"The central decades of the 18th century in Britain were crucial to the history of European taste and design. One of the period's most important campaigns of patronage and collecting was that of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland: Sir Hugh Smithson (1712-86) and Lady Elizabeth Seymour Percy (1716-76). This book examines four houses they refurbished in eclectic architectural styles--Stanwick Hall, Northumberland House, Syon House, and Alnwick...