CATEGORIES
The stuff of fairy tales
Gingerbread will forever be associated with that little house in the woods, but it was also a firm favourite with Elizabeth I. Inspired by a collection of extravagant moulds, Rosie Goodwin of the Ryedale Folk Museum explores the origins of a festive favourite
Holmes, sweet Holmes
Sherlock Holmes had an eye for architectural detail, an interest derived from his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Jeremy Musson looks at how it emerges in the books, with the help of specially commissioned drawings
A prince's passion
Michael Prodger is fascinated by a pioneering royal project devoted to the collecting and reproducing of the Renaissance Master’s works
When Geography Matters
When is a Cornish pasty not a Cornish pasty?
You've been framed
Want to cultivate serious specs appeal? Emma Hughes gathers advice from those in the know
The secret's in the soil
The houses of the Garden of England are as impressive and storied as the landscape
The good doctor
The banishment of Sir Hans Sloane to a back-room glass case is unjustified and ignorant. This generous, kindly medical pioneer deserves better
‘When I swear, people know I mean it'
Michel Roux Jnr, the Michelin-starred member of a French cooking dynasty, talks to Christopher Jackson about the new normal, dressing up, the dangers of drinking and the importance of respect
Hickory dickory dock
The soporific tick-tock of seconds passing, the hypnotic swing of the pendulum, the commanding chiming of the hour: every house deserves a longcase clock, concludes Matthew Dennison
HALLS OF LEARNING
From private to public ones, the capital is home to some of the finest libraries in the world. London Library member Harry Mount extols the virtues of some of his favourites
I like the way you move
The manner in which you enter a room can change everything that happens next. Daniel Pembrey reveals how you could become the next Sean Connery
Have I got moos for you
Far from being ‘stupid’ or ‘silly cows’, cattle are ungainsayably clever and emotionally intelligent, with bags of personality, too, contends John Lewis-Stempel
First impressions
With this year’s GENTLEMAN’S LIFE supplement in mind, we pick five homes perfect for the young gent in the city
When In Doubt, Take A Bath
The market in Somerset’s largest city is heating up. Now is the time to dip a toe in
The magic touch
The carving of root vegetables into grotesque faces is only one of many attempts to ward off the advances of evil through the centuries, discovers Ian Morton
The art of transgression
Laura Gascoigne finds more feminism than sex or yoga in the British Museum’s interpretation of Tantra
On England's pleasant pastures seen
With frost-edged air embued by decaying leaves, bonfires and gunpowder, for John Lewis-Stempel, our landscape of field, hedge and brook is the only place to be in October
The North Pennines
THE second largest of the AONBs, at 766 square miles, this landscape of gorges, waterfalls and moorland is awash with natural importance.
Sign language
The Pope’s Head, The Naked Boy, The Leg & Star: illustrated signs have been swinging tipsily outside Britain’s pubs for centuries, wooing customers, annoying Parliament and occasionally landing on pedestrians, says Felicity Day
Light the touch paper
Tiffany Daneff visits a garden that comes alive as others begin to fade, where inspired plantings heighten autumn’s natural brilliance
My favourite painting Cressida Cowell: St George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello
John McEwen comments on St George
An ode to ancient customs
The genre of country-house poetry in the 17th century is preoccupied by the ideas of hospitality and retirement. Clive Aslet considers the significance of these themes
From the jaws of hell
Be it Greek mythology’s Cerberus, Churchill’s ‘black dog’ of depression or the Hound of the Baskervilles, hell hounds have haunted us for generations, says Jeremy Hobson
Know Your Onions And Your Leeks
Once worn atop Welsh army helmets, this most elegant and subtle of alliums is as happy served alongside smart truffles as it is in the simplest of soups, says Tom Parker Bowles
These sacred places
The humble architecture and rich antiquity of the ancient churches of Wales are as captivating as their settings, reveals Caroline Welch of the National Churches Trust
Their stars still shine brightly
Last month, the stage lost three greats, but at least there are tentative green shoots of revival for their profession at some theatres
The Straw Ride by Lucy Kemp-Welch
John McEwen comments on The Straw Ride
Seizing the moment
Auctions and galleries open as long as they can, with international curiosities and thought-provoking artworks on display
Midlife crisis
Spencer’s love life was complicated and ultimately doomed, but it produced some remarkable paintings, reveals Tim Richardson
In search of the bony horseman
Herring-like in appearance, the shad was once one of our favourite fish, feasted on by the royal household. Now, it is one of our rarest, discovers Catriona Gray