ADAM Architecture
This leading practice, operating from studios in London and Winchester, is recognised for its expertise in traditional architecture and urban design. Five distinguished directors lead a team of more than 135, undertaking a broad range of projects, from restoring large country houses and estates to new houses designed on classical and traditional principles, as well as work on historic interiors, including churches and livery halls.
A classically inspired country house designed by George Saumarez-Smith of the Winchester-based practice ADAM Architecture.
The practice is also involved in major urban projects, including Nansledan in Cornwall and Poundbury in Dorset, mixed-use developments rooted in traditional design principles for the Duchy of Cornwall. Poundbury (Phase III) won the Diaphoros Prize at the Georgian Group Awards 2025, an honour that was shared with Ben Pentreath.
01962 843843; www.adamarchitecture.com
Ben Pentreath
The Country Life Top 100
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Awarded an OBE for services to design in The King’s New Year Honours list 2026, Ben Pentreath heads a studio renowned for designing elegantly proportioned new buildings and breathing new life into traditional ones, including the recent renovation and new double-helix staircase at Fortnum & Mason’s flagship store in Piccadilly, W1, and the restoration of Brockfield Hall, North Yorkshire.
The studio’s collaboration with ADAM Architecture on Poundbury (Phase III) won the Diaphoros Prize at the Georgian Group Awards 2025 for the design of a town in the spirit of the Georgian era. Mr Pentreath also runs an inspiring shop, Pentreath & Hall, London WC1, with Bridie Hall, offering a window on his playful take on classic style. His next book, A Year at the Parsonage (Quadrille), written with his husband, Charlie McCormick, will be published in the autumn.
020–7430 2424; www.benpentreath.com
Benjamin Tindall Architects
Renowned for repairs and alterations to historic buildings, this practice has been based in Edinburgh’s Old Town for more than 40 years. Benjamin Tindall’s love of craftsmanship means the firm offers a full range of services, from the design of light fittings to furniture and ironmongery. Recent projects include a major upgrade at Hawthornden Castle in Midlothian, works at Cloch Lighthouse on the Firth of Clyde and a contemporary net-zero new-build house with a turf roof on the shores of Loch Earn in the Highlands.
0131–220 3366; www.benjamintindallarchitects.co.uk
Craig Hamilton Architects
Led by Craig Hamilton and Dr Gail Kenton, this firm is a progressive classical and traditional architectural practice with offices in Radnorshire and Hampshire. Projects under way include a new-build country house in Warwickshire, the extension and renovation of a historic farmhouse in Wiltshire and the extension and improvement of a Grade II*-listed rectory in the Cotswolds. A three-volume book set featuring the practice’s projects at Old Parkland in Dallas, US, will be published this autumn by Triglyph Books.
01982 553312; www.craighamiltonarchitects.com
Donald Insall Associates
This leading architectural practice, founded in 1958 by Sir Donald Insall and now headed by Dorian Proudfoot, specialises in the care, repair and adaptation of historic buildings and the design of new buildings on sensitive sites. B-Corp certified and 95% employee-owned, the London-based practice has seven studios across the UK and won 22 awards in 2025 alone. Current and recent projects include the restoration of the roof at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, the transformation of the John Rylands Library in Manchester and the restoration of a listed family home in Bloomsbury, WC1. The practice has also undertaken intricate upgrade works to the medieval timber-frame buildings of The Lord Leycester, Warwick, Warwickshire, and its work on the 18th-century equestrian buildings at Raby Castle, Co Durham, has been honoured with The Georgian Group Award 2025 for reuse of a Georgian building.
020–7245 9888; www.dia.co.uk
Fleming Architects & Partners
Headed by Christian Fleming, this Cotswolds-based practice of 20 specialises in new-build houses and extensions, plus the renovation of historic houses, across the UK and, increasingly, in Europe. Elegant proportion and authentic detailing are hallmarks of Mr Fleming’s style, as is a sense of calm and modern comfort. The practice has recently completed a new house in the Cotswolds and another distinguished by flintwork and decorative brickwork.
