Forster based his description of Howards End on a house within the hamlet of Rooks Nest in Hertfordshire, his childhood home from 1883 to 1893. The house, recognized in Forster's childhood as "Rooksnest" had, as in the novel, been owned by a family members named Howard, and the house alone http://edwinvbtjc.bleepblogs.com/8794385/dark-box-set-seasons-1-2-fundamentals-explained