The demolished mansions of essex and the marks hall estate: Reconstruction and the heritage of loss

The final essay focuses on the demolition of great houses in the county of Essex in the twentieth century, suggesting that demolition was often a solution to problems that were not new. The battle over the interpretation of loss has also been as great as original battles over demolition. Not that every demolition was contested-far from it. This essay shows why, for good reason, certain houses were lost and soon forgotten. The case study at the heart of this chapter is the lost mansion of Marks Hall, pulled down in 1950. The history of Marks Hall and the project to recreate the mansion are examined in relation to the distinction between history and heritage and how changing and controversial interpretations of ‘heritage’-itself a modern formulation-might encompass ideas of the heritage of loss as much as lost heritage.