More from the Country Life Top 100:
Alison Crowther
Alison Crowther is a contemporary sculptor and furniture-maker whose designs are a celebration of English oak. Working with unseasoned timber, she hand carves each piece from monumental trunks — often wind- or storm-felled trees sourced from responsibly managed woodlands in the South Downs National Park, close to her studio. ‘My work responds to the grain, the annual rings, the branches and the unique anatomy of the tree,’ she says. Using traditional hand tools, including carving gouges similar to those used in the 16th century, allows the form to evolve in response to the material.
Alison Crowther’s work celebrates the beauty of English oak, much of it sourced from the South Downs National Park.
Ms Crowther studied 3D design at Buckinghamshire College and then furniture design at the Royal College of Art, first coming to prominence with pews she made for the Prior Silkstede Chapel at Winchester Cathedral in 1996. Since then, she has created significant site-specific works, from a 16½ft sculpture for a new tower in Los Angeles, US, to sculptural seating for the gardens at Glyndebourne in East Sussex — together with numerous private commissions, spanning large-scale pieces to fireside chairs and intimate handheld pieces. Her book, Carved: Con-versations with Wood, was self-published in 2025 and is available via her website.
07775 991957; www.alisoncrowther.com
Artichoke
Known for fine-quality joinery and bespoke kitchens, Artichoke has been operating for more than 30 years and now takes on projects spanning the whole house, including interior design and internal architecture. Founder Bruce Hodgson is admired for his deep understanding of the country-house aesthetic. The firm works across the UK and internationally, with recent projects in the US, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and France, from a Somerset design studio and workshops. All its timber is sourced from British suppliers and cured on site.
01934 745270; www.artichoke.co.uk
A sink carved from Belgian blue limestone in a Regency house boot room designed by the Somerset-based company Artichoke.
Artorius Faber
This family-run British natural-stone specialist based in Yeovil, Somerset, produces interior flagstone flooring, exterior paving, cobbles and architectural detailing, such as staircases. All products are created from scratch by a team of craftsmen, often using stone from its own quarry. The company also sources and reworks reclaimed materials and offers an end-to-end service, from initial concept discussions all the way through to design and installation, across the UK and internationally.
01935 847333; www.artoriusfaber.com
The chimneypiece, trough and floor at Country Life's stand at RHS Chelsea in 2025 were all made by stone specialist Artorius Faber, while the yellow paint came from Rose of Jericho.
Bernard Dru Oak Flooring
Specialising in solid English oak flooring, bespoke parquet design and architectural joinery, this company is unusual in sourcing timber from its own sustainably managed woodlands in the Haddeo valley on Exmoor, Somerset. The oak and other native hard-woods were originally established by owner Bernard Dru’s great-great-grandfather, who planted on an extensive scale. The 19th-century tracks had eroded over the decades, so Mr Dru has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to making the woodlands accessible once more and to producing the best-quality oak possible. In 2025, his work was honoured with a Royal Forestry Society Bede Howell Silver Award for Excellence in Silviculture.
Catherine and Bernard Dru at the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London SW1, where their company has recently installed new oak floors.
Today, the company, founded in 1989, is run by Mr Dru and his wife, Catherine. ‘Our oak is admired for its flowery grain, which creates intriguing patterns, its biscuit colour tinged with a grey-pink tone, and the fine slightly etched quality to the grain,’ says Mrs Dru. ‘It also has a tendency to cat’s paw, producing attractive small clusters of knots.’ These are qualities that make its English oak a popular choice for listed and period buildings, with recent work including a new floor as part of the refurbishment of the Banquet-ing House, Whitehall, SW1, and the replication of an old parquet design for Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
01643 841312; www.oakfloor.co.uk
Fretton Handley
Partners in business and life, Clunie Fretton and Felix Handley are capable of a wide range of classical and traditional carving and sculptural commissions. Operating from two studios in London, they founded Fretton Handley in 2016 after they both graduated with distinctions in Ornamental and Historic Wood and Stone Carving from the City & Guilds of London Art School. Ms Fretton specialises in wood carving, Mr Handley in stone carving and, together, they offer bespoke services, from carving and sculpture to gild-ing, restoration, letter carving and inscriptions, memorials and ecclesiastical work. By preference, they work in native British stones and hardwood, but also undertake commissions in a variety of other sculptural materials, such as bronze and plaster.
Clunie Fretton finishing a plaster sculpture at her London studio. She has worked at the Houses of Parliament and the V&A.
Commissions vary from coats of arms and sculptures for private clients to work for the Houses of Parliament and the V&A Museum. They have recently completed the carving of a fireplace cartouche as part of the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Ms Fretton is a member of the Master Carvers’ Association, a body formed in the late 19th century to ensure that high standards of carving be maintained, and chair of the craft committee of The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers. ‘We enjoy continuing to develop these skills and in being part of the ongoing Western tradition of sculpture,’ she says.
