CATEGORIES

Smart thinking
Country Life UK

Smart thinking

A private family garden near Godalming in Surrey How does a garden design begin? With a lot of questions and by finding a central theme says James Alexander-Sinclair

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4 mins  |
April 17, 2024
Escape to the hills
Country Life UK

Escape to the hills

These four houses in the county of Surrey can offer the best of both worlds: rural settings and easy access to London

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4 mins  |
April 17, 2024
A little help from your friends
Country Life UK

A little help from your friends

Driven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue

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1 min  |
April 17, 2024
A (crab) apple a day
Country Life UK

A (crab) apple a day

They may be too tart to eat, but crab apples can be made into all sorts of good things, from jellies to salves, and may even have been Adam and Eve's forbidden fruit, says Ian Morton

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5 mins  |
April 17, 2024
The sound of centuries past
Country Life UK

The sound of centuries past

The past 50 years have seen an energetic revival of the instruments that would have been played in Bach's day. Henrietta Bredin meets players fascinated by the noises Baroque composers would have heard

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5 mins  |
April 17, 2024
Where the wild things are
Country Life UK

Where the wild things are

In his paintings, Archibald Thorburn captured the essence of Nature, whether it was piercing-cold snow enveloping a stricken deer or the existential fear of the ptarmigan. This talent for conveying atmosphere set him apart, finds Charles Harris

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6 mins  |
April 17, 2024
The legacy Sir John Soane and his Museum
Country Life UK

The legacy Sir John Soane and his Museum

EXASPERATED and despairing at the provocative behaviour of his sons, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) decided towards the end of his life to make the British public his heir. His eldest son, John-whom he had hoped would follow him as an architect, but who had no interest in the profession -had died in 1823 and he had become estranged from his younger son George.

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1 min  |
April 17, 2024
From royal favourite to stranger's heir - Stansted Park, West Sussex, part 1
Country Life UK

From royal favourite to stranger's heir - Stansted Park, West Sussex, part 1

A property of the Stansted Park Foundation In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the stages by which a medieval hunting lodge developed from the 17th century to become a great country house

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8 mins  |
April 17, 2024
Orchid spotting
Country Life UK

Orchid spotting

I HAVE had many horticultural enthusiasms, but I have never really caught the orchid bug. Better gardeners than me— rather more passionate plantsmen —have orchid houses with graded temperature zones for the different species: cool-ish is fine for cymbidiums, slightly warmer for phalaenopsis and steamy tropical heat for vanilla orchids.

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3 mins  |
April 10, 2024
We need to trade on a level playing field
Country Life UK

We need to trade on a level playing field

Life after the NFU and why MPs of all parties need to sort a food strategy

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3 mins  |
April 10, 2024
That boat has sailed
Country Life UK

That boat has sailed

WELL, we haven’t stopped the boats. The Rwanda Bill was supposed to deter illegal migrants. It hasn’t and it won’t.

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2 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Through the looking glass
Country Life UK

Through the looking glass

Little is more alluring than a mirror, its glittering reflection at once a symbol of vanity, palatial splendour and human ingenuity. Matthew Dennison charts its history from polished obsidian to decorative furnishing of unrivalled glamour

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7 mins  |
April 10, 2024
The sinner who painted saints
Country Life UK

The sinner who painted saints

Although named after an angel, Caravaggio needed no stronger reason to brawl than having his artichokes dressed with butter instead of olive oil. Maev Kennedy delves into his short and brutal life

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5 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Whistle down the wind
Country Life UK

Whistle down the wind

‘The Lady of the Nightingales’ Beatrice Harrison charmed King and country with her garden duets. One hundred years later, Julian Lloyd Webber examines whether her performances were fact or fiction

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5 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Small, but perfectly formed
Country Life UK

Small, but perfectly formed

With a stream running through it and views of the Uffington White Horse, this is a garden of great natural beauty cleverly designed and planted to make it seem much larger than it actually is

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5 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Keys to the kingdom
Country Life UK

Keys to the kingdom

Buying agents excel at gaining access to houses of which there's nary a whisper on the market, finds Annabel Dixon

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3 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Wedding belles
Country Life UK

Wedding belles

With parkland or rural settings, country houses make for idyllic wedding venues, as the vendors of these three properties have found

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5 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Different strokes
Country Life UK

Different strokes

The infinite possibilities of decorative painting brought life to villas in Pompeii, Florentine palaces and Charleston in East Sussex. Today, a revival of interest in the artform is once again precipitating a highly distinctive new look in interiors

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5 mins  |
April 10, 2024
The art of layering
Country Life UK

The art of layering

Henriette von Stockhausen believes combining textiles in a variety of different forms is the secret to creating a room that is not only timeless, but also supremely comfortable

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3 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Shepherd's delight
Country Life UK

Shepherd's delight

A prolific weed, shepherd’s purse has long been taken for granted, but it deserves greater consideration, if only for its medicinal properties

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4 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Our incomparable coastline
Country Life UK

Our incomparable coastline

Our beautiful, infinitely varied coast has become central to our national concept of what makes Britain so special

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4 mins  |
April 10, 2024
A marvel revived
Country Life UK

A marvel revived

A major restoration project has brought one of Britain's greatest Victorian buildings back to splendour and life. Steven Brindle explains the extraordinary story of how it came to be

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8 mins  |
April 10, 2024
To have and to hold
Country Life UK

To have and to hold

A collection of much-loved pieces will turn a house into a home

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4 mins  |
April 10, 2024
Get the London look
Country Life UK

Get the London look

Exuberant and different, Biba helped consign to history the fustiness of post-war dressing. Matthew Dennison looks at the rise and fall of the iconic 1960s fashion label

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4 mins  |
April 03, 2024
How to make an Impression
Country Life UK

How to make an Impression

In 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art. It was France's convulsed lurch into the modern era that helped spark the Impressionist revolution

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4 mins  |
April 03, 2024
My heart goes flip, flip, flip
Country Life UK

My heart goes flip, flip, flip

DO you know that feeling when your heart does a little flip at the sight of something beautiful? Mine did that last week. In fact, over the course of a couple of days, it did a series of little flips—possibly even a whole somersault.

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3 mins  |
April 03, 2024
Changing faces
Country Life UK

Changing faces

Mallorca was one of Spain’s first holiday hotspots, but came close to ruin in the second half of the 20th century. Now, it’s back to its glorious best, says Hetty Lintell

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4 mins  |
April 03, 2024
I go to the hills
Country Life UK

I go to the hills

When the snow and the skiers retreat, the Alps emerge as a realm of meadows, lakes and crystalclear air, with plenty of Michelin-starred food to fuel your adventures, discovers Richard MacKichan

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3 mins  |
April 03, 2024
A garden from scratch - The garden at Charlton Farm, Wiltshire The home of Mrs Simon Rivett-Carnac
Country Life UK

A garden from scratch - The garden at Charlton Farm, Wiltshire The home of Mrs Simon Rivett-Carnac

Within only 14 years, seven acres of featureless grass have been transformed into a garden full of incident and charm, writes Caroline Donald

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4 mins  |
April 03, 2024
Classically different
Country Life UK

Classically different

Two friends are changing the way Londoners listen to classical music, as well as introducing it to a younger audience, says Richard MacKichan

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3 mins  |
April 03, 2024