CATEGORIES

Shaken, not stirred

Battles, Beatles, Bond and an ancient Egyptian curse–there’s a lot to remember in 2022

Nooks and crannies

NOBODY understands more than a gardener that Nature abhors a vacuum.

Charlotte Mullins comments on Julia, Lady Peel

Julia, Lady Peel by Thomas Lawrence

A story for our times

It is hard to say if Cold Comfort Farm is prophecy or warning

A one-woman show

She was a brilliant observer of boxers, ballet dancers, gypsies, horses, coastlines and women at war. To overlook the vitality of Dame Laura Knight’s work is nothing short of snobbery, argues Ian Collins

Do your ears hang low?

Incorrigible and exasperating, vocal yet always entertaining and seemingly almost human, the basset hound is a force of nature, says devotee Flora Watkins

Ready when you are

With renovations and materials in such high demand, high-spec historic houses, such as these three in Hampshire and West Sussex, should be snapped up

Dearly beloved

Old rectories, parsonages and vicarages we’re glad the Church didn’t hold on to

The designer's room

Interior designer Sarah Brown has created a perfect townmeets-country kitchen in her Chiswick home

A blaze of colour

A great window of heraldic stained glass by A.W.N. Pugin has been restored at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. John Goodall reports on this dazzling project.

A modest manor

Rippington Manor, Cambridgeshire The home of Peter and Gay Johnson A delightful 16th-century manor house is revealed to have an unexpectedly complex history and an unusual story to tell. John Goodall explains

The Life of the Robin

THE robin regularly tops the vote in public surveys to find Britain’s national bird. The reasons aren’t hard to imagine. A Christmas-card staple, the bird is familiar and attractive. It has a sweet song, endearingly heard at times of the year when other birds are silent and often in the evenings or late at night, seduced by the glow of streetlights. A regular garden visitor, it’s loved for its tameness. It can be trained to take food from the hand, and may even enter the home to feed or perch on an armchair.

Where a giant walked

You can see from Wales to Gloucestershire from The Wrekin

Why old is gold

The deeper designers dig into our decorative past, the more gleaming nuggets they unearth

Sealed with a kiss

Peaking at Christmas, regard for mistletoe is deeply rooted in myth and legend, finds Ian Morton-not to mention the age-old tradition of kissing underneath it

Hung up by the chimney with care

Children around the land will soon awake in the darkness of early morning, straining their eyes to make out the shape of a now-bulging Christmas stocking-but when did we start filling socks with satsumas, sixpences and tin whistles.

Peace on earth and mercy mild

We have a tendency to exhaust ourselves trying to create the perfect Christmas, but we should return to the charitable heart of the season and be mindful of those who are struggling, advocates the Revd Daniel A . French

Journey of the Magi

Britain's greatest masterpieces

All is calm, all is bright

On a two-coat, chilly December night, a John Lewis-Stempel and his labrador Plum venture out into the glass-hard air to check on the sheep and drink in the stars

A new lease of life

From a windmill to old stables, these conversions pack historical punch

Talking a lot of rot

ONCE upon a time, the three ‘r’s meant reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic. Nowadays, they stand for ‘recycle, repurpose and re-use’.

The big list

To describe a building as ‘listed’ is a way of saying it is important, but what does it mean? Roger Bowdler looks at how listing came about and how it has changed

A new lease of life

A light touch is the secret to sensitive restoration, finds Amelia Thorpe

‘We're the solution, not the problem'

The new CLA president on farming today, family tragedy and grey partridge

The restoration game

Some of our most desirable country houses were almost completely remodelled by the likes of Lutyens, Lorimer, Voysey and Blow. Yet, under current rules, such projects wouldn’t be allowed, says Hamish Scott

The moody new hue

As range cookers become ever more sophisticated, Aga has launched a dark and glamorous new incarnation, finds Eleanor Doughty

Labours of love

Two country houses have flourished under the stewardship of their current owners, whose efforts have turned them into perfect homes

A garden restored

At his home at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, Robert Stayner Holford created one of the finest gardens of the Victorian era. Following a major restoration, this little-known gem is once again turning heads, finds Natasha Goodfellow

A building back from the brink

A major restoration project promises to restore and reunite not only a magnificent house, but its landscape as well. Marcus Binney reports on the remarkable work undertaken so far

Sleeping beauty

All looks peaceful at Morton Hall, Worcestershire, but key tasks will be tackled in winter to ensure that, come spring, the garden is ready to burst into life, says Tiffany Daneff