Geoffrey Preston Sculpture & Design
Leading architectural sculptor and artist Geoffrey Preston works in plaster, producing highly decorative ceilings, wall panels and more. After studying sculpture at Hornsey College of Art in north London, Mr Preston trained as a stonemason and carver. As a founder director of two of the country’s most respected conservation companies, he worked on the restoration of the 18th-century hand-modelled plasterwork at Uppark, West Sussex, after the 1989 fire. ‘That’s when I realised the artistic potential of plaster,’ he says.
Sculptor and artist Geoffrey Preston runs his firm with his wife, Jenny Lawrence. He has worked at The Goring, SW1, and the Needle & Thread store, SW3.
In 2000, he moved to Devon and set up his workshop, which he runs with his wife, Jenny Lawrence, assisted by sculptor Kate Montagne. Most work is first modelled in clay, before a silicone mould is taken from the model and used to make a cast in plaster. He also works in stucco, a form of hand-modelled plaster-work that had its heyday in the 18th century. ‘It is a lime-rich material with its own particular natural beauty and it can be modelled to much greater depth for a bolder result.’
Projects include a high-relief, sculptural plasterwork wall, with mythical sea creatures and marine life, for the bar in The Goring hotel, London SW1, new ceilings for a Grade II- listed house in Dorset and an ornamental stucco panel for the Needle & Thread dress store on the King’s Road in Chelsea, SW3.
01392 811421; www.geoffreypreston.co.uk
Jack Badger
Specialising in hand-cut architectural joinery and carving, Jack Badger celebrates the character created by the human hand, using traditional techniques to make solid hardwood internal and external doors, panelled rooms, flooring, staircases and bespoke pieces. Operating from workshops in Old Glossop, Derbyshire, the firm is a favourite among leading heritage architects, making joinery for properties in the UK and the US.
01457 854440; www.jackbadger.co.uk
Jay Davey Bespoke Willow
Jay Davey has been working with willow for 30 years. Based close to Taunton and the Somerset Levels, Mr Davey uses only locally and sustain-ably grown willow. ‘It is the flexibility of the material and its possibilities — including the opportunity to create curves and flowing lines — that inspire me,’ he says. Mr Davey runs the workshop with his wife, Theresa Decker, and has an order book that is full for months ahead.
Jay Davey runs a firm with his wife, Theresa Decker, weaving willow into structures that range from garden screens to the onion dome at Glastonbury.
He is known for his strikingly artistic creations, on-site weaving and bespoke garden screening and structures. A high-profile piece is the woven- willow onion dome atop the landmark Ribbon Tower at the Glastonbury Festival, which he originally created in 2014 and has looked after and re-woven ever since.
07983 783426; www.jaydavey.co.uk
Lapicida
This leading luxury tile and stone specialist is headed by managing director Jason Cherrington, who founded the company more than 30 years ago. In addition to the super-size showroom in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, Lapicida has a boutique London showroom in Pimlico, SW1, displaying natural stones, including antique reclaimed stone, and fine Italian porcelains, such as a new tactile collection from Italian brand Sodai, plus marble sinks and an area devoted to the brand’s Ornamenti range of Italian terracotta planters. Custom design and bespoke manufacturing services are available.
01423 400100; www.lapicida.com
Meg Boscawen Decorative Artist
In demand as a mural artist transforming walls and ceilings into delightful works of art, London-based Meg Boscawen works on projects all over the world. From large-scale designs to painted furniture, she is known for her delicate touch, considered use of colour and imaginative creations. Recent projects include a painted tented ceiling with striped walls and magical painted wardrobes for a child’s bedroom in Mumbai, India, a watery-blue-sky ceiling with meander-ing foliage in Geneva, Switzerland, a spring-themed mural for a conservatory-dining area in a house in Berkshire and dancing angels and cupids on a ceiling in London.
Ms Boscawen studied printed textiles at Leeds Art University in West Yorkshire before deciding in 2020 to combine her love of interior design and painting. Mentored by specialist craftsman and furniture-maker Rupert Bevan, she trained under leading decorative artists Lizzi Porter and Alistair Erskine. ‘They were so generous with their knowledge,’ she says, ‘and now I, in turn, enjoy training other artists.’ Her commissions come from both interior designers and private clients.
Moulding
Established in 1798, Moulding is a residential builder that is employee owned and today run by eighth-generation family member Tim Moulding. Its team of 120 craftspeople and managers specialises in building and restoring country houses, with in-house bespoke joinery and planned preventative maintenance services. The Wiltshire company is responsible for maintaining English Heritage sites throughout the South and West of England.
