Country Life helps reveal Britain's hidden histories
The archives of Country Life help to reveal the history of Britain's Hidden Histories this Sunday on BBC1


In the third episode of Britain's Hidden Histories, to be shown on BBC1 at 6.30pm, Clare Balding gets access to the photographic archive of Country Life magazine in order to investigate how the 150-year-old collection has helped to restore the most unlikely of country house interiors. During the filming, Clare spoke to Country Life's architectural editor John Goodall regarding the history of the magazine and its usefulness as a historical resource. She also spoke to library manager Justin Hobson about the extensive Country Life archive.
Clare Balding came in to Country Life HQ earlier in the year to talk to Architectural Editor John Goodall about the wealth of information on British country houses available in our archive
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Elsewhere Paul Martin is in Gloucestershire, at Berkeley Castle, owned and lived in by the same family for almost 900 years. This Norman fortress holds an extraordinary archive collection and, in 2004, seven lost arias by Vivaldi were discovered amongst the old documents. On this show, one of the arias will be performed on television for the very first time.
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty 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.
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