Country Life Archive
Articles and photographs from Country Life's 130-year-old archive.
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Ten of the most exquisite French châteaux, photographed for Country Life in 1906 and still standing todayIn the early 20th century, Country Life commissioned Frederick H. Evans to photograph some of France's châteaux. Here are some of his efforts.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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All fired up: 12 of our favourite chimneys, from grand architectural statements to modest brick stacks, as seen in Country LifeNothing says winter like a roaring fire, and plenty of the houses that we've photographed for the magazine's architectural places have fireplaces and chimneys worth boasting about.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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Where is 'The Traitors' filmed? Inside the Scottish castle sold via the pages of Country Life three times for an unbelievable amountMelanie Bryans delves into the Country Life archives and uncloaks the history of the turreted Highland castle made famous by the global TV franchise, 'The Traitors'.
By Melanie Bryan Last updated
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The Henry VII-era house that was dismantled piece by piece and shipped to the USAAgecroft Hall, near Manchester, didn't meet the same miserable end as some of Britain's other country homes. Instead, it was shipped to the USA and repurposed as a museum.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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Revisit the Lincolnshire house once described by Roosevelt as 'almost too good to be true', and later dismantled brick by brickOur original article on Easton Hall in Lincolnshire from January 25, 1902, allows readers to see what the estate was like when the main house was still present in all its glory.
By Country Life Last updated
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Sold, singed and sunk: The sorry tale of Normanton HallFew English country houses suffered more than Normanton Hall.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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Pugs in pearls: Nine times dogs stole the show on publishing’s most famous pageEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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Blurring the lines between ornament and recreation: Nine of Britain’s best Arts-and-Crafts swimming pondsBefore the vogue for bright blue, chlorine-treated swimming pools, members of Victorian and Edwardian society built naturalistic bathing ponds inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement.
By George Townsend Published
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The curious incident of the vanishing glasshouses: Country Life's photographs are all that remains of these awe-inspiring structuresThe ‘winter garden’ and the ‘terraced grounds of exquisite beauty’ were two of Cherkley Court’s featured attractions. They were advertised for sale in Country Life in 1910 — and then they vanished.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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The country home with an intriguing connection to the Titanic, doomed for demolitionEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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The never-before-seen photographs of The House at Pooh Corner that were taken by Country Life when A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin called it homeEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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‘It only remains for our descendants to curse our impotence and laissez-faire’: Only four photographs of a storied London townhouse survive inside the Country Life archive — and it was brutally demolished not once, but twiceNo. 32, Soho Square was demolished not once, but twice, despite warnings of doing so in Country Life.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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From the archive: 'This retina-awakening advert for British Nylon Spinners Limited sums up the swinging 1960s perfectly'Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Rosie Paterson Published
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From the Country Life archive: The 19th century answer to SwingballEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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‘It has been destroyed beyond repair, not by the effect of gunfire, but by a deliberate act of vandalism’: Britain’s long lost great houses that live on only inside the Country Life archiveIn the wake of the First and Second World Wars, some of Britain’s greatest houses were lost forever — to extinct familial lines, financial woes, neglect, vandalism and tragic accidents. Thankfully, plenty are preserved — in photographic form at least — for eternity, inside the Country Life archive.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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From the Country Life archive: The questionable vacuum caps that promised a 'healthy, vigorous growth of hair'Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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From the Country Life archive: Yes, that is a Moon Transmitter on London's South BankEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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From the Country Life archive: The Maori meeting house in leafy SurreyEvery Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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10 outstanding British gardens from the Country Life ArchiveWith Chelsea Flower Show is on the horizon, we've mined the 128-year-old Country Life Archives for 10 inspiring gardens from across our Isles.
By Melanie Bryan Published