01451 861044; www.flemingarchitects.co.uk
Francis Terry and Associates
Essex-based Francis Terry is admired for designing new country houses in the Classical style, such as Woodford Hill Farm in Northamptonshire.
He is also renowned for his work on historic buildings, having recently redesigned the new Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, which last year won the Georgian Group Award for the Restoration of a Georgian Interior, as well as the Historic Houses Restoration Award.
01206 580528; www.ftanda.co.uk
Work under way in the Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, which has recently been restored by the architect Francis Terry and his team.
Giles Quarme Architects
Directors Giles Quarme and Natasha Brown run a London practice known for sensitive work on historic buildings and for traditional new houses. Their work at Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire, one of the oldest of English country seats (‘Novelty with age’, March 13, 2024), won the Georgian Group 2025 award for work ‘in the spirit of the Georgian Era’. The practice is currently designing new Classical wings for a Palladian villa and has recently completed the restoration of a 15th-century stone manor house in the Cotswolds, including a new pool house and outbuildings.
020–7582 0748; www.quarme.co.uk
GRAS
Specialists in the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings across the UK and Ireland for nearly 50 years, Edinburgh-based GRAS recently received an award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) for the sensitive conservation of the 19th-century Kinloch Lodge in Sutherland.
Now headed by Gunnar Groves-Raines, the practice also enjoys a reputation for its progressive new houses, interior design, objects and furniture. Current projects include the conversion of a rural Scottish sporting lodge into a five-star retreat hotel, several traditional farm-steading redevelopments in Perthshire and the transformation of the listed Brown’s engineering works in Leith, Edinburgh, into a collabor-ative space for food, drink and the Arts.
0131–467 7777; www.gras.co
Hoare, Ridge & Morris
This Suffolk-based creative team works across the UK, blending environmental sensitivity with traditional design. Best known for its work on listed buildings and country houses, the award-winning practice, which was founded in 2012, also undertakes masterplanning, gardens and furniture design. Together with residential work in London and the country, current projects encompass country pubs, art spaces and a recording studio. The practice is the recent winner of a national LABC award with East Suffolk Council for the Best Partnership with a Local Authority Building Control Team for more than a decade of collaboration on sensitive historic restorations and com-plex listed-building conversions.
01728 688747; www.hrma.co.uk
Ian Adam-Smith Architects
English country-house specialist Ian Adam-Smith, his son, Mungo, and their team concen-trate primarily on private houses and estates across London and the South-East.
Ian Adam-Smith and his son, Mungo, design distinctive new houses and have restored properties in London and the South-East, too, including houses by Lutyens and Voysey.
The West Sussex practice has taken on notable houses by Lutyens and Voysey and has a particular skill in creating high-specification new buildings, rich in architectural detail, that appear to have evolved over the centuries. Current projects include estates across the South Downs and Hampshire, which include gate lodges, cottages, model farm buildings, equestrian facilities and walled gardens, in addition to the houses. Other work includes a new-build on the south coast and the refurbishment and extension of a 1730s home in Surrey, complete with Gertrude Jekyll garden.
01428 644644; www.ianadam-smith.co.uk
John Simpson Architects
This year’s recipient of the prestigious Driehaus Prize in traditional and classical architecture, Prof John Simpson is a favourite of The King for his work at the Poundbury development in Dorset and the redevelopment of the Queen’s Galleries (now The King’s Galleries). He is known for his residential and institutional work and is a recent winner of the RIBA London Award for work at the Royal College of Music in Kensington, SW7. His London-based practice undertakes projects worldwide, currently including a substantial development at Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, Warwick House by St James’s Palace, SW1, and a large country house in Hungary.
