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The real-life Manderley, and the other country houses that inspired Daphne du Maurier
The writer Daphne du Maurier was fascinated by the English country house. Jeremy Musson explores her evocation of these buildings with the help of photographs from the Country Life Image Archive and a series of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice.
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Marble Hill: The house built for a secret lover of the Prince of Wales, with a little help from one of Britain's greatest ever poets
A major programme of restoration at Marble Hill has transformed both the house and grounds. Jeremy Musson admires what has been achieved by English Heritage at this outstanding property in Richmond-upon-Thames. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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'This is how the countryside looked to Gilbert White, to Thomas Hardy, even to Shakespeare and Chaucer': The forgotten corner of the world where King Charles has poured his energy into preserving an all-but-extinct way of life
The historic buildings of a Transylvanian settlement have been restored and preserved with the help of several foundations and backed by The King’s personal enthusiasm. Jeremy Musson reports on this remarkable place; photographs by Paul Highnam.
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The Old House, Dorset: There's beauty up above
A series of new plasterwork ceilings, collaboratively designed with the creating artist, has transformed the interiors of The Old House, Dorset, the home of Charles and Jane Montanaro. Jeremy Musson explains more; photographs by Paul Highnam.
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Vann: The Surrey country house that 'captures the spirit of English architecture'
Vann in Godalming, Surrey combines an Arts-and-Crafts ethos with inventive planning and new building materials. Photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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High Wardington House: A warm, characterful home that shows just what can be achieved with thought, invention and humour
At High Wardington House in Oxfordshire — the home of Mr and Mrs Norman Hudson — a pre-eminent country house adviser has created a home from a 300-year-old farmhouse and farmyard. Jeremy Musson explains; photography by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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Thomas Hardy and the country house: 'Irregularity is the genius of Gothic architecture'
With the help of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice, Jeremy Musson considers the abiding presence of the stone-built manor house in the stories of Thomas Hardy.
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Apethorpe Palace, 'the stuff of dreams', and the spectacular renewal of one of England's great Jacobean houses
Apethorpe Palace, Northamptonshire — a seat of Baron and Baroness von Pfetten — is as grand as a country house can get, especially since its recent restoration work. Jeremy Musson celebrates the spectacular renewal of one of England’s great Jacobean houses.
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Mount Vernon: A tour of the 'handsome and genteel' interior of George Washington's country home
Jeremy Musson reports on the recent campaign to restore the memorable interiors of George and Martha Washington’s country home. Photographs by Gavin Ashworth, courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
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Mount Vernon: The story of George Washington's country estate
Jeremy Musson looks at the remarkable history and preservation of Mount Vernon, the country home of America’s first president, George Washington. Photographs by George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
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'The best of all worlds': Francis Terry's Woodford Hill Farm blends 18th, 19th and 21st centuries
Woodford Hill Farm in Northamptonshire is a new country house that addresses the challenge of combining the traditional architectural forms of its locality with flexible and modern living spaces. Jeremy Musson reports, with photography by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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'Halfway between a restoration and an environmental research project' — A transformed Georgian country house
The ingenious integration of the polite and service rooms of handsome Marlwood Grange in Gloucestershire has created a modern family home.
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The architecture of Henry James: How real-life country houses found their way into the work of one of our greatest writers
The stories of Henry James are full of descriptions of country houses. Jeremy Musson explores the messages these houses convey, with the help of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice.
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Hellifield Peel Tower: The miraculous revival of a medieval tower in Yorkshire
Hellifield Peel Tower in North Yorkshire was not so long ago a decaying shell. Now, this medieval peel tower has undergone a near miraculous restoration and revival as a family home. Jeremy Musson reports. Photographs by Christopher John for Country Life.
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The medieval cloisters moved stone-by-stone to Manhattan, thanks to the infinitely deep pockets of the Rockefellers
The Cloisters in New York — a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art — is one the most important museums of medieval art in the world — yet it could only have been created in 1930s America, as Jeremy Musson discovers.
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The buildings of Winchester College: 'An extraordinary tapestry of architecture and spaces'
Jeremy Musson offers an overview of the wealth of buildings created by Winchester College from the Reformation to the present. Photographs by Paul Highman for the Country Life Picture Library.
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The strangest museum in London? Dennis Severs’ House is art installation, theatre set and 18th century throwback
Tactfully revived, Dennis Severs’ House defies categorisation, finds Jeremy Musson.
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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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Monmouth House: The utterly breathtaking transformation of a great London townhouse
Monmouth House, Hyde Park Gate — an 1860s coach house that's a home of Hamish Ogston — has been internally reconfigured to dazzling effect with the help of the finest contemporary craftsmanship. Jeremy Musson reports.
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Longstowe Hall: The superb country house that makes you feel like you've 'stepped into a 17th-century Dutch painting'
Longstowe Hall, Cambridgeshire — the home of William and Mercedes Bevan — is an Elizabethan house that was remodelled by an Edwardian industrialist who created superb interiors in the aesthetic of 17th-century Dutch art. Jeremy Musson takes a look; photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
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Inside Kelmscott Manor, William Morris's 'heaven on earth' in the Cotswolds
Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, is a house that was beloved of William Morris, the poet, designer and founding father of the conservation movement. Today it's a property of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and has been subject to an exacting programme of repair and renovation as Jeremy Musson reports. Pictures by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Willards Farm: A spectacular reimagination in the spirit of Lutyens and the Arts-and-Crafts Movement
The imaginative extension of a farmhouse in the spirit of Lutyens and the Arts-and-Crafts Movement has created a delightful and humane family home, Jeremy Musson reports. hotographs by Paul Highnam.
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Fulbeck House: A wonderful home 'that arrests the eye as an ideal of English country living'
Fulbeck House, Lincolnshire — the home of Claire Van Cleave — is a little-known house of about 1700 that has been the subject of tactful restoration for a period of more than 20 years. Jeremy Musson looks at its fascinating history. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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How M.R. James wove country house architecture into his ghost stories
In his ghost stories, M. R. James had a perceptive eye for architectural detail, as Jeremy Musson explains and Matthew Rice evokes in specially commissioned drawings.
