News

In Focus: Vaughan Williams, the composer who wrote 'the world's most beautiful melody'

Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of Britain's great composers, and as a major milestone arrives his fans are celebrating his body of work and life.

Dunvegan Castle gardens opened up to RHS members

The gardens at the 900-year-old Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye have joined the RHS Partner Gardens scheme. Annunciata Elwes reports.

Edward Hudson: The tale of the man who founded Country Life, 125 years ago this month

A publisher, innovator and shrewd businessman with strong connections to the Liberal political establishment, Edward Hudson was the visionary founder of Country Life 125 years ago. Clive Aslet revisits his remarkable life.

The rare images of J.R.R. Tolkien which caused a sensation at auction

Pamela Chandler's portraits of the great J.R.R. Tolkien went under the hammer recently, almost doubling the estimate set by the auctioneers.

Kew's 2022 list of vital plant species, including a mushroom with teeth, an orchid that grows only in the dark and the Leonardo di Caprio tree

Uvariopsis dicaprio might be a first in the natural world: a tree named after a Hollywood A-lister, and a plant which is on the radar of Kew. Annunciata Elwes reports.

The anniversaries to look out for in 2022, from Ferdinand Magellan to Harry Potter, and from The Beatles to Carter unearthing Tutankhamun

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to guest edit Country Life to mark her 75th birthday

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is to join a prestigious line-up of royal Guest Editors when she takes charge of the July 13 issue of Country Life to mark her 75th birthday.

How London's Grade-I listed 'Victorian Jurassic Park' ended up on Historic England's at-risk list

The dinosaurs of Crystal Palace Park and the beleagured Gunnersbury Park are under threat. We must work to save them, says Jack Watkins.

The 15 best country houses that were sold in 2021, from under £3m to over £15m

2021 brought us all many ups and downs — but in the property market it was pretty much just ups, as Penny Churchill reports.

Boxing Day: What it is, why we celebrate it, and how 'Good King Wenceslas' earned his name on the Feast of Stephen

Better known as Boxing Day, the origins of St Stephen’s Day are sinister and macabre, especially for poor wrens, as Aeneas Dennison discovers.

Country Life's best 10 articles of 2021

The Country Life website team takes its pick of some of our favourite articles of the year — some of which were big hits, some of which went under the radar, but all of which we think were fascinating slices of life.

Take the Country Life Editor's Christmas Quiz for 2021

Try your luck at the Editor's Christmas Quiz — the answers will be published in a separate piece on Boxing Day.

Country Life's 10 most inspiring, beautiful and evocative Instagram posts of 2021

Our most-liked posts of 2021 honour members of the Royal family and those no longer with us, show our unyielding love of tiny mammals and celebrate the glorious gardens and idyllic green pockets of our country's landscape.

See what's inside Country Life's spectacular Christmas double issue

The Country Life double issue is the magazine's highlight of the year. Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside the 292-page seasonal treat.

Help save period buildings at risk

The Victorian Society's latest list of buildings at risk encompasses a mansion in Lancashire, an attractive farm in Hampshire and a former department store in Peckham.

What you need to know about the new rules on log burners, wood-burning stoves and open fires

The new guidelines on the use of log burners and open fires have led to all manner of rumour and speculation, from restrictions on use to a nationwide ban. That's not what is set to happen, however; Annunciata Elwes explains the rules.

The 'irreplaceable' trees destroyed in their thousands by Storm Arwen

The British property market 'is unsustainable', says head of estate agents' association

The gap between demand and supply is widening, with October seeing an average of 24 buyers for every property.

Best Christmas light trails to see in 2021

We know December is nearly upon us, as the season’s light festivals begin up and down the country — here's our pick of some of the best.

The historic sites that have been saved for the nation, as the Historic England 'at risk' register shares the good news

From Battersea Power Station to Plumpton Rocks and a Victorian public loo on Lamb’s Conduit Street, more than 200 historic sites are officially back from the brink.