St Bartholomew-the-Great: A living fossil in the City of London
In 2023, two connected institutions in the heart of London — the church of St Bartholomew-the-Great and St Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield, London — celebrated their 900th anniversary. John Goodall took a look in a two-part article, with superb photographs by Will Pryce.
West Horsley Place, Surrey: The real-life country house where the BBC’s Ghosts is filmed
The BBC comedy Ghosts started out under the radar, but grew to become one of the best-loved television sitcoms to come out of the UK in years. In April we paid a visit to the house where it is filmed: West Horsley Place in Surrey.
Inside Windsor Castle, by kind permission of the Sovereign
Illustrated with photographs taken in the last few days of the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, this quite extraordinary look inside one of the world's greatest castles is simply unmissable.
The Reform Club: Inside ‘the most magnificent club in London’, almost unchanged since the days of Phileas Fogg
Few buildings are more famous for their fictional roles than their real-life ones, but the Reform Club is one such example. We took a look inside and discovered its history.
Lincoln Cathedral: The 950-year story of one of Europe’s very greatest cathedrals
On the 950th anniversary of the royal transfer of The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin, Lincoln, John Goodall looked at the medieval development of what is without doubt one of Europe’s most brilliantly conceived cathedrals.
The best country house architects in Britain
The definitive list of the architects who you can trust with the creation, restoration or re-imagination of a country house.
Somerton: The ruined medieval castle transformed into a magical family home
On the edge of the Fens within distant sight of Lincoln Cathedral, Somerton Castle appears to be a handsome 17th-century house with a tower most surprisingly stuck on the end. It is that, yet it's also a comfortable, modern family home.
How a ‘scarred and degraded’ landscape became a 21st century Reptonian marvel with a dream country house at its heart
A landscape previously used for intensive farming proved to be an inspiring example of a house rooted in the history and character of its surroundings.
Fawley Hill: Inside the wacky and wonderful home of the late Sir William McAlpine
A dining room with a tented ceiling, a swimming pool entered via a psychedelic door and a train set running around the breakfast table? Marcus Binney looked at a home filled with remarkable collections and striking interiors that reflect its creator’s enthusiasms and interests.
Munstead Wood: The house that Edwin Lutyens built for Gertrude Jekyll
This year, Munstead Wood in Surrey was saved by the National Trust. Clive Aslet explained how it came from a happy friendship between a great gardener and architect, both closely connected to Country Life.
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Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary’s joint adventure to the Arctic that you've never heard about and what its re-creation can tell us about the state of EarthIn 1985, Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary adventured to the North Pole; 40 years later, their children re-created the expedition.
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Nuthall Temple: The Palladian masterpiece that was blown up to make way for the M1Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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Nuthall Temple: The Palladian masterpiece that was blown up to make way for the M1
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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Everingham Park: The revival of a lost vision of Georgian gloryBuilt between 1758 and 1764, Everingham Park, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was brilliantly reinvented in the 1960s. It also possesses an opulent chapel, a triumphalist product of Catholic Emancipation. John Goodall reports on this Georgian house, home of Philip and Helen Guest. Photography by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
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Sir Denys Lasdun: The brains behind the building branded 'a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London’ by The KingJohn Betjeman admired Sir Denys Lasdun’s work, but The King disliked it, and opinion remains divided to this day. Either way, the man who viewed ‘buildings as landscape’ has left an indelible mark on London.
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Thomas Cook: The travel agent who changed the world, and the house his descendants live in to this daySennowe Park in Norfolk is the home of Charles and Virginia Temple-Richards, the descendants of trailblazing travel agent Thomas Cook. Oliver Gerrish looks at the travel business that funded and informed the renovation of this extraordinary Edwardian country house.
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Eight of the UK's most impressive private libraries, as seen in the pages of Country LifeEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
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One of 'the most magnificent and perfectly preserved of Britain’s great Edwardian country houses', built for the heir to Thomas Cook's vast fortuneJohn Goodall looks at the creation of Sennowe Park in Norfolk — home of Charles and Virginia Temple-Richards — and charts its transformation at the hands of a local architect from a Georgian lodge to a luxurious Edwardian home.
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Opinion: If we want to keep our architectural heritage, why do we tax those who repair it?It beggars belief that the state lists buildings in order to protect them — and then doesn’t contribute to their upkeep, says Country Life columnist Agromenes.
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The country home with an intriguing connection to the Titanic, doomed for demolitionEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
