Every great house reflects the life and social attitudes of the times. The Edwardian era was the last period of 'conspicuous consumption', in the sense of 'private wealth publicly displayed'; it was brought to an abrupt end by the First World War. Born into Edwardian affluence, Edward James experienced the decline almost from the moment he came of age. Later, after the Second World War, he, in common with all other owners, found that no important house could be maintained in the face of penal taxation and mounting costs without eroding capital resources.