CATEGORIES

Give it some stick

Galloping through the imagination, competitive hobby-horsing is a gymnastic sport on the rise in Britain, discovers Sybilla Hart

Paper escapes

Steven King selects his best travel books of 2024

For love, not money

This year may have marked the end of brag-art’, bought merely to show off one’s wealth. It’s time for a return to looking for connoisseurship, beauty and taste

Mary I: more bruised than bloody

Cast as a sanguinary tyrant, our first Queen Regnant may not deserve her brutal reputation, believes Geoffrey Munn

A love supreme

Art brought together 19th-century Norwich couple Joseph and Emily Stannard, who shared a passion for painting, but their destiny would be dramatically different

Private views

One of the best ways-often the only way-to visit the finest privately owned gardens in the country is by joining an exclusive tour. Non Morris does exactly that

Shhhhhh...

THERE is great delight to be had poring over the front pages of COUNTRY LIFE each week, dreaming of what life would be like in a Scottish castle (so reasonably priced, but do bear in mind the midges) or a townhouse in London’s Eaton Square (worth a king’s ransom, but, oh dear, the traffic) or perhaps that cottage in the Cotswolds (if you don’t mind standing next to Hollywood A-listers in the queue at Daylesford). The estate agent’s particulars will give you details of acreage, proximity to schools and railway stations, but never—no, never—an indication of noise levels.

Mission impossible

Rubble and ruin were all that remained of the early-19th-century Villa Frere and its gardens, planted by the English diplomat John Hookham Frere, until a group of dedicated volunteers came to its rescue. Josephine Tyndale-Biscoe tells the story

When a perfect storm hits

Weather, wars, elections and financial uncertainty all conspired against high-end house sales this year, but there were still some spectacular deals

Give the dog a bone

Man's best friend still needs to eat like its Lupus forebears, believes Jonathan Self, when it's not guarding food, greeting us or destroying our upholstery, of course

Shake your pompom

Some can rock a bobble hat, others will always resemble Where's Wally, but still this knitted creation belongs on every hat rack, says Harry Pearson

Where time stands still

Memorials are our nation’s collective memory, built to endure and ensure that achievements, individuals and disasters are never forgotten. Susan Owens takes an emotive tour around the British Isles in 50 monuments

'Eating is an agricultural act'

Farmers need to convince consumers that the choices they make are integral to preserving the British environment

Welcome home

Despite the trundling tractor and buzzing shears, our ancestors would still recognise the rhythm, ritual and practices of the traditional hill farm, argues John Lewis-Stempel

When the saints march in The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Albans, Hertfordshire, part II

In the second of two articles, John Goodall examines some of the recent changes made to highlight the saints associated with this ancient church

All gone to pot

Jars, whether elegant in their glazed simplicity or exquisitely painted, starred in London's Asian Art sales, including an exceptionally rare pair that belonged to China's answer to Henry VIII

Food for thought

A SURE sign of winter in our household are evenings in front of the television.

Beyond the beach

Jewels of the natural world entrance the eyes of Steven King, as Jamaica's music moves his feet and heart together

Savour the moment

I HAVE a small table and some chairs a bleary-eyed stumble from the kitchen door that provide me with the perfect spot to enjoy an early, reviving coffee.

Size matters

Architectural Plants in West Sussex is no ordinary nursery. Stupendous specimens of some of the world's most dramatic plants are on display

Paint the town red

Catriona Gray meets the young stars lighting up the London art scene, from auctioneers to artists and curators to historians

The generation game

For a young, growing family, moving in with, or adjacent to, the grandparents could be just the thing

Last orders

As the country-house market winds down for Christmas, two historic properties—one of which was home to the singer Kate Bush-may catch the eye of London buyers looking to move to the country next year

Eyes wide shut

Sleep takes many shapes in art, whether sensual or drunken, deathly or full of nightmares, but it is rarely peaceful. Even slumbering babies can convey anxiety

Piste de résistance

Scotland's last ski-maker blends high-tech materials with Caledonian timber to create 'truly Scottish', one-off pieces of art that can cope with any type of terrain

A touch of frost

As the year draws to a close, look out for the winds blowing us into 2025

Bowler me over

Much to the surprise of those who associate the bowler with post-war City types, the hat's origins are entirely rural, discovers Matthew Dennison

The legacy Henry Cole and the Christmas card

SIR HENRY COLE (1808–82) was an innovative and influential civil servant.

The rocky-pool horror show

An extreme and changeable environment, the seashore is home to horribly fascinating creatures with gruesome habits, so why is it our idea of a blissful holiday spot, asks John Lewis-Stempel

Putting in a Good Word

The home of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers Established in 1403, the Stationers' Company was long responsible for regulating the printing industry. Lucy Denton looks at the history of this remarkable institution and its livery hall