Paddington Station: The everyday masterpiece, still a marvel 165 years on
Jack Watkins discusses Isambard Kingdom Brunel's much-revered Paddington Station, and how it has adapted with the changing times — with help from a little bear in a red hat.
Jack Watkins discusses Isambard Kingdom Brunel's much-revered Paddington Station, and how it has adapted with the changing times — with help from a little bear in a red hat.
Built for the clergy, the military, retired estate workers and, most commonly, for the poor, almshouses are as important today as they ever were, finds Clive Aslet.
As Harrow School celebrates its 450th anniversary, John Goodall looks at its early history and principal buildings; photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
John Goodall looks how great homes developed in England in Lancastrian and Yorkist times.
John Goodall looks at the architectural evolution of Queens’ College, Cambridge, into the late 19th century and its outstanding hall by William Morris and G. F. Bodley. Photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
John Goodall looks at the early history of Queens’ College, Cambridge, the college that helped define the tradition of academic architecture in the city. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
The red telephone box has been part of the landscape of Britain for a century. Jack Watkins takes a look at its history and impact — and worries for its continued survival.
Fulbeck House, Lincolnshire — the home of Claire Van Cleave — is a little-known house of about 1700 that has been the subject of tactful restoration for a period of more than 20 years. Jeremy Musson looks at its fascinating history. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
The Broad Gate in Ludlow, Shropshire — the home of Sir Keith and Lady Thomas — is a 13th-century fortification that defined medieval Ludlow has been transformed into a Georgian townhouse. John Goodall examines its remarkable story and restoration, with photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
Westminster Abbey has been at the heart of national life since the Middle Ages. In the second of two articles, John Goodall completes this short survey of the Abbey’s remarkable history; photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
The dinosaurs of Crystal Palace Park and the beleagured Gunnersbury Park are under threat. We must work to save them, says Jack Watkins.
In his ghost stories, M. R. James had a perceptive eye for architectural detail, as Jeremy Musson explains and Matthew Rice evokes in specially commissioned drawings.
Our cathedrals were once filled with colour, argues Simon Jenkins, and today's monochrome restorations are a historical travesty.
One of London’s most imposing Art Deco interiors has thrown open its doors to visitors. James Campbell explains the remarkable history of this extraordinary building. Photographs by Will Pryce.
John Goodall looks at the Tudor great chamber of Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire, and the bizarre story of how this superb interior was lost and restored. Photographs by Paul Highnam. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire — part of the Ampleforth Abbey Trust — is a medieval castle that underwent a Baroque conversion before having many notable 20th-century fittings. In the first of two articles on the castle John Goodall describes what happened. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
Simon Jenkins gives himself a daunting task with his latest book, Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals (Viking, £30), which does no less than attempt to both explain and judge the masterpieces of western civilisation. Clive Aslet took a look and found a tome that will set readers 'afire to go on architectural pilgrimage'.
Joe Gibbs sheds a tear over the decline and fall of Inverailort House, an archetypal Highlands institution of a type that has now disappeared almost entirely.
The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, is one of the great masterpieces of Victorian engineering. Jack Watkins tells its story.