Samuel Powell's House : The Early 18th Century Town House of a Devizes Clothier

This carefully researched and well-illustrated book tells the compelling story of one of the most important eighteenth-century houses in the medieval Wiltshire town of Devizes. It draws together three years of painstaking survey work and documentary research to build up a detailed picture of every element of the house. Special attention is paid to examining and illustrating its architectural details, fixtures and fittings, including stonework, woodwork, plasterwork and decoration. It charts the changes made to the house over its 286-year history and tells the often colourful stories of its owners and occupiers, which include one of the real life inspirations for C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. Built in the most modern style by an aspirant cloth merchant as an expression of his hard won social position, its subsequent rental and neglect by absentee landlords through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries means it is one of the least-altered and best-preserved houses in the town.

Matthew McMurray's passion for historic buildings was born in Durham where, as an undergraduate, he studied archaeology. A small piece of work on Eden House, the most imposing building on Durham peninsular's South Bailey, blossomed into a three year fasciation with its history and the lives of its august former residents.

He graduated from Durham in 2002 with a masters degree in archaeological survey, specialising in historic buildings, and after several seasons working on a number of important archaeological sites in London, as well as undertaking work for English Heritage, he moved to Devizes, Wiltshire. Whilst working for one of the country's leading archaeological companies he undertook surveys of a number of important historic buildings including the Cutty Sark. Matthew is currently the archivist for the WRVS. He also works as a freelance historic buildings archaeologist and has just completed writing an historic buildings assessment of the Grade I listed church of St. Mary, Devizes.