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Felled by a pair of cursed shoes — the butterfly-shaped house that Lutyens builtMelanie Bryan investigates the spooky and eccentric history of Papillon Hall.
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What do Rihanna and a 19th century vegetarian activist have in common? This sprawling Tudor house that American money couldn't saveMelanie Bryan traces the history of Cassiobury House — and its bohemian inhabitants.
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The never-before-seen, 70-year-old photographs of Pugin's Bishop's House that Parliament destroyed to make room for a ring roadMelanie Bryan tells the tale of a Gothic Revival bishop's residence in Birmingham that lives on only in the Country Life Archive.
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The pen is mightier than dynamite: A truly unique 20th-century building destroyed by the wrong paperworkWhat happens when you accidentally knock down the wrong Fonthill House.
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House of the Dragon: The Elizabethan mansion protected by a fire-breathing beast — until it wasn'tMelanie Bryan recounts the fascinating story of Drakelow Hall.
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The financier, racing driver and prolific party animal who saved — and then lost — one of the 20th century's most notable country housesArdenrun Place was a short-lived yet architecturally notable English country house. Melanie Bryan tells its tale.
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Back when we were a proper country: Putting a V12 in a Jaguar E-TypeIn our latest dip into the Country Life motoring archive, John Taylor takes us back to 1971, when the E-Type was rewarded with a V12 engine for being a very handsome car indeed.
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Monarchs, Rothschilds and ruin: The extraordinary tale of one of Britain’s most beautiful moated homesRushbrooke Hall was arguably one of Britain's most beautiful and romantic-looking homes. But, like most of the houses in this series, it's demise was brutal.
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Built for a pretender to the Scottish throne, consumed by a coalfield: The doom of Hamilton PalaceAt its zenith, Hamilton Palace rivalled Buckingham Palace in size — but when it was photographed for Country Life, its days were already numbered, says Melanie Bryan.
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The 17th century Devon home that inspired a smoking ban and lives on only inside the Country Life ArchiveOnce upon a time, no one batted an eyelid at smoking in public places — including inside listed buildings. Melanie Bryan investigates why that began to change in the 1960s.
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The Titanic cruise line baron who revitalised the fortunes of an entire village sold through the pages of Country LifeMelanie Bryan tells the story of James Ismay whose countryside labour of love featured in Country Life multiple times.
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The owners of this Palladian masterpiece amassed an enviable collection of exotic plants before it all burned to the groundMelanie Bryan digs into the Country Life Archive to find out how it all went so wrong at Carclew, in Cornwall.
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How did a staircase from this Reformation-era country house end up on the other side of the world?Melanie Bryan takes a look at the intriguing history and sad ending of Beaudesert Hall.
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Where was Guy Ritchie's Young Sherlock series filmed? In a historic Welsh home that first appeared in Country Life a century agoLlanvihangel Court has a Spanish Armada-era avenue of trees and may have been visited by Charles I. To celebrate its star turn in Guy Ritchie's new Amazon Prime television series, 'Young Sherlock', we're revisiting our feature and photographs on the house that first appeared in the magazine in 1916.
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'Hard times breed sumptuous cars': The costly stars of the last-ever London Motor ShowMore than 50 new cars made their Earls Court debut at the 1976 London Motor Show — its last appearance in the capital before it moved to Birmingham in 1978. In this article from the November 25, 1976, issue of Country Life, writer John Taylor revealed some of his favourite launches.
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One of the first substantial buildings constructed from cast iron lives on only in the Country Life ArchiveThe London Coal Exchange enabled City merchants to buy and sell coal across the world. Despite this magazine's best efforts, it was destroyed in the 1960s.
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Colour photographs of Gertrude Jekyll’s garden, rediscovered in the Country Life Archive, offer a rare glimpse of what it looked like at the peak of her fameIn 1997, Country Life published a set of chromatic photographs of Gertrude Jekyll’s Munstead Wood garden that had lain undisturbed in our archive for nearly a century. We have reproduced the pictures, corresponding feature and captions here.
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Why has everyone fallen under the spell of Wrotham Park — one of the largest private houses inside the M25Wrotham Park, the seat of the Earls of Strafford, is not open to the public and hardly any interior photographs are available to view online. So why do film directors, photographers and luxury brands continue to flock to it?
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What binds the Queen Mother and Chicago's first department store? A lost castle that was blown to smithereens by the Territorial ArmyStreatlam Castle was one of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne three principal seats.
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Fashion fit for the Winter Olympics (sort of) from the Country Life ArchiveThe Country Life Archive is a gold mine of inspiring winter fashion, finds Melanie Bryan.
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The magnificent London mansion that Country Life mourned when it was demolished to make room for the Dorchester HotelDorchester House was once the epicentre of late-Victorian society.
