CATEGORIES

Brilliant blossoms

The collection of magnolias begun by a former president of the RHS is being continued by his daughter in the arboretum at Llanover in Monmouthshire, reveals Stephen Anderton

The land is yours

Official War Artist Thomas Hennell, who struggled with schizophrenia throughout his short life, should be better appreciated for both his shocking portrayals of conflict and his fine watercolours of pastoral life, says Peyton Skipwith

The right trousers

Once frowned upon, now a staple of the female wardrobe, trousers have come a long way. Emma Hughes charts the journey of this favourite garment

A Kerr-handed castle

Ferniehirst Castle, Roxburghshire A seat of Lord Ralph Kerr Rebuilt in 1598, this delightful Borders castle, built for left-handed people, was revived by bursts of sensitive restoration, as John Martin Robinson explains

Tanks For The Memories

Once a common sight across Pembrokeshire, German tanks–and the soldiers who trained in them–have been consigned to the past, laments Harry Mount

The most apt of names

Belle Isle, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland The home of Lord and Lady Nicholas Hamilton. An 18th-century beauty spot that briefly fell into complete neglect has been restored. John Goodall tells the remarkable story of this island estate, its eccentric owners and its modern revival

The greatest shows

Five brilliant musicals that have that all-important ‘moment-of-ecstasy’ factor

Portrait of a young man

A child prodigy who sold his first sketch aged five, the great portraitist met his match in royal women, says Matthew Dennison

Interiors: The Designer's Room

Architect John Comparelli has created a contemporary garden room to make the most of its pleasing outlook

Not so prim at all

Primroses naturally produce tantalising variations that have been avidly collected since Elizabethan times. Val Bourne looks at how modern breeding has increased the arresting forms and sumptuous colours of this much-loved spring woodlander

My own private Idaho

Originally conceived as peaceful retreats in which their owners could escape from the world, many of our surviving hermitages are located in some of the most enchanting spots in the country, observes Bronwen Riley

Keeping it in the family

The Apter- Fredericks sale sent out the encouraging signal that 18thand 19th-century furniture is in demand again

Just pottering about

Inspired by wedding bouquets, native breeds and countryside walks, it is imaginative reinterpretations of past designs that give today’s regional potteries their distinctive identities, says Matthew Dennison

In The Right Frame Of Mind

Designed to protect and enhance a picture, an elaborate frame is often a work of art in its own right. Catriona Gray discovers how red-coloured clay makes gold leaf glow and why mounts are not always needed

The Man Who Loved Drawing, Dogs And Dragons

Best known for designing the First World War ‘Your country needs you’ recruitment poster, Alfred Leete was also adept at capturing canines– as well as Bertie Wooster–in pen and ink.

Medieval magnificence

The historic Dower House Garden at Morville Hall, Shropshire, has been sensitively re-created by its painstaking owner, finds Non Morris

See the blackthorn swim in snow

Bedecked with thorns so spiky it’s known as Nature’s barbed wire, the blackthorn’s delicate, starry-white flowers are also an often unreliable harbinger of spring, observes Jack Watkins

Where angels tread

A Rembrandt enchants, yet, strangely, a Botticelli fails to move; and Old Master drawings invite us to ‘compare and contrast’

The immortal journey of Dürer

Forget Leonardo: there is a case to be made for the German artist being the true Renaissance great, argues Michael Prodger

Education and inspiration

Haileybury, Hertfordshire -In 1862, the empty buildings of an Imperial training college were occupied by one of a new generation of public schools. John Goodall looks at the story and development of the site

Forces of nature

Proper boarding, gleaming pastoral care and the kind of leadership admired in a gentleman officer are top of the agenda for many prospective military families. Madeleine Silver reports

History in the making

This small slice of Hertfordshire is almost bursting with heritage, history and idyllic country homes

Beyond the Zoom boom

Many schools have adapted admirably to the challenges of delivering virtual learning, but when life returns to some sort of normality, might online elements still have a place in the classroom, asks Flora Watkins

Put Your Hands Together

There’s plenty to celebrate in leafy Clapham, including its historical links to the abolitionist movement

When Gorse Is Out Of Bloom, Kissing Is Out Of Season

Prickly enough to make a pony grow a moustache and with the ability to rise from the ashes, Nature’s vibrant carpet of ‘Dartmoor custard’ is sure to brighten the gloomiest of winter’s days.

‘A picture of magic beauty'

A Georgian house remodelled in the Gothic style became a seat of the Gillow family, famous for their furniture-making business, in 1824. John Martin Robinson looks at the remarkable story of the house and its collections Photographs by Paul Highnam

‘Thou wast not born for death'

Dismissed as ‘the Cockney Homer’ and a fey lovelorn dreamer, John Keats was actually a robust and spirited man with medical training and a penchant for fisticuffs, says Jack Watkins, on the 200th anniversary of the poet’s premature demise

The empire strikes back

With the Australians vanquished, India turn their sights on England. Can Joe Root and his men halt the juggernaut.

Taking the waters

Grand Tourists collected Canaletto’s paintings of Venice as we might postcards, but his later British scenes didn’t have quite the same pull.

A MARATHON EFFORT

The idea for the first London Marathon was born in a pub in Petersham. On the eve of its 40th anniversary, Jeremy Taylor looks back at the famous event that has raised more than £1 billion for charity