A MAN AND HIS HOME

The first biography of Ralph Dutton, collector, connoisseur, writer, philanthropist, who created one of the National Trust s most popular houses and gardens, Hinton Ampner.  

"Ralph Dutton grows on you as John Holden engagingly unpeels the layers of this complicated traveller, connoisseur, philanthropist and friend." -  Dame Rosalind Savill, former Director of the Wallace Collection

"Ralph Dutton is someone most of us have never heard of, yet he created a place of exceptional grace and beauty in Hinton Ampner. John Holden unravels the mystery of the man for us, and gives us a compelling account of why and how it all happened. It’s an enchanting read." - Lord Smith of Finsbury, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge and Chairman of The Art Fund

"This is a real discovery. The story of a modest gentleman who nonetheless played an important role in 20th-century English culture. He put his life into his house, and his house into his life. Both are an engaging case study in heritage history." - Professor Robert Hewison, Cultural Historian