020–7405 1285;
Johnston Cave Associates
For more than 40 years, this practice has achieved recognition for its sensitive design of substantial buildings in established settings, as well as the integration of new ideas and modern services into old country houses. Working from Oxford and London bases in all regions of the UK, including London, as well as internationally in France and the US, projects focus mainly on private residences. Current work includes a Grade II*-listed manor house in Oxfordshire dating back to Norman times, a listed house from the Restoration period in Berkshire, a Grade II*-listed 18th-century townhouse in London and an important new house in Northern Ireland.
01865 865165; www.johnstoncave.com
Marc Deaves Architect
Marc Deaves is a London-based architect and adviser on historic and listed buildings, focusing on the Cotswolds and Home Counties. He is particularly adept at the sympathetic restoration of country houses and in making them energy efficient and comfort-able for modern living. His projects include the restoration of Stowell Park, a Grade II*-listed mansion in Gloucestershire with Jacobean origins, adapting a redundant area to make it suitable for a young family, as well as the refurbishment of a 15th-century donjon (tower house) in France and the conversion of a 19th- century model farm courtyard in Gloucestershire into a small housing development.
07970 458025; www.marcdeaves.com
Peregrine Bryant Architects
Recognised for its sensitive and sustainable approach to the conservation and adaptation of historical buildings, this London practice is headed by directors Paul Chatham, James Hall and Laura Morgante, with founder Peregrine Bryant acting as a consultant. Projects include the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3, where the team completed the adaptation of Sir John Soane’s Grade II*-listed Stable Block to create a new museum, together with the Stable Yard Visitor Centre. The practice received two RIBA Awards in 2025 for the restoration of the Handel Hen-drix museum in Mayfair, W1.
020–7384 2111; www.peregrine-bryant.co.uk
Philip Hughes Associates
Philip Hughes established his surveying and architectural practice in 1982, specialising in the repair and conservation of historic buildings; he counts private individuals, the National Trust and English Heritage among his clients. The Somerset firm’s major repair and renovation project at Stepleton House in Dorset was highly commended in the Georgian Group Awards 2025.
Repairs are under way to the stone staircases at the National Trust’s Montacute House in Somerset to allow public access to upper floors and the spectacular Long Gallery, which has been closed for more than two years. Other ongoing projects include several privately owned country houses in the South and South-West, as well as repairs to garden and parkland structures, grottos, granaries and stables.
01963 824240; www.pha-building-conservation.co.uk
Ptolemy Dean
Historic-building conservationist, author and television presenter Ptolemy Dean is the 19th Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, a post that was once held by Sir Christopher Wren. His practice is known for its respect and care for ancient buildings and the sensitive design of new ones, including work on the buildings of the Aldourie estate on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland. At Westminster Abbey, a new building is currently being constructed on the site of the medieval Great Sacristy, which was destroyed in the 18th century, and detailed plans are under way for a consented addition to the Christ Church Library, Oxford.
The practice, based in London, is also working on proposals to replace a modern breeze block and corrugated shed in the grounds of a Grade II*-listed house in East Sussex, a building he describes as ‘a far greater planning challenge’ than the previously mentioned projects combined.
020–7378 7714; www.ptolemydean.co.uk
Quinlan Terry Architects
Led by partners Quinlan Terry and Roger Barrell, this renowned Essex practice is recog- nised for the design of new, historically accurate residential and public buildings, as well as careful restoration and adaptation of a broad range of residential, ecclesiastical and com-mercial historic structures. Works include the restoration of the Temple of Venus at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire. Projects this year include residential and commercial projects in Oxfordshire and further afield, including in the US. Mr Terry is the recipient of the Traditional Architecture Group Lifetime Achievement Award 2025.
01206 323186; www.qtarchitects.com
Russell Taylor Architects
A well-respected expert on traditional architecture, Russell Taylor is renowned for his mastery of detail in designs ranging from houses, orangeries and garden pavilions to chimneypieces and furniture. This small, friendly London practice celebrated its 20th anniversary in July 2025, which Mr Taylor describes as marking ‘two decades of joyous collaboration creating stylish homes with wonderful clients, dedicated professionals and talented craftspeople’.
