Country Life November 23 2016
The restoration number: the best builders in Britain and beautiful houses to restore.


Country Life November 23 2016 is our brilliant restoration number, featuring the best builders in Britain and beautiful houses to restore. Find out more here:
ARCHITECTURE: In the second of two articles, John Martin Robinson charts the remarkable restoration of St Giles House in Dorset
GARDENS: Kathryn Bradley-Hole finds the gardens at Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire, engagingly memorable
BEST BUILDERS: A good builder can be a real treasure. Clive Aslet looks at some of the best and most established firms
CAPABILITY BROWN: The icehouse at Rycote has been restored in honour of Capability Brown’s anniversary. Mark Hedges visits
SILK MAKING: Jeremy Musson meets the doyen of British silk making
DOGS: Tessa Waugh indulges in some pooch pillow talk with the owners who share their sofas and beds with their dogs
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INTERIORS: Giles Kime enjoys trees that light up the night and Ashley Hicks remembers a legendary yellow room
OWLS: David Profumo profiles the tawny owl, a devastatingly effective predator
MOTORING: Charles Rangeley-Wilson finds a car he really, really likes
SAUSAGES: Emma Hughes discovers how to build the perfect banger
COOKING: Luxurious ways with truffles
PROPERTY: Penny Churchill on how new owners bring new style plus houses to restore and beautiful renovations
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Agnes has worked for Country Life in various guises — across print, digital and specialist editorial projects — before finally finding her spiritual home on the Features Desk. A graduate of Central St. Martins College of Art & Design she has worked on luxury titles including GQ and Wallpaper* and has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Horse & Hound, Esquire and The Independent on Sunday. She is currently writing a book about dogs, due to be published by Rizzoli New York in September 2025.
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Spam: The tinned meaty treat that brought a taste of the ‘hot-dog life of Hollywood’ to war-weary Britain
Courtesy of our ‘special relationship’ with the US, Spam was a culinary phenomenon, says Mary Greene. So much so that in 1944, London’s Simpson’s, renowned for its roast beef, was offering creamed Spam casserole instead.
By Mary Greene
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Folio, Folio, wherefore art thou Folio? Shakespeare set to be auctioned by Sotheby's
Four Folios will be auctioned in London on May 23, with an estimate of £3.5–£4.5 million for 'the most significant publication in the history of English literature'.
By Lotte Brundle