ABSTRACT
Britain has been a heavily urbanised society since the late eighteenth century and now more than 90 per cent of the population lives in towns and cities. Small, old terraced houses stand in the shadow of high-rise modernist apartment blocks. Post-modern offices tower over neo-classical banks. Churches, windmills and warehouses are transformed into fashionable flats. However, many people believe a superior quality of life exists in the countryside. Some of the most desirable and expensive styles of housing are farmhouses and rural cottages in villages whose architecture goes back several centuries. Street names such as Oak, Elm, Willow and Birch are all common, even in areas without trees, while imitation rustic interiors are found in all types of homes.
