Architecture

Painshill Park, Surrey: A garden of the Golden Age

This year marks a decisive moment in the heroic restoration of a celebrated landscape garden. Clive Aslet reports.

Duck End House, Oxfordshire: Why this 17th century house is a work of art in itself

A compact 1620s house in a rural setting near the Rollrights is a work of art in itself, as befits its art dealer owners, says Jeremy Musson.

Alston Court, Suffolk: A vivid insight into Tudor living on the grand scale

One of the most important late-medieval merchant’s houses in the country offers a vivid insight into Tudor living on the grand scale, as John Goodall discovers.

Bighton Grange, Hampshire: A Regency revival

A new house in Regency style creates the perfect setting for modern family living. Clive Aslet is impressed by this light, family-friendly and informal design.

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 Goodall tells its remarkable story.

The Stonemason: 'Working on a cathedral is the pinnacle of architectural stone-masonry'

A team of stonemasons is hard at work restoring Canterbury's magnificent cathedral, employing techniques that have been used since the dawn of civilisation. They spoke to Tessa Waugh.

Plumpton Rocks, Harrogate: Heaven on earth

Recent restoration work has helped re-create a celebrated landscape garden crafted in the late 18th century around a dramatic gritstone outcrop, as John Goodall explains.

The Chapel of Trinity College, Oxford: A return to splendour

One of Oxford’s most admired interiors has been revived, as John Goodall reports.

Cliffe Castle, West Yorkshire: A French-inspired vision of comfort and glamour

A Yorkshire mill-owner and merchant created a flamboyant and cosmopolitan home, as Jeremy Musson explains.

Ockwells Manor, Berkshire: An insight into the splendours of grand living in 15th-century England

A delightful timber-frame house offers insights into the realities of luxurious 15th-century living and the brutal complexities of Lancastrian politics, as John Goodall explains.

The traditional Brick-Maker who supplies Hampton Court: 'It’s like kneading dough'

There is only one company left in Britain still producing hand-made bricks – and their customers include the likes of Hampton Court. Tessa Waugh spoke to the gentlemen of H. G. Matthews.

Capheaton Hall, Northumberland: The revival of a country house that narrowly avoided demolition

A house that narrowly avoided demolition after the Second World War has been gradually revived by the family that has occupied it for the past seven centuries, as John Goodall explains.

The best country house architects in Britain

Country Life has once again delved into its little black book and fully updated its list of the finest architects in Britain – an indispensable guide if you're considering serious work on your home.

Jason Goodwin: ‘Memories fade. Gavin was right: buildings outlive us all and they’re each memorials. They should not be allowed to disappear’

Our columnist remembers Gavin Stamp, the architectural critic, historian and campaigner.

Broomhall, Fife: A stupendous country house restored by the Earl of Elgin after 40 years of thought

The Earl of Elgin, celebrated for securing the sculpture from the Parthenon, spent 40 years toying with the reconstruction of his house, which has recently been restored for the 21st century, as John Goodall explains.

Woodhall Park, Hertfordshire: An exemplary example of restoration that highlights the importance of colour in Georgian interiors

The recent restoration of Woodhall Park underlines the striking importance of colour in our understanding of Georgian interiors, as John Martin Robinson explains.

Marble Hill, Richmond-upon-Thames: Restored to good nature

A restoration project that aims to revive the landscape garden setting of an outstanding 18th-century villa throws new light on the gardening interests of Alexander Pope and the attractive personality of its patroness, as Tim Richardson discovers.

Quinta da Regaleira, Portugal: The mysterious garden designed by a world-famous set designer and architect

Between 1898 and 1912, one of the world’s most mysterious gardens was created by the opera and theatre designer Luigi Manini. Tim Richardson introduces us to its splendours and its probable symbolism.

The demolition of Halnaby Hall is a warning from history, but destruction needn't always be a disaster

Stockton House, Wiltshire: An Elizabethan house packed with 21st century surprises

This fine house of about 1600 has been carefully renovated to provide modern services in a historic context. Clive Aslet reports on the challenges of this undertaking.