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Sir Francis Dashwood, who used to dress as a Franciscan monk and allegedly took part in orgies in the ruins of Medmenham Abbey, was one of the most notorious libertines of the 18th century. Is this a correct depiction of his character? John thinks not. Instead, he acquired his dubious reputation as a result of slurs cast by his political enemies, which Sir Francis, who didn’t care what anyone else thought about him, chose to ignore. His refusal to stoop to the level of his opponents has meant that some of the mud has unfairly stuck. But he can now be reexamined as one of the Georgian period’s most fascinating and complex personalities, who among other achievements, published a book of common prayer for ordinary people with his friend, the American statement Benjamin Franklin.

Today, Dashwood’s reputation as a dilettante is kept alive by his country house, West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire, owned by the National Trust but still lived in by Dashwood’s family. His mentor was his guardian, John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland, who built Mereworth Castle in Kent as a homage to Palladio’s Villa Rotunda in the Venetian. Dashwood employed several architects to create not only a splendid house with, unusually, different facades that could be read independently, but a fine landscape park well-stocked with follies. The dazzling interiors of the house are so rich that no subsequent owner has seen fit to replace them. They survive as an extraordinary document of 18th-century taste and ideas.

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In this episode of Your Places or Mine, Clive Aslet and John Goodall head west to Exeter Cathedral, one of England’s most distinctive medieval churches. From its extraordinary uninterrupted Gothic vault — the longest of its kind in the world — to its weathered towers and richly layered history, they explore how this cathedral grew, adapted and survived centuries of change. Along the way, they swap stories about bishops, builders and bold design choices, uncovering why Exeter feels so different from other English cathedrals — and why its quiet brilliance deserves closer attention.

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2025 celebrates the rebuilding of the Bank of England by Sir Herbert Baker – if celebrate is the right word. It remains one of the most controversial projects in 20th century architecture. Baker’s name has been irredeemably blackened for his presumption in destroying the Bank of England created by Sir John Soane a century before. Clive and John revive the debate, describing the history of this great symbol of British finance and might, asking whether Baker has had a fair press.
While Soane’s vanished interiors were a masterpiece, the financial operations of the British state had hugely expanded during the First World War. Baker admired Soane but what was he to do? The options were not favourable to conservation. Baker was himself a Classicist and saw himself as speaking the same language as Soane. Moreover, although a man of Empire, he was also – paradoxically perhaps – deeply committed to the Arts and Crafts Movement. His Bank of England became one of the greatest commissions for sculpture and the decorative arts of its time.
Baker’s reputation was blackened by his erstwhile friend Lutyens, with whom he fell over over New Delhi. Is now the time to redeem it?