The Forth Bridge: A masterpiece that’s 1.5 miles long, 360ft high, made of 54,000 tonnes of steel
The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, is one of the great masterpieces of Victorian engineering. Jack Watkins told its story.
Cornwell Manor: Inside one of the most admired houses in the Cotswolds
Cornwell Manor, Oxfordshire is a medieval house that also answers the popular ideal of a Cotswold home.
The Archer Pavilion: One of Britain’s greatest Baroque buildings is finally getting recognition — as is its creator
The Archer Pavilion in Wrest Park is one of the most spectacular garden buildings of the English Baroque. Helen Lawrence-Beaton told its story, and that of its architect.
Britain’s best seaside architecture: The playful details that shaped our coastal towns, from funicular railways to Victorian masterpieces
What is it that makes the buildings of the seaside so distinct? Kathryn Ferry looked at the vibrant architecture of our coastal towns.
Athelhampton: The idyllic Tudor home that inspired generations of country house lovers
The 1890s restoration of the idyllic Tudor manor house Athelhampton, Dorset — now the home of Giles Keaton — helped kindle an enthusiasm for England’s ancient houses and a new style of formal garden, as John Goodall explained.
Windmills: England’s beautiful remnants of a simpler time — from the outside so scenic, yet mechanical marvels within
Our remaining windmills are unashamedly romantic slices of old England, explained Eleanor Doughty.
The Royal Albert Hall: A 19th-century marvel that ‘has lost none of its power to amaze’
As the Royal Albert Hall celebrated its 150th anniversary, John Goodall looked at the remarkable story behind the creation of this world-famous venue.
The stone-by-stone project to rescue the cloisters at Iford Manor: ‘We’ve saved it from collapse’
One of Wiltshire's prettiest houses, Iford Manor, has been recognised by Historic Houses for its fabulous restoration of the medieval-style cloisters. Annunciata Elwes told the tale.
The John Rylands Library: How one of Britain’s great libraries was created
The widow of a successful industrialist turned her inherited fortune towards the creation of one of Britain’s greatest libraries: The John Rylands Library, Manchester.
Sheringham House, Humphry Repton’s ‘darling child’ and ‘most favourite’ work
Jeremy Musson reported on the restoration of Sheringham Hall in Norfolk, the home of Paul Doyle and Gergely Battha-Pajor, looking at the outstanding Regency house, its garden, and its celebrated Repton landscape.
The Howardian Hills AONB: 'If Yorkshire really is God’s own county, then the Howardian Hills are the divinity's chosen estate within it'
John Goodall takes a look at one of the varied and picturesque parts of Yorkshire: the Howardian Hills Area of
The salvation of Sudeley Castle: How one of the finest castles in the Cotswolds was saved from ruin
John Goodall delves into the later centuries of Sudeley Castle's existence, telling the story of its revival as a shrine
The Great Hall at Hampton Court, the building that 'brings the visitor closer to the world of Henry VIII than any other'
John Goodall looks at the remarkable history of Henry VIII's celebrated great hall at Hampton Court Palace.
The Country House Library: Why these rooms and their collections need to be taken much more seriously
A new account of the country-house library will compel us all to reassess these rooms and their collections, says John
Chenies Manor, Buckinghamshire: The Tudor estate that encompasses the ancient oak tree beneath which Elizabeth I lost a piece of jewellery
This Tudor house was the unlikely venue for the first meeting of the founding group of The Arts Society. John
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What on earth is the person who comes up with Annabel's otherworldly facade displays on? London's most magical Christmas shop displaysPhotographs by Greg Funnell.
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What trees taught me about perfect planting — Alan TitchmarshSense and patience is key to growing healthy trees, as a certain Mr Mackenzie showed a young Alan Titchmarsh
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Sweet civilisation: What do you get when you ask architects to compete in a gingerbread competition?The Gingerbread City is back in London’s Kings Cross. Lotte Brundle pays it a visit.
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This Grade I Essex home was renovated by a Guinness and a notorious American diarist and photographed by Country Life — now it's a firm favourite with the fashion setKelvedon Hall was saved from demolition by Lady Honor Guinness and Henry 'Chips' Channon. Now it is the star of a Church's Christmas campaign.
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Northwold Manor: 'A place of delight once more after half a century of chaos and neglect'A heroic restoration project has transformed Northwold Manor in Norfolk — home of Professor Warwick Rodwell and Ms Diane Gibbs — after more than 50 years of being left neglected. It has also illuminated its remarkable history, as John Goodall explains; photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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53 years ago, a Wren masterpiece was replaced with a glorified roundabout. We must not make the same mistake againThe plans to rid Christ Church Newgate Street of traffic should be cause for celebration — but a mistake as bad as the one made in the 1970s is about to happen, says Ptolemy Dean.
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Ten of the most exquisite French châteaux, photographed for Country Life in 1906 and still standing todayIn the early 20th century, Country Life commissioned Frederick H. Evans to photograph some of France's châteaux. Here are some of his efforts.
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War, ruin and renaissance: Dorfold Hall's 400-year journey through the agesJohn Goodall describes the antiquarian rediscovery of Dorfold Hall, Cheshire — home of Charles and Dr Candice Roundell — and the recent spectacular renewal of this important Jacobean house. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Photo Library.
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All fired up: 12 of our favourite chimneys, from grand architectural statements to modest brick stacks, as seen in Country LifeNothing says winter like a roaring fire, and plenty of the houses that we've photographed for the magazine's architectural places have fireplaces and chimneys worth boasting about.
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Dorfold Hall: The 'most neat and beautiful house of brick' that owes its existence to a desperate effort to secure successionDorfold Hall in Cheshire is an outstanding Jacobean house, but was an unexpected product of dynastic disappointment. John Goodall examines the remarkable circumstances of its construction; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
