I denne utgaven

Venus was her name
Michael Hall lays bare the story of the art world’s enduring love affair with the alluring goddess Venus, from the 4th century BC right up to the modern era.

Bend it like Beckham
Scotland’s only furniture school is keeping alive the old crafts of upholstery and marquetry, doing justice to its Chippendale name, as Mary Miers discovers..

Opening the shutters

In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at the way in which this major Georgian house was awakened from sleep as a modern home and place of entertainment

8 mins

The legacy Douglas Bunn and the Hickstead Derby

IT is the stuff of sporting legend. Douglas Bunn flew to Germany on New Year's Eve of 1960, armed with a tape measure.

1 min

Venus was her name

The goddess of love and beauty's naked form caused a stir in the 4th century BC, incensed Suffragettes in the 20th and ruled art history in between and beyond, as Michael Hall reveals

7 mins

Tripping the light fantastic

A lustrous play of colour alchemy, iridescence can intrigue, camouflage and incite desire. Laura Parker immerses herself in one of Nature's greatest special effects

6 mins

'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

5 mins

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

5 mins

Design brought to life

The 2024 WOW!house is a delightful parallel universe of creativity, finds Giles Kime

1 min

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

6 mins

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

5 mins

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

2 mins

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

7 mins

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

5 mins

Coward on a mission

A revival of Noël Coward's final work reminds one of the emotional depth behind the laughs

4 mins

'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

2 mins

Les alle historiene fra Country Life UK

Country Life UK Magazine Description:

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life Published by IPC Media. Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.