Hugh Bonneville’s favourite things

Actor Hugh Bonneville shares a few of his favourite things, and we pick some spring luxuries for a gentleman

NAhiGhmUSxttBPFYth6SuF.jpg
Hugh Bonneville

An alumnus of Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Hugh Bonneville is a successful film, television and radio actor, best known for his role as the Earl of Grantham in the award-winning ITV series Downton Abbey, as well as starring in the BBC comedy series Twenty Twelve. Here, he tells Hetty Chidwick which of life's luxuries he can't be without Illustrated by Christian David Moore

* Subscribe to Country Life and save; Get the Ipad edition

My Cross fountain pen. A 40th-birthday gift from my mother, perhaps in an attempt to improve my appalling handwriting. I love it and, sometimes, only an ink pen will do. Townsend fountain pen, £190, Cross (01582 422793; www.cross.com)

My Mulberry satchel, an end-of-shoot present, has travelled the world with me. Like me, it has started to show its age and now it sits quietly in the corner of my study writing its memoirs; I haven't the heart to throw it out. Elkington briefcase, £695, Mulberry (01761 234230; www.mulberry.com)

My Bremont Solo watch is the perfect blend of classic and contemporary design. I'm not a watch nut, but this is quite simply beautiful. And, even better, it tells the time. Solo watch, £2,550, Bremont (020-3394 2680; www.bremont.com)

*Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter

From left to right Transocean chronograph watch, £6,050, Breitling (020-7637 5167; www.breitling.com); Snail cufflinks, £265, William & Son (020-7493 8385; www.williamandson.com); Portuguese chronograph watch in 18ct rose gold, £12,500, IWC (020-7042 9997; www.beards.co.uk); Graham Chronofighter 1695 watch, £14,790, at William & Son (as above); Solo watch, £2,550, Bremont (0845 0940 690; www.bremont.com); Ladybird cufflinks, yellow gold with diamonds, £6,150, Cartier (020-3147 4850; www.cartier.co.uk); Violet flower cufflinks, £59, Thomas Pink (020-7498 3882; www.thomaspink.com); No02 watch, £1,620, MeisterSinger (01923 771188; www.meistersinger.net); Garden tools, The Chelsea Gardener (020-7352 5656; www.chelseagardener.com); Taxidermy snails and small insects, London Taxidermy (www.londontaxidermy.com)

Photographed by John Lawrence Jones. Styled by Hetty Chidwick

Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

Latest in Country Life
Morecambe Bay
Sitting on the dock of Morecambe Bay: Country Life Quiz of the Day, March 26, 2025
hat
Name that hat! Country Life Quiz of the Day, March 25, 2025
dogs on Country Life 26 March 2025
Country Life 26 March 2025
crufts winner
The most successful dog breed in the history of Crufts? Country Life Quiz of the Day, March 24, 2025
Franz Winterhalter's Queen Victoria
What was Queen Victoria's real first name? Country Life Quiz of the Day, March 21, 2025
lightning hits tower bridge
How many times a year does Britain get struck by lightning? Country Life Quiz of the Day, March 20, 2025
Latest in Features
Woman boarding a train
Scotland's majestic landscapes meet holistic wellness aboard Belmond and Dior's inaugural train retreat
Grayson Perry for The Wallace Collection
'This is the funnest exhibition London has seen in recent memory': Grayson Perry’s new show at the Wallace Collection explores the delusions of a fictitious woman
Diamond brooch
How Cartier became ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’
A villa in Rome on the Via Nomentana
A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich history
dogs on Country Life 26 March 2025
Country Life 26 March 2025
Jade tiled bathroom
A tub carved from a single block of San Marino marble — and nine more beautiful things for the ultimate bathroom