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Villa Ventorum: The Newt's recreation of a 2,000-year-old Roman house in the heart of Somerset
The reconstruction of Villa Ventorum — a Romano-British villa at The Newt, Somerset — has prompted a wonderful experiment in living archaeology. Bronwen Riley steps into the past. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The medieval cloisters moved stone-by-stone to Manhattan, thanks to the infinitely deep pockets of the Rockefellers
The Cloisters in New York — a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art — is one the most important museums of medieval art in the world — yet it could only have been created in 1930s America, as Jeremy Musson discovers.
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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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Castle Drogo: The extraordinary challenge of building a castle in the 20th century — and saving it from ruin in the 21st
In the second of two articles on Castle Drogo in Devon — a property of the National Trust — Clive Aslet looks at the challenges of building a 20th-century castle and the recent work of the National Trust to restore it.
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Castle Drogo: How Sir Edwin Lutyens created a place of exceptional refinement and beauty
Castle Drogo sits atop its perch in Dartmoor, Devon, one of the National Trust's most striking articles. In the first of two articles on Castle Drogo's history, Clive Aslet reveals how a fascination with ancestry encouraged a wealthy Edwardian businessman to enlist the help of Sir Edwin Lutyens to build a new castle. Main image by Robert Harding; other photographs by Dylan Thomas for Country Life.
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The Great House in Dedham: 'How wonderful it would be. The world could be beautiful again'
The architect Raymond Erith's first major work of his career subtly transformed The Great House in Dedham, Essex, to create a design poised between past and present, as Alan Powers explains.
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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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West Horsley Place, Surrey: The real-life country house where the BBC's Ghosts is filmed
West Horsley Place is one of the most important historic houses in Surrey — and it’s enjoying a new lease of life as a centre for the Arts, not least thanks to its starring role in Ghosts, one of the most popular BBC comedies in years. John Goodall looks at the history of this remarkable building. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Westminster Abbey: How the nation's coronation church has touched our lives for 1,000 years
In anticipation of The Queen’s Jubilee Year, Country Life had the opportunity to photograph the majestic interiors of Westminster Abbey, our coronation church, amid the quiet of lockdown. In the first of two articles, John Goodall explains how, in this building, events from the deep past continue to touch our lives today. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
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'One of the wonders of Oxford': A look at the extraordinary Campion Hall
In the second of two articles, Clive Aslet looks at the furnishing of Campion Hall, particularly the treatment of the chapel, one of the city’s outstanding interiors. Photographs by Will Pryce.
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Campion Hall, Oxford: How Sir Edwin Lutyens cut his fees to secure the job — and ended up creating 'his best building'
The task of creating a Jesuit hall in Oxford in the 1930s was eagerly assumed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. In the first of two articles on Campion Hall, Oxford, Clive Aslet reveals the story of this remarkable building.
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Inside Windsor Castle, by kind permission of the Sovereign
As the new reign begins, John Martin Robinson takes an exclusive look at Windsor Castle, Berkshire — an official residence of His Majesty King Charles III — and in particular the recently completed representation of the State Apartments. Photographs taken in the last few days of the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II by Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library.
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The Reform Club: Inside 'the most magnificent club in London', almost unchanged since the days of Phileas Fogg
The Reform Club was made famous by Jules Verne as the home-from-home of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days. Yet it began life, as John Goodall discovers, as an attempt to unify the Radical and Whig interests as a coherent political force, prompting work to what aimed to be the most magnificent club in London.
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Church Cottage, Humbleton: The school that became a picture-perfect country house
Church Cottage in Humbleton, South Yorkshire, is an 1830s schoolhouse that's been reworked to create a perfect smaller country house. John Martin Robinson admires the skill of the craftsmanship and the character of the building. Photographed by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Great British Architects: Charles Barry
An immense figure in British architecture, Charles Barry introduced an Italianate Renaissance style to the UK.
