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Victoria and Albert at Burghley House: The royal visit that set the mould, and helped stave off revolution
In November 1844, Queen Victoria visited Burghley House in Lincolnshire as part of a programme of travel aimed to introduce her subjects to Prince Albert. John Martin Robinson describes the event.
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Le Logis and Floréal: The houses were intended to be ‘humble and enriched by vegetation’. They are just that
The UK's rich 'Garden City' tradition, born off the back of Arts-and-Crafts, found plenty of fans in Belgium.
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The owners of this Palladian masterpiece amassed an enviable collection of exotic plants before it all burned to the ground
Melanie Bryan digs into the Country Life Archive to find out how it all went so wrong at Carclew, in Cornwall.
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Inside the glorious studio-houses of 19th century London
Talgarth Road's terrace of purpose-built studio houses has artists at work within it once again. Jeremy Musson explores the history of these buildings and a modern connection with Florence.
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Country-house treasures: Crafting a claim at Great Chalfield Manor
Country houses up and down the land are renowned for their great treasures. Here we take a look at some less-well known items in their collection that hold a deeper meaning to their owners.
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The risk of taxing our built heritage out of existence is all too real
Is a fragile inheritance in trouble?
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How did a staircase from this Reformation-era country house end up on the other side of the world?
Melanie Bryan takes a look at the intriguing history and sad ending of Beaudesert Hall.
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Breamore House: The Tudor masterpiece with a past tainted by tragedy
The grand Elizabethan building that is Breamore House in Hampshire became, in the 18th century, the seat of a family that made its fortune in medicine. Steven Brindle looks at the fascinating history of the building and its rich collections. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Crestwood Hills: American suburbia need not have been the isolating experience it sometimes was
Tim Abrahams explores a bohemian community created in Los Angeles by a group of musicians.
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Sir John Vanbrugh, Castle Howard and great houses on fire, with Dr John Goodall
The Architectural Editor joins the Country Life Podcast to discuss the legacy of Sir John Vanbrugh and the glorious restoration of Castle Howard
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Why does the discovery of ‘Port Talbot’s Pompeii’ matter?
The discovery of a Roman villa at Margam, outside Port Talbot in Wales, generated huge amounts of publicity, but the press failed to get to the heart of why it matters.
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Castle Howard was devastated by fire. Against all the odds, its decades-long restoration has made it even greater today than it once was
An award-winning restoration at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire has transformed the interior of this fire-damaged great house. What's more, the work has been finished in time for the celebrations surrounding the tercentenary of the death of its designer, Sir John Vanbrugh. John Goodall reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The 'Welsh Pompeii' is is a staggering reminder of how ancient history still shapes the modern landscape
Country Life's cultural columnist Athena takes a look at the Roman villa discovery in South Wales which plugs a centuries-wide gap in the chronology of the area.
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One of the first substantial buildings constructed from cast iron lives on only in the Country Life Archive
The London Coal Exchange enabled City merchants to buy and sell coal across the world. Despite this magazine's best efforts, it was destroyed in the 1960s.
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The National Trust's untold story: How generations of bachelors poured their souls into their houses, and then gave them to the nation
The acquisition of houses by the National Trust from the 1930s had less to do with the impoverishment of aristocratic families than the industrial wealth of bachelor donors, as Michael Hall reveals.
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'This is an international institution, a great Regency building and a public face of London. It deserves something better'
The British Museum's proposal for a new temporary pavilion has every chance of casting a permanent shadow.
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The best country house architects in Britain
Country Life's list of the finest country house architects in Britain — an indispensable guide if you're considering serious work on your home.
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At war in a foreign country, jailed by your own son and traded as a teenager as part of a business proposition: The ladies of Leeds Castle saw it all
Laura Kay charts the remarkable history of ‘The Ladies' Castle’ near Maidstone, Kent.
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'A celebration of connoisseurship and the sheer enjoyment of art and history': The extraordinary treasures of Ampthill Park House
In the second of two articles on Ampthill Park House, Bedfordshire — the home of Sir Timothy and Lady Clifford — Jeremy Musson looks at an exceptional modern collection that speaks to the history and character of the house it dignifies.
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There's a town in the Netherlands where you can build whatever you want. The outcome is quite extraordinary
Tim Abrahams on the bewildering and intoxicating architectural collage that is Oosterwold.
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Gibside: The curious roofless castle where The King's ancestor was kidnapped
Gibside flourished under coal baron George Bowes but his heiress daughter, Mary Eleanor, nearly lost it all to her deceitful second husband.
