Abstract
The front region of the house is a place wherea performance is given, whereas the back regionis where informal behaviour and domesticactivities take place. This paper demonstratesthe way in which socio-cultural values andnorms have been reflected in the design and useof front and back regions of the English houseover time. Firstly, focusing on issues ofstatus consciousness and social relationswithin the household, the paper looks at pastlinks between culture and house plans describedin the existing literature on English societyand housing. It then examines contemporaryEnglish society and housing by using bothpublished work (official statistics andsociological/ethnographical accounts) andfieldwork (questionnaire-based interviews withhomeowners and an analysis of descriptions ofhouse plans), and considers how people's valuesand lifestyles are expressed by the front andback regions of a house and what meanings havebeen attached to these spaces. The paperconcludes that research into the way in whichwe define front and back functions andactivities, and use front and back regions ofthe house, will inform further studies.
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