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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.
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This Wiltshire masterpiece was vastly improved by an 18th century ‘Architect’ Earl and is now on the silver screen in the new 'Frankenstein' filmIn the early 18th century, Wilton House in Wiltshire underwent improvement at the hands of the 9th Earl of Pembroke, an enthusiastic amateur architect. More recently it's become one of Britain's most coveted filming locations. Words by John Martin Robinson. Photography by Will Pryce and Simon Upton.
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From the archive: Sandringham House, the Norfolk home of The Royal FamilyIn 2008, Country Life was given extraordinary access to Sandringham House — including rooms not seen by the public. John Martin Robinson told its story, with photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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Only a handful of Britain's great houses were photographed by Country Life in a ruinous state. This once splendid Gothic castle is one of themThis is the tragic tale of Tong Castle, a once great Georgian-Gothic castle that was eventually consumed by Nature.
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The Rococo jewel nestled into vineyard terraces that's a visual index of 'a king’s Enlightenment belief in knowledge, cultivation and the civilising power of Nature'A summer picnic in 1743 prompted Frederick the Great to create a retreat for himself outside his capital at Berlin. The result was the creation of Schloss Sanssouci in Brandenburg, as Aoife Caitríona Lau explains.
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Where is 'The Traitors' filmed? Inside the Scottish castle sold via the pages of Country Life three times for an unbelievable amountMelanie Bryans delves into the Country Life archives and uncloaks the history of the turreted Highland castle made famous by the global TV franchise, 'The Traitors'.
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The rise, fall, rise and eventual demolition of a Welsh wonder with an intriguing link to the Duke of WestminsterMelanie Bryan delves into the Country Life archives and the history of one of Wales’s most extraordinary manor houses.
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Exclusive: The House of Commons as you've never seen it before, 75 years on from reopening following its destruction during the BlitzThis year marks the 75th anniversary of the reopening of the House of Commons following the destruction of its predecessor in 1941 during the Blitz. John Goodall reports; photographs by Will Pryce.
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'A bluff, honest man in the trappings of greatness': The extraordinary story of the Foundling Hospital, and the sailor who saved the abandoned children of LondonA remarkable charitable endeavour to save abandoned children on the streets of London has a touching legacy in the form of the The Foundling Museum in the very centre of London. John Goodall tells its story; photographs by Will Pryce.
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The Henry VII-era house that was dismantled piece by piece and shipped to the USAAgecroft Hall, near Manchester, didn't meet the same miserable end as some of Britain's other country homes. Instead, it was shipped to the USA and repurposed as a museum.
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The great house that is 'one of the most compelling products of Britain’s 18th-century love affair with Antiquity'John Goodall looks at the sources of inspiration behind the design for the magnificently idiosyncratic West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire.
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Eccentric, awe-inspiring and a home-from-home for literary giants: Why the London Library is an institution like no otherThe London Library is celebrating 180 years in St James’s Square.
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'This gaff stops you from being depressed. It’s absolutely beautiful, man' — A closer look at this year's RIBA Stirling Prize winnerThe winner of this year's Royal Institute of British Architects’s Stirling Prize has been revealed. Lotte Brundle takes a closer look at the winner, as well as the other projects shortlisted for the nation's top architecture award, and the people behind them.
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Nôtre-Dame: An over-crowded Parisian triumphAthena visits the re-built French wonder, and is more than impressed by the restoration work that has been completed so far.
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West Wycombe Park: The neo-classical mansion of the man smeared as a convenor of orgies, satanic rites, and a leading light of the notorious Hellfire ClubTim Richardson offers a surprising perspective on West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, that's one of the most celebrated landscapes of late-18th-century England. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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The unfortunate case of the Tudor estate that was bombed, torn apart for firewood and then buried underneath a golf courseFew houses have suffered a fate as protracted and violent as Belhus in Essex.
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Belmont House: The 'jewel in Kent’s celebrated crown', created by a decorated soldier who was sent to prison and premature death by false accusationsBelmont House in Kent is a Georgian creation rich in military associations, now run by a trust. Steven Brindle looks at its history and the remarkable architect responsible for its design; photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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A derelict school turned into a gorgeous home with 'an interior of harmony and visual éclat'Capel House in Badminton, Gloucestershire — the home of Gerald Harford and Jane MacEwen — is a fine 18th-century estate building with a remarkable history has been converted into a stylish home, as John Martin Robinson discovers. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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What have the Romans ever done for us? They made the Cotswolds Britain's beating heartThe confident and aggressive Romans brought savagery, great taste and efficiency to the Cotswolds, crowning Cirencester Britain’s second city
