Over a period of 30 years, Boxes Farm in Northamptonshire — the home of James and Mary Miller — has evolved from the ruins of a farmhouse to a characterful family home. John Martin Robinson explores the remarkable story of this transformation; pictures by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
Taitlands, in Stainforth, North Yorkshire, is a country house that became a youth hostel — but which has now been transformed back, thanks to the work of Emma and Martin Sharp. John Martin Robinson tells the tale of an exemplary restoration project has created a modern family home from a fine neo-Grecian house. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
In the early 18th century, Wilton House in Wiltshire underwent improvement at the hands of the 9th Earl of Pembroke, an enthusiastic amateur architect. For a new book on Wilton — to this day the seat of the Earl of Pembroke — John Martin Robinson assesses his remarkable legacy. Photography by Will Pryce and Simon Upton.
Rebuilt in 1598, this delightful Borders castle was revived by bursts of sensitive restoration in the 19th and 20th centuries, as John Martin Robinson explains. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
By the early 19th century, the library-living room had become an essential element of the country house. John Martin Robinson looks at the development of this space and the wild enthusiasm for books that encouraged it.
A Georgian house remodelled in the Gothic style became a seat of the Gillows family, famous for their furniture-making business, in 1824. John Martin Robinson looks at the remarkable story of the house and its collections. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
Rosebery House, Midlothian is today the home of Lord Dalmeny — but this late-Georgian shooting lodge was once the favoured retreat of the Victorian Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery. It escaped ambitious remodelling at his hands and has recently been the object of sympathetic restoration, as John Martin Robinson reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
Chettle House, Dorset, is the home of Tom and Rosamond Sweet-Escott, whose major restoration project saw them win a Georgian Group award in 2019. The work revived a magnificent house inspired by the architecture of Baroque Rome, as John Martin Robinson reports. Photographs by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
The characterful re-working of an ancient family house in the 1850s integrated its varied elements into an impressive and coherent whole. John Martin Robinson reports.
John Martin Robinson discovers the story of Haile Hall, from when it was first touched by the Ponsonby family in the 13th century to its recent restoration and salvation. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
The waterside retreat of the Earl of Rosebery & Midlothian — a celebrated Victorian politician, sportsman, antiquarian and bibliophile — has been restored and brought back to life. John Martin Robinson reports on this remarkable survival; photographs by Paul Highnam.
To mark the bicentenary of The Travellers Club, the oldest club in Pall Mall, John Martin Robinson tells the story of an institution and its home, a purpose-built Renaissance palace. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
A major restoration project has brought 18th-century Pitshill House and its gardens to life. The work involved far more than simple repair, as John Martin Robinson explains, with photography by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
