CATEGORIES
When God closes a door...
TODAY, the National Churches Trust launches its manifesto calling for urgent action to rescue the UK's church buildings. Every Church Counts offers a blueprint for how churches can be saved for the future,' explains National Churches Trust chief executive Claire Walker. 'With hundreds facing closure across the UK, a national plan is urgently needed... We are calling on Government, heritage organisations and Christian denominations to work together.'
The evidence of your eyes and ears
Podcasts are taking over. James Fisher finds out what they are, where they came from and what to listen to
Rooms with a cru
Successive lockdowns taught us to make the most of our homes, from the addition of everything from home offices to gyms. However, a wine room offers a much more sybaritic experience, finds Amelia Thorpe
Where grace is laced with muscle
Real or fictional, horses have the power to change lives, society and mass opinion. Red Rum, Frankel, Black Beauty, The Pie: Paul Hayward considers his top 12 transformational equine stars
Country-house Clawdo
Was it the leopard in the dining room, the jackdaw in the kitchen or the ferret in the nursery? Bronwen Riley presents a whodunnit of the worst-behaved pets
Nationhood and corporation - Australia House, the Strand, London WC2
An imposing home for the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia sought through its design and materials to celebrate themes of union with Britain and national self worth, as G. A. Bremner explains
So much more than a walk in the park
After 75 years, the job required of national parks has changed. They now need to be hothouses of Nature recovery, and it’s time we got on with it
All roads lead to Rome
Thomas, 14th Earl of Arundel, amassed the first large collection of classical sculptures in the 17th century. Britain's passion for antiquities has endured to this day, albeit with a different approach, as Carla Passino discovers
To ski or not to ski
'Falling over was easy, even on the flat; getting up was disastrous;
La dolce Dolomites
There's more to skiing than the French and Swiss Alps, says James Fisher, who goes in search of new adventures in the Italian mountains
There's no time like the ancient present
Athens, cradle of civilisation, is enjoying a rapid renaissance, says Luke Abrahams, and the best time to visit is right now
At the turn of the century
La Mamounia in Marrakech has a storied past. As it turns 100, Mary Lussiana returns to reflect on its successes and guess what the next few years might hold
Jerusalem-artichoke chowder with mussels and chive oil
'Sweet and nutty with a hint of artichoke, peel them with a spoon as you would ginger'
It's a mash up
'Floury-fleshed 'Kestrel' is better than any I've tried'
On the hour, every hour
The Greenwich Time Signal has been a ubiquitous part of BBC Radio for a century, but few know what it really is and where it came from, says Rob Crossan
Talk of the town
With his inside-out buildings, wedged skyscrapers and skyline-poking struts, Richard Rogers changed the London landscape, as well as pioneering sustainable urban living, as Carla Passino discovers
Lands of hope and glory
Farms and estates did not lose their appeal in 2023, with some local buyers and even a happy ending to a long-running Cornish dispute
Making a splash
Ideas for creating a luxury bathing and dressing sanctuary at home, selected by Amelia Thorpe
The secret of a good night's sleep
Amanda Oldfield of The Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Company tells COUNTRY LIFE why the quality of your sleep is only as good as the quality of your bed
Interiors: The designer's room
The restoration of a bathroom at Ven House in Somerset is sympathetic to its historic roots
Baby, it's cold outside
Predicting the weather using folklore is not as lackadaisical as it might seem, says Lia Leendertz, as she reveals what we can look forward to this month
A fairy house
A stylish 1920s home brought the glamour of the theatre and Hollywood, as well as the most recent fashions of healthy living, to an incomparable Surrey setting, as Clive Aslet explains
Snow magic
At Dryad Nursery near York, botanical artist Anne Wright has been breeding some highly collectable snowdrops, writes Mary Keen
Let's hear it for Britain
There are many good reasons to be proud of this sceptred isle, from great thinkers via Shakespeare to the electric kettle. Carla Passino selects 50 of the best
The foul-mouthed Miller and the prim Prioress
The pre-eminent poet of the English language, celebrated for his trailblazing literary wizardry, Chaucer's time 'is, and has always been, here and now', finds Matthew Dennison
A kind of tree magic
When it comes to driving away witches or warding off evil, nothing beats the rowan tree, with its gleaming scarlet berries and pentagram markings. Aeneas Dennison walks into a forest of myths
The Generalists and the Twelfth of Never
An exclusive Christmas mystery story by bestselling crime-fiction author Sophie Hannah
What's the pointe?
Underpinning the mesmerisingly graceful, yet hugely powerful skill of dancing on pointe is a simple, often pale-pink satin slipper, hewn from fabric, paper and glue. Katy Birchall explores the evolution of the ballet shoe
The enigmatic altarpiece
The magnificent 15th-century Portinari Triptych in Florence is full of religious symbolism, but what particularly intrigues Charles Quest-Ritson is the meaning of the flowers in the foreground
Dignity and impudence
Our love of pets is so ingrained, it's unsurprising that we have treasured portraits of them since Landseer's day. Katy Birchall meets four artists keeping the memory of our best friends alive