The British actor has been a perennial face on our screens for decades, particularly for his role as David in ITV’s Cold Feet – the new series of ITV's revival of the programme starts on September 8.
He also appeared in Downton Abbey as the widower Sir Anthony Strallan, whose tumultuous courtship of a much younger Lady Edith raised a few eyebrows.
Robert lives in East Sussex with his family.
Shoes
My feet are different sizes and I thought I’d give each of them a present of some handmade shoes from James Taylor & Son on Paddington Street. They are the only true luxury I have. It could become a habit.
Bespoke shoes, £1,895 – www.taylormadeshoes.co.uk
Curtains
This fabric was an early commission from us before Vanessa Arbuthnott’s business went global. She printed these curtains on her kitchen table and our curtains have travelled with me and my wife [the artist, Victoria Threlfall] wherever we’ve moved. They’re totemic of our ancient marriage. Vanessa’s customers are now more upmarket.
Fabrics from about £49.50 per metre – www.vanessaarbuthnott.co.uk
China
This Royal Doulton china set was handed down to us and is the sort of thing you have in case The Queen comes to tea. I use it every day and risk them getting smashed with all the mugs. Tea does taste better in it and The Queen still hasn’t come.
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'The whole house shook. Everything was white. For four months, it felt as if we were on Mars': The story behind one of Hampshire's most breathtaking gardensWhen Kim Wilkie sculpted a tiered grass amphitheatre behind this 17th-century house, the garden finally settled into place, as Non Morris discovers.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
