A DEAFENING roar tore through the air, a plume of steam rose to join the clouds and a locomotive hurtled into view on September 27, 1825, pulling wagons full of coal, flour and people into Darlington station-and Britain into the modern era. Driven by its inventor, George Stephenson, Locomotion I had set off earlier from Shildon, Co Durham, and would continue onto Stockton: despite the odd hiccup, the world's first public railway was officially open. Nineteen years later, another train burst into view, this time on canvas, closing in on a hare as it crossed the Maidenhead Bridge. J. M. W. Turner presented his Rain, Steam, and Speed 180 years ago, at the June 1844 Royal Academy exhibition. Long accustomed to capturing Nature's might-storms, avalanches, raging seas-the artist did the same with the power of machinery. Although criticised at the time, Turner's pioneering subject choice spearheaded what would later become almost a genre: the art of the railway.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 19, 2024-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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Full steam ahead
The railway may have started its artistic life as a fire-breathing monster that devoured the countryside, but it soon became an emblem of advancing modernity, a cherished memento of the past and even, in the case of one station, the centre of the universe
Stars in the East
Continuing from last week, further East Anglian properties include a moat beloved by wildlife, a Georgian hunting lodge on the site of a Civil War battlefield and a well-restored manor with a Tudor-hall wedding venue
'The oldest Old Thing in England'
Shakespeare was by no means the first to portray the mischievous Puck, a sprite of ancient lineage, with his ass's head, discovers Ian Morton
Coward on a mission
A revival of Noël Coward's final work reminds one of the emotional depth behind the laughs
Having the last laugh
Rotting teeth, modelling woes and an appreciation for solemnity have historically conspired to make painted grins a rarity, but beaming faces never fail to beguile, finds Claudia Pritchard
Mother of herbs
Enjoying a strange association with childbirth, mugwort is of more use in the kitchen and may even induce 'lucid dreams', finds John Wright
Bourne to run
The garden at Emmetts Mill, Chobham, Surrey A flat waterside site has been transformed into a garden full of drama with plenty of delightful places to stop and enjoy the view, writes Kathryn Bradley-Hole
Design brought to life
The 2024 WOW!house is a delightful parallel universe of creativity, finds Giles Kime
Bend it like Beckham
Chippendale, Scotland's only independent furniture school, bears a huge name to live up to, but with courses in wood-bending, marquetry, upholstery, restoration and more, it is flourishing under a new generation, finds Mary Miers
'Makes Buckingham Palace seem rather dull'
The London homes of the British aristocracy were often grander than their country counterparts, palatial without ever being called palaces, says Lucien de Guise