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This remarkable timbered home was preserved for 300 years — and then flattened by a earlLynmore Hall was inextricably linked to the fall and rise of the British monarchy, but it only took a humble earl to finish it off.
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Time well spent: The watch adverts from the Country Life Archive that chart 130 years of styleRosie Paterson uncovers 11 outstanding watch adverts from the Country Life Archive.
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The unpublished photographs of a gargantuan Victorian mansion whose bulldozed remains were dumped in its own ornamental lakeWarter Priory was once a prime example of peak Victoriana architecture and interior design — but it met a watery end.
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'It contained a hippopotamus, which lived in the Billiards Room': The strange country house that gave way to a crematoriumMelanie Bryan traces the history of Muntham Court and its eccentric residents.
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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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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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Why one of Cornwall's oldest and most definitely haunted houses burned to the ground — 30 years after it was photographed for Country LifeMelanie Bryan traces the history of Treworgey Manor, built during the reign of Henry VIII.
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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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'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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1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith: 'Much of the enjoyment is gained from the smoothness and precision with which the most minor details are fitted and work'Country Life has a rich tradition of motoring journalism dating back more than a century. We have taken a dip into the archive to bring you this review of the 1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith by J. Eason Gibson.
