Rural England's Great Rebuilding of 1570-1640, first identified by W. G. Hoskins in 1953, has been vigorously debated ever since. Some critics have re-dated it on a regional basis. Still more have seen Great Rebuildings around every corner, causing them to dismiss Hoskins's thesis.

In this first full-length study of the rebuilding phenomenon, Colin Platt, an accomplished architectural and social historian, addresses these issues and presents a persuasive fresh assessment of the legacy of this revolution in housing design. This study marks an important contribution to our understanding of Tudor and Stuart society and as such will not only be welcomed by students and historians of early modern England but by the interested general reader.