Country house conversion to apartments is the process whereby a large country house, which was originally built to accommodate one wealthy family, is subdivided into separate apartments (i.e. flats or condos) to allow multiple residential occupancy by a number of unrelated families. They are usually, by virtue of their age or style, listed buildings. The re-purposing of these mansions is one alternative to their demolition; there was wide-spread destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain, but remodelling them as multiple dwelling units became a more popular option after the Destruction of the Country House exhibition in 1974. History In the United Kingdom, large country houses were built on estates in the 18th and 19th centuries to reflect a family's wealth and power, and to accommodate their extended family and a large number of servants required to maintain the house and the family's lifestyle. However, with the diminishing income from farming, the increasing wages of staff and their movement to cities, and the invention of electricity, plumbing and domestic appliances, large houses with many staff became impractical to maintain. From about the mid 20th century many country houses, in order to avoid their demolition or use by an institution, especially those further away from larger cities (and hence not a practical weekend country retreat for the wealthy), have been converted into apartments. Techniques Subdivision can be vertical (i.e. a whole wing), horizontal (i.e. a whole or part of one floor), or a combination of both. Vertical conversions have the advantage of giving each apartment a range of different sized rooms, from large public reception rooms on the ground or first floor to smaller rooms on the lower-ground and upper floors for bedrooms. The disadvantage is that space is taken up by the artificial insertion of staircases for each apartment (unless service staircases already existed), and the residents are required to constantly walk up and down staircase to move throughout the home. The advantage of horizontal conversion is single level living, with the disadvantage that on the original public reception rooms level, larger rooms need to be partitioned or a mezzanine level added to maximise the space and provide smaller types of rooms. The objective of the conversion is to maximise the retention of the house's original architectural features and decorations, while minimising structural changes. In the UK, planning permission for the conversion of listed buildings will often be granted with enabling