![Nave and North and South Aisle at Melrose Abbey, c1880, (1897). From The Ruined Abbeys of Britain by Frederick Ross. [William Mackenzie, London, 1897] Artist Alexander Francis Lydon. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YnJwp2pgTb98BTE7smRaXg-1920-80.jpg.webp)
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Fawley Hill: Inside the wacky and wonderful home of the late Sir William McAlpine
In the second of two articles looking at Fawley Hill, Buckinghamshire — the home of Lady McAlpine and the late Sir William McAlpine — Marcus Binney looks at a home filled with remarkable collections and striking interiors that reflect its creator’s enthusiasms and interests.
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The millionaire who created a real-life toy train set on a human scale
The astonishing assemblage of buildings, machinery and memorabilia at Fawley Hill, Buckinghamshire — the home of Lady McAlpine and the late Sir William McAlpine — is testimony to one man’s remarkable enthusiasm for the railways, as Marcus Binney discovers. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Leuchie: The house and garden where the 1960s meet the 1690s
A Modernist home created during the 1960s within the walled garden of a historic house stylishly blends the contemporary and the historical. Mary Miers reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Munstead Wood: The house that Edwin Lutyens built for Gertrude Jekyll
The creation of Munstead Wood in Surrey came from a happy friendship between a great gardener and architect, both closely connected to Country Life. Clive Aslet explains.
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The evolution of the English country house from 1939 to 2022
Over the past year our architecture editor John Goodall has illustrated a period in the development of the English great house. In this final article in this 12-part series, John looks at the Country House since the outbreak of the Second World War.
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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 looks at the medieval development of what is without doubt one of Europe’s most brilliantly conceived cathedrals. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
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Country Life's 10 best architecture stories of 2022
A 'heaven on earth in the Cotswolds' and the library of your dreams are among the best this year.
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The real-life places that inspired Jane Austen's most memorable fictional country houses
Country houses serve as an ever-charming backdrop to the novels of Jane Austen. With the help of specially commissioned drawings, Jeremy Musson considers her treatment of their architecture. Illustrations by Matthew Rice.
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Buckingham Palace: 'There is not a historical capital in Europe which cannot show a more imposing Royal palace'
A trip through the archives unearths a real treasure in the form of a 1931 book about Buckingham Palace which offers a fascinatingly different perspective on one of the world's most famous buildings.
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How Beeleigh Abbey became the much-loved home of one of Britain's great bookshop owners
In the second of two articles, David Robinson looks at Beeleigh’s chequered history in the centuries after the Dissolution, culminating with ownership by the Foyle family of the eponymous bookshop.
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Beeleigh Abbey: An incredible medieval house that's barely altered since Henry VIII's Dissolution of the monasteries
David Robinson looks at Beeleigh Abbey — the Essex home of Catherine and the late Christopher Foyle — an exceptional and little-known survival of the Premonstratensian canons, one of the less-familiar monastic and religious orders of medieval Britain. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The architecture of Victorian Houses, and how it was perfectly captured by the letters of a 23-year-old American girl
In our 125th anniversary year, Country Life has been taking a look at the development of the English home. This week, John Goodall looks at the architecture of Victorian Houses from 1837–1890.
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London's lost masterpieces: The palaces and Georgian gems torn down in 30 years of 20th century madness
London would look very different had it not been for the widespread demolition of Georgian architecture in the 20th century. John Martin Robinson takes a look back at what was lost and what was fortunately saved.
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350 years in the architectural evolution of Lincoln's Inn, from 1672 to 2022: 'Self-consciously Gothic, constitutional and English'
In the second of two articles, John Goodall examines the architectural development of Lincoln’s Inn from the late 17th century to the present day.
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Lincoln's Inn: 'Everything about the origins of the Inns of Court is mysterious'
This year, Lincoln’s Inn celebrates a remarkable 600th anniversary. In the first of two articles, John Goodall examines the origins of this celebrated society of lawyers. Photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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Oxford's forgotten history as the capital city of Britain
During the Civil War, Oxford briefly became Charles I’s capital. Simon Thurley explains how the city was fortified and the university adapted to accommodate the Court.
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Founders' Hall, London: The witty, sensitive, post-Modern building that emerged in the wake of the City's post-war orgy of destruction
Founders’ Hall — at Cloth Fair, London EC1 — is a post-Modern livery hall that is a striking home for The Worshipful Company of Founders, and a building that can teach us something about sensitive development in London. John Martin Robinson reports; photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
