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Northwold Manor: 'A place of delight once more after half a century of chaos and neglect'
A heroic restoration project has transformed Northwold Manor in Norfolk — home of Professor Warwick Rodwell and Ms Diane Gibbs — after more than 50 years of being left neglected. It has also illuminated its remarkable history, as John Goodall explains; photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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War, ruin and renaissance: Dorfold Hall's 400-year journey through the ages
John 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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Country-house treasures: A papal seal of approval at Combermere Abbey
Country houses up and down the land are renowned for their great treasures. Here we take a look at some less-well known items in their collection that hold a deeper meaning to their owners.
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Dorfold Hall: The 'most neat and beautiful house of brick' that owes its existence to a desperate effort to secure succession
Dorfold 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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Exclusive: The House of Commons as you've never seen it before, 75 years on from reopening following its destruction during the Blitz
This 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 grand milestone: Country Life's Mark Hedges celebrates a record-breaking 1,000 issues as editor-in-chief
The custodian of a 128-year-old British institution celebrated the milestone with a special edition guest edited by Sir David Beckham.
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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 London
A 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 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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Books: In the Footsteps of the Great Artists and the Life and Work of Sir Lawrence Weaver
Michael Prodger looks at Nick Trend's art-themed Italian travelogue, while John Goodall enjoys the biography of one of his predecessors in the role of architectural editor for Country Life.
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'It is so full of turrets and lofty buildings, spires and towers, it looks not like a town but a city': The glamour of Glamis Castle, from Macbeth to the Queen Mother
John Goodall looks at the eventful later history of Glamis Castle, one of the most celebrated of Scottish castles, and its association with Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother.
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Glamis Castle: From one Earl and his dog to the resurrection of one of Scotland's great buildings
John Goodall explores the development of the medieval Glamis Castle in Angus — seat of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne — and its spectacular transformation into one of the landmark buildings of Scottish architecture. Photography by Paul Highnam.
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Allerton Castle: The great country house that blends Hampton Court, Highclere and the Palace of Westminster
A disastrous fire in 2005 prompted the rebirth of Allerton Castle, North Yorkshire, an outstanding Victorian house with a deep and remarkable history. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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Everingham Park: The revival of a lost vision of Georgian glory
Built between 1758 and 1764, Everingham Park, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was brilliantly reinvented in the 1960s. It also possesses an opulent chapel, a triumphalist product of Catholic Emancipation. John Goodall reports on this Georgian house, home of Philip and Helen Guest. Photography by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
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One of 'the most magnificent and perfectly preserved of Britain’s great Edwardian country houses', built for the heir to Thomas Cook's vast fortune
John Goodall looks at the creation of Sennowe Park in Norfolk — home of Charles and Virginia Temple-Richards — and charts its transformation at the hands of a local architect from a Georgian lodge to a luxurious Edwardian home.
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A 'masterpiece of structural elegance' set in a secluded woodland grove is up for auction at £18,000
The iconic Bernat Klein Studio — described as 'one of Scotland’s most important twentieth-century buildings' — is going under the hammer. A tempting prospect — but buyer beware, says Toby Keel.
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'Step through the front door and your expectations evaporate in amazement and delight': The humble end-of-terrace house that's a wonder of neo-Classical grandeur
An unassuming house in Swansea reveals a marvellous and unexpected secret. John Goodall enjoys a rich collection of neo-Classical decorative plasterwork lovingly created by Royston Jones and Fiona Gray.
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Ironmongers' Hall: The medieval marvel destroyed by a First World War bomb, and it's inspiring 21st century renaissance
Ironmongers’ Hall in London EC2 — home of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers — is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. This year it is celebrating the centenary of its Tudor-style Hall; John Goodall takes a look, and tells the remarkable story of the building. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library
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Stowe Hall and the renaissance of the country house
In 1975, the end seemed nigh for the great country houses of Britain, but, 50 years on, our built heritage has exceeded expectation and undergone a remarkable revival, John Goodall writes.
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Bowood: A tale of demolition, rebirth and the visionary owner who threw open the gates of one of Britain's greatest estates
It is 70 years since Bowood assumed its modern form. John Goodall looks at the evolution of the house, the remarkable figures associated with it, and its recent development.
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Chillingham Castle: The place 'of imagination and beauty' where 'every room is filled with eye-catching objects'
John Goodall celebrates the salvation of Chillingham Castle, Northumberland. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire: The Palladian masterpiece reborn as a 21st century family home
John Goodall takes a look at the incredible resurrection of Radbourne Hall.
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The prestigious Saut Hermès was a tantalising taste of what to expect when Paris's Grand Palais reopens to the public in June
The Grand Palais in Paris, France, has been closed to the public for extensive renovation works since 2021.
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Restoration House: The house in the heart of historic Rochester that housed Charles II and inspired Charles Dickens
John Goodall looks at Restoration House in Rochester, Kent — home of Robert Tucker and Jonathan Wilmot — and tells the tale of its remarkable salvation.
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'A glimpse of the sublime': Inside the drawing room of the 'grandest Palladian house in Ireland'
The redecoration of the drawing room at Russborough House in Co Wicklow, Ireland, offers a fascinating insight into the aesthetic preoccupations of Grand Tourism in the mid 18th century. John Goodall explains; photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
