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Elegant and congruous: How Hartland Abbey draws together eight centuries of architectural and family history
John Goodall looks at the history of Hartland Abbey in Devon after the Reformation, and its descent in the hands of one family to the present.
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Stansted Park in the 20th century: The private made public
John Goodall traces the 20th-century evolution of Stansted Park, West Sussex, and its current revival in the care of an independent charitable trust, the Stansted Park Foundation. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Stansted Park, West Sussex: From royal favourite to stranger’s heir
John Goodall looks at the stages by which a medieval hunting lodge developed from the 17th century to become a great country house: Stansted Park, West Sussex, a property of the Stansted Park Foundation. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The magnificent buildings of Lancing College
John Goodall examines the outstanding school buildings of Lancing College, an institution celebrating its 175th anniversary. Photography by Paul Highnam.
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'One of the great landmarks of the Sussex coast', finally finished some 156 years after work was started
John Goodall looks at the recent completion of the chapel of Lancing College, one of the great landmarks of the Sussex coast. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Cluny Castle: Granite, grandeur, and testimony to the exceptional wealth of its creator
Never previously described in Country Life, Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire — the home of Cosmo and Bronya Linzee Gordon — is an outstanding Scottish castle that is also an architectural testimony to the exceptional wealth of its creator. John Goodall reports on its history and recent revival. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The exotic and irresistible beauty of Leighton House
An ambitious redevelopment project at Leighton House in West London, former home of the artist Frederic, Lord Leighton, has augmented the celebrated interiors of this magnificent studio house. John Goodall reveals how it came into being; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Chillingham Castle: 'Curiosity and beauty' at a spectacular castle that survived ruin by the skin of its teeth
Chillingham Castle, Northumberland — the home of Sir Humphry Wakefield Bt and the Hon Lady Wakefield — is a castle saved from the brink of ruin that is now a memorable home. John Goodall reports; photographs by Paul Highnam.
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Gilmerton House: The great Scottish country house whose history is intertwined with a pitiful murder
Gilmerton House, Lothian — the seat of Sir David Kinloch Bt — is a handsome 18th-century house that's been developed by the same family for the past four centuries. And it has an unexpectedly dramatic story to tell, as John Goodall explains; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Inside Madresfield Court, the house that inspired Evelyn Waugh’s 'Brideshead Revisited'
John Goodall looks inside Madresfield Court in Worcestershire — home of Lucy and Jonathan Chenevix-Trench — and the family story that inspired Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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900 years old, one careful owner: How Madresfield Court has come down the centuries in the hands of one family
John Goodall looks at the early evolution of Madresfield Court, Worcestershire — the home of Lucy and Jonathan Chenevix-Trench — to tell the tale of a place that has descended in the hands of one family for more than 900 years.
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10 truly breathtaking images from Country Life to celebrate the landscapes and seasons of Britain
Take a look at some of the great depictions of the seasons and landscapes of Britain, as celebrated in the new book 'Country Life: 125 Years of Countryside Living in Great Britain'.
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St Bartholomew’s Hospital: 900 years of service
This year, two connected institutions in the heart of London — St Bartholomew’s Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Church — celebrate their 900th anniversary. In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at their foundation story. Photographs by Will Pryce For Country Life.
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St Bartholomew-the-Great: A living fossil in the City of London
In 2023, two connected institutions in the heart of London — the church of St Bartholomew-the-Great and St Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield, London — celebrate their 900th anniversary. In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at their foundation story. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
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Shilstone House: A grand conception magnificently realised
Work to a new drawing room in the Jacobean style brings to completion the remarkable rebirth of Shilstone House in Devon, the home of Sebastian and Lucy Fenwick. John Goodall reports.
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Spetchley Park, the country house with interiors that have evolved with the centuries in breathtaking — and surprising — fashion
John Goodall looks at the stylish interior reinvention of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, the home of Henry and Kate Berkeley, a grand Regency house on an estate that's been home to the Berkeley family for more than four centuries.
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Spetchley Park: One of Britain's best-ever architectural accidents
John Goodall tells the story of how a stable was replaced by a splendid Regency seat to create Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, the home of Henry and Kate Berkeley. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Arundel Castle: The creation of one of England's great princely seats
In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the early development of the celebrated Arundel Castle, West Sussex, now the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal, and a creation of the powerful and wealthy medieval Earls of Arundel. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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'The ideal of a Scottish castle': 800 years of Dunvegan Castle, one of Scotland's great fortresses
One of Scotland’s most celebrated and anciently occupied castles has undergone a decade of restoration and renovation. John Goodall reports, with photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Powered by the wind since 1887: The past, present and future of Britain's wind turbines
Wind turbines are becoming a familiar feature of the landscape. John Goodall looks at their operation, form and future through the example of Whitelee Windfarm in East Renfrewshire, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK.
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Audley End: The 'great and splendid country house' that beguiled a king
Built to attract a visit by James I, Audley End in Essex is a hugely ambitious house that has been massively reduced, and yet remains both outstanding and magnificent. John Goodall reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Broadwoodside: A farm steading in the heart of a magical Scottish landscape
Broadwoodside — the home of Robert and Anna Dalrymple — is a modest farm steading in East Lothian that has been stylishly transformed into the heart of a magical landscape and garden. John Goodall admires the sympathy and humour of the project. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Westminster Abbey: 1,000 years of coronations, from King Harold and William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II and Charles III
The setting of Charles III’s crowning in Westminster Abbey in London lends grandeur and history to this great ceremony. John Goodall considers the evolution of this remarkable building and its role in celebrating the authority and antiquity of the monarchy.
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What the Charles III coronation invitations look like — and why they'll likely be worth a fortune one day
Invitations to coronations have always been highly prized. Since the 18th century, they have also been designed to reflect the solemnity and splendour of the occasion, as John Goodall discovers.