020–7261 1984; www.rtarchitects.co.uk
Simon Morray-Jones
Well known for the passionate conservation of historic properties in Bath, where the practice is based, this firm has wide-ranging experience in interiors, conservation and new-build work, including at Babington House in Somerset. Recent projects include the refurbishment of a substantial Arts-and-Crafts house in Bath, a listed building in Somerset and a new contemporary house in the Cotswolds; ongoing work includes the extension and interiors of a Crown Estate Nash villa in Regent’s Park, London, the repair and creative reuse of a listed former inn in Somerset and the refurbishment and extension of a barn in a historic Cotswold village.
01225 787900; www.sm-j.com
Smallwood Architects
This practice has a long-standing reputation for the design and delivery of medium- to large-scale country and townhouses, sensitive alterations to historic buildings, equestrian architecture and masterplanning of large country estates.
A proposed house by Smallwood Architects, a practice that enjoys an enviable reputation for both designing and restoring large properties as far afield as the Middle East.
With offices in London and the West Country, Smallwood operates across the UK, Ireland and beyond, often on long-term collaborations designing multiple houses for different members of the same family over time. Recent projects include a substantial country estate in Kent, including a new main house, swimming pool and ancillary buildings, as well as the refurbishment of a Grade I-listed property in central London and projects in the Middle East.
020–7376 5744; www.smallwoodarchitects.co.uk
SPASE
This Dorset-based practice of architects and surveyors specialises in the sensitive evo-lution of historic places. Recent works include those for the Crown Estate, a Grade I-listed Jacobean estate in the New Forest and the decarbonisation and alteration of a significant listed estate in Dorset. SPASE has a national reputation for environmentally progressive solutions in heritage settings, exemplified by the pioneering and award-winning net-zero transformation of Grade I-listed Tudor manor house Athelhampton in Dorset.
01305 301302; www.spase.co.uk
Stuart Martin Architects
Based in Dorset, this practice was founded by Stuart Martin in 1996. It is known for sympathetic conservation work and, more recently, for one-off houses in the Classical tradition. In 2025, the practice achieved planning permission for a new country house in the vernacular tradition of the Berkshire Downs, which will achieve Passivhaus standards of energy efficiency.
01935 83543; www.stuartmartinarchitects.com
Tom Turner Architects
Based in East Sussex, Tom Turner Architects specialises in the design of timeless country houses and the sensitive restoration of historic buildings. Drawing inspiration from the traditions of English architecture, from vernacular farm buildings to refined Georgian houses, the practice is known for combining elegant simplicity with a deep respect for place, craft and history. Current projects include the remodelling and extension of a historic home on the edge of the South Downs, as well as a pool house and loggia extension at a listed property in London.
A finalist in the creative conservation category of the BD Architect of the Year Awards 2025, the practice received a commendation from the Traditional Architecture Group in 2025 for an extension to a 17th-century listed farmhouse.
01273 044795; www.tomturnerarchitects.com
Yiangou Architects
For more than 40 years, this Cotswold-based practice has been designing new country houses and restoring listed buildings. Recent projects include the transformation of a Victorian villa on the banks of the River Test in Hampshire into a comfortable lodge-style property more than twice the size of its 19th-century incarnation, including a new wellbeing centre and thatched fishing hut, and a new Classical country house on an estate near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
01285 888150; www.yiangou.com
An Arts-and-Crafts-style red-brick extension to a late-17th-century listed house in Worcestershire, designed by the Cotswold-based architectural practice Yiangou.
The 2026 Country Life Top 100 originally appeared in March 11, 2026 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
Country Life Top 100 picture credits: Geoffrey Preston; Meg Boscawen; Jay Davey Bespoke Willows; Studio Squire; Christopher Horwood: Clunie Fretton: Simon Brown: Alice Whitby: Eric Piasecki: James McDonald: Jason Ingram: Alister Thorpe: Jake Eastham: Milo Brown: Harry Page