the Palace of Whitehall, three times the size of Versailles and home to the Tudor and Stuart royal families; and Millbank Penitentiary, a vast prison on the banks of the Thames where the present-day Tate Britain gallery now stands.

Others were repositories of our cultural identity: Glastonbury Abbey, Britain's oldest monastery, rebuilt by the Normans and desecrated during the Reformation to enrich Henry VIII's war coffers; or the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where Samuel Pepys was enchanted by Nell Gwynne and where, under David Garrick, modern drama began. The last, Fonthill Abbey, was a fantastical folly, financed by the proceeds of the slave trade, that ruined its owner and then collapsed under its own extravagant design.

Lost Buildings of Britain, which is accompanied by a C4 television series, vividly recreates the lives, customs, ideas and dreams of those who designed, built, lived and worked in these places. It is an exiting act of detective work that brings the past alive.

Simon Thurley, one of the most respected historians in his field, is a world authority on the palaces of the Tudor and Stuart kings. From 1990 to 1997, he was curator of the Historic Royal Palaces. In 1998 he was made director of the Museum of London where he revolutionized the capital's historical collection. Since 2002 he has been the chief executive of English Heritage. He is the author of numerous articles and books on architectural history including Hampton Court: A Social and Architectural History, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England and Whitehall Palace.

Simon Thurley is available for interview and to write features. For further information please contact Lucy Chavasse on 020 7010 3288 or at lucy.chavasse@penguin.co.uk