Rosebery House, Midlothian is today the home of Lord Dalmeny — but this late-Georgian shooting lodge was once the favoured retreat of the Victorian Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery. It escaped ambitious remodelling at his hands and has recently been the object of sympathetic restoration, as John Martin Robinson reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
Between 1919 and 1923, in the War of Independence and the subsequent civil war, nearly 300 country houses were burned in Ireland. To mark the centenary of the events, Terence Dooley re-appraises the motives behind this destruction.
We take a look back at Country Life's most-viewed architecture articles of the past 12 months.
Carolside, the home of Mr and Mrs Anthony Foyle, is an enigmatic house in the Scottish Borders that yields up unexpected connections with America and shines a light on 18th-century architectural practice. Roger White explains more; photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
A house that might have vanished beneath London’s spreading suburbs has been lovingly returned from institutional use and forms the heart of an estate within the capital. John Goodall reports on Templeton House, Roehampton, the home of David and Laura Rich-Jones. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
Sherlock Holmes had an eye for architectural detail, an interest derived from his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Jeremy Musson looks at how it emerges in the books, with the help of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice for the Country Life Picture Library.
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.
