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Wembley isn't just a stadium — it was a vision and a pioneering adventure in the history of architecture
The 1924 Wembley Empire Exhibition was conceived on a vast scale, with a bewildering variety of displays that united such themes as Canadian butter, Tutankhamun and toffee tins. It also pioneered the architectural use of concrete, as Kathryn Ferry explains.
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A consolation and pleasure: The architectural brilliance of Prince Albert
Prince Albert took a close interest in architecture and oversaw a series of major building projects. Michael Hall considers his claims to be thought of as an architect
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At last, a new chapter for the Reading Room at the British Museum
The British Museum’s Reading Room — where Sylvia Pankhurst and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once worked — has reopened at last. Richard MacKichan celebrates.
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2,000 years of fountains, from Roman Britain to a 300ft modern masterpiece in Gloucestershire
The fountain has a long and fascinating history in England, from the Roman period to the present day, as John Goodall reveals.
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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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La Corbière lighthouse: How 'the herdsman of the waves' has protected the Channel for 150 years
A feat of pioneering Victorian engineering, La Corbière lighthouse has guided seafarers to safety for 150 years, finds Antonia Windsor.
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The chapel of Lincoln College, Oxford: 'Most costly and church-wise'
John Goodall describes the 17th-century expansion of Lincoln College, Oxford, to include an outstanding chapel, amid a bitter personal clash between two strong-willed men, and the institution’s evolution to the present day. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The history of Lincoln College, Oxford: Salvaging the vine
John Goodall describes the initiative of a Bishop of Lincoln to establish Lincoln College, Oxford, and the long struggle to bring it to fruition. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The world's most beautiful theatre, and the visionary who created it with manual labour 'plus a few sticks of dynamite'
Kate Green tells the story of the extraordinary Minack Theatre, carved by hand into a Cornish cliffside.
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How the spectacular Wolterton Hall went from Georgian splendour to a Palladian masterpiece you can rent by the weekend
John Goodall looks at the way in which Wolterton Hall, Norfolk, was awakened from sleep as a modern home and place of entertainment. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The origins of Wolterton Hall
John Goodall looks at Wolterton Hall, Norfolk — former home of Keith Day and Peter Sheppard — to analyse the creation of a new country house by Horace Walpole, a figure in the front rank of political and diplomatic life in the 18th century. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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How 'an insatiable appetite for brass-band music' gave rise to the bandstand, and how we almost lost them all
From Handel to Bowie, our bandstands have been a hub for free live music for centuries, as well as being buildings of architectural interest.
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Gatewick: The 'Georgian' house that was built from scratch in the 1950s
A combination of discerning architectural improvement and collecting in 1950s Sussex created Gatewick — the former home of Charles, James and Primrose Yorke — as a modern country house in the 18th-century spirit. John Martin Robinson reports. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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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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Hartland Abbey: The beautiful Devon house behind which lies 1,500 years of history
David Robinson visits Hartland Abbey in Devon, a seat of Sir Hugh and Lady Stucley, starting from its nebulous medieval origins as an ancient religious site associated with the cult of St Nectan.
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How the country houses of Britain proved perfect for the Allied Forces to get ready for D-Day
Country houses great and small were indispensable to D-Day preparations, with electricity and sanitation, well-stocked wine cellars, countesses to run the canteens and antique furniture to feed the stoves, says Allan Mallinson.
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Russell House: A Broadway sensation
Russell House in Broadway, Worcestershire, is a Cotswold house beloved by an important Edwardian Anglo-American artistic circle. Now, it has been revived and restored; John Martin Robinson tells its remarkable story. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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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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'We cannot have beauty without paying for it': The glorious revival of Rochdale's Town Hall
A major restoration project has brought one of Britain's greatest Victorian buildings back to splendour and life. Steven Brindle explains the extraordinary story of how it came to be.
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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.
