How did professionals in the frenetic building world of Victorian London function? Peter Jefferson Smith's lively study of the I'Ansons goes far towards answering the question. A highly successful dynasty of architects and surveyors, the three Edward I'Ansons, father, son, and grandson, rose to eminence by means of reliability, networking and sheer indefatigable energy. From their original base in the City of London, where Edward I'Anson junior pioneered the design of purpose-built office buildings, they spread outwards, building and surveying all over London's southern suburbs, notably Clapham, where they lived for years. They ended up creating an estate at Grayshott on the Surrey-Hampshire border. This fully illustrated book represents years of dedicated research and writing by its author. The virtually complete text he left at his death has been edited and is now published by the Clapham Society.