01722 742228; www.mouldingthebuilder.co.uk
Oakwrights
This award-winning company creates bespoke oak structures, including houses, extensions and garden buildings and modern sustainable timber-frame homes. Expertise ranges from marketing plots with outline planning consent to collaborating with landowners on thoughtfully designed small-scale developments. Pioneers in sustainable timber architecture, the company built the UK’s first oak-frame Passivhaus a decade ago. The firm welcomes visitors to its Herefordshire workshops, complemented by a year-round programme of open days in completed homes.
01432 353353; www.oakwrights.co.uk
Prime Oak
A UK market leader in the manufacture and construction of bespoke oak-frame extensions and outbuildings, Prime Oak produces garden rooms and orangeries to annexes and garages, using sustainable oak air-dried in its own yards. Founded in 1999 and operating nationwide, it manufactures in Staffordshire with a show site nearby, with additional show sites in Oxfordshire and in Hampshire.
01384 296611; www.primeoak.co.uk
R. W. Armstrong
Established in 1957, this family-owned construction company operates across London and the South of England, specialising in the refurbishment and renovation of country houses and listed properties. It also creates bespoke traditional and contemporary new homes, and undertakes commercial projects. The firm offers an in-house joinery and architectural interiors to complete its ‘from concept to project completion’ service.
01256 850177; www.rwarmstrong.co.uk
Established in 1957 and still family owned, the Hampshire-based construction company R. W. Armstrong has an in-house joinery team.
Rose of Jericho
Decades of expertise in traditional paints, lime mortars and plasters has given Dorset-based Rose of Jericho an outstanding reputation among the UK’s best conservation specialists. Products are handmade to traditional recipes and often bespoke to individual projects. Its paints are made using only artist-quality earth and mineral powder pigments to provide a purity of colour rarely achieved in modern paints. The firm also provides analysis of historic mortars and paints, with an archive of more than 6,500 samples from past projects.
01935 83676; www.roseofjericho.co.uk
Stevensons of Norwich
From a bespoke decorative plaster ceiling to handmade cornices and ceiling roses, Stevensons of Norwich creates, installs and restores all kinds of intricate plaster-work and has worked in 40 countries around the world. The firm is licensed to replicate moulding patterns from the National Trust’s properties, thanks to its long association with the charity, and has recently completed bespoke designs for the dining room at The Goring hotel, SW1, and the restoration of the state rooms at Wolterton Park, Norfolk.
01603 400824; www.stevensons-of-norwich.co.uk
Stonewood Builders
This award-winning construction firm specialises in the restoration and conservation of buildings, as well as the construction of bespoke new houses. Stonewood is led by managing director Matt Aitkenhead, whose father, Neil, founded the business in 1972. The head office is in Castle Combe, Wilt-shire, with further offices in Castle Cary, Somerset, and Wantage, Oxfordshire. ‘We employ our own trades and labour, which makes us different, as we are not simply a management contractor,’ says Mr Aitken-head. ‘We have our own artisans who have been trained in house.’ Some 200 employees allow the firm to offer the full spectrum of building skills, including masonry, carpentry, roofing and plastering.
Notable work includes several projects at The Newt hotel and estates in Somerset and The Story of Emily visitor centre in Cornwall. (‘We supplied and fitted the largest single piece of glass on Earth,’ notes Mr Aitkenhead.) The firm has also completed construction of an award-winning rammed-earth house on the Somerset-Wiltshire border, courtyard accommodation, The Glasshouse restaurant at Estelle Manor hotel in Oxford-shire, a fine new house on a large scale in the Cotswolds and the restoration of a Grade I- listed house in Gloucestershire and another at Spetchley Park in Worcestershire.
01249 782293; www.stonewoodbuilders.co.uk
Stuart Interiors
Established more than 40 years ago, this bespoke oak joinery firm is now run by second-generation family members Jake Russell and Rebecca Fisher, from an office in Somerset and a joinery workshop in the Czech Republic. Known for traditional timber panelling, ceilings, doors, staircases and furniture, the company counts the National Trust, Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and a roster of A-list celebrities among its clients.
01935 826659; www.stuartinteriors.com
W. G. Carter
Specialising in the restoration and renovation of country and heritage houses, many of them listed, this full-service construction company operates from its Abingdon base across Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds and the surrounding counties. Established in 1947, the award-winning firm is now run by James Robertson, who leads a team of 55 construction professionals and skilled craftsmen.
01865 864626; www.wgcarter.co.uk
ZOTA
This Cirencester-based construction company is known for its work in the Cotswolds, on new-build and renovation projects at traditional properties. Founded in 1997 by director Nick Moffat, who now heads a team of 40 staff, ZOTA provides a complete service, from initial planning to final realisation. It also offers bespoke cabinetry from its joinery workshop and works alongside consultants for audio, lighting, home technology, heating and renewable energy. It runs its own decorating team, offering specialist finishes and spraying.
01285 708708; www.zota.co.uk