THE FIRST WORLD WAR

When the First World War broke out, marks of the lavish Edwardian period began to fade. With shocking speed, the old traditions --- and traditional manners with them --- became things of the past.

Although interactions in England had been governed by these rules for centuries, the total social upheavals caused by war and industrialization wiped them away.

As country houses in England fell into financial straits and were demolished or abandoned, the old, formal ways of life they represented were replaced by modern norms determined by a new and daring generation.
(Info from the Driehaus Museum)