Chettle House, Dorset, is the home of Tom and Rosamond Sweet-Escott, whose major restoration project saw them win a Georgian Group award in 2019. The work revived a magnificent house inspired by the architecture of Baroque Rome, as John Martin Robinson reports. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
The first obelisk to be erected in Europe was a trophy of war. Loyd Grossman considers how these ancient monuments came to be understood and became the mark of every great city.
The exemplary restoration of this magnificent house has reintegrated a complex building into a single and coherent modern home, as John Martin Robinson explains. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
The Old Convent in East Grinstead, West Sussex, is the most architecturally ambitious Anglo-Catholic convent in Victorian Britain, a building which anticipates forms and ideas of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement. Kathryn Ferry reports. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
A campaign to save Gwrych Castle was started decades ago by a 12-year-old, now Dr Mark Baker, and the end of his knight's quest looks closer than ever.
Stubton Hall in Lincolnshire is a distinguished Regency country house which makes its first appearance in Country Life following a transformative restoration. Jeremy Musson tells more; photographs by Paul Highnam.
Hampton Court's association with Henry VIII takes the focus away from its Baroque elements, but they're worthy of attention argues John Goodall. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
John Goodall looks at the remarkable history of Henry VIII's celebrated great hall at Hampton Court Palace.
The National Trust is tying itself in knots, argues its former chairman Simon Jenkins, while missing real challenge of the moment: the future of our countryside and the assault on the planning system.
Our trip through the archives unearths a real treasure in the form of a 1931 book about Buckingham Palace which offers a fascinatingly different perspective on one of the world's most famous buildings.
John Goodall delves into the later centuries of Sudeley Castle's existence, telling the story of its revival as a shrine to English history.
Our most celebrated ancient ruins draw visitors by the tens of thousands, drawn by the mix of history, romance and beauty. But could we treat them differently? And where would we draw the lines if we did?
John Goodall tells the story of Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, and explains how a soldier — probably with the help of his mother — won the trust of a child king and created a great castle in the Cotswolds with the rewards. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
From the cheery cosiness of Badger's home in 'Wind in the Willows' to the magic of 'Tom's Midnight Garden', the houses in children's literature have made an impact on architecture as we know it today.
The restoration of a Lincolnshire estate building by Vanbrugh has created a delightful cottage, where ingeniously conceived modern decoration records the lives and interests of the couple who undertook the work. Roger White tells the tale of The Summerhouse, Swinstead; photographs by Robin Foster.
We delve into the archives to take a look at St Peter's Church in Lowick, Northamptonshire.
Country Life played a pivotal role in the development of Edwardian architectural taste, championing eclecticism and engaging with history. Timothy Brittain-Catlin explains more.
The Scottish revival architecture of Patrick Allan-Fraser in Arbroath includes the Fraser Mortuary Chapel, an extravagant creation he designed for the town cemetery. John Goodall takes a closer look; all photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
Craigie Castle in Aberdeenshire has a rich history which we revisit here in an article from almost 115 years ago.
Replete with late-Victorian collections and furnishings, Hospitalfield, Angus — the property of the Patrick Allan-Fraser of Hospitalfield Trust — is today home to a cultural organisation for artists and education in the Arts. John Goodall looks at the driving personality behind a remarkable survival. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
