CATEGORIES

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

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

'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

Coward on a mission

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

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

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

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

Design brought to life

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

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

'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

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

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

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.

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

Don't rain on Venus's parade

TENNIS has never been sexier—at least, that is what multiple critics of the new film Challengers are saying.

A rural reason to cheer

THERE was something particularly special for country people when one of the prestigious King’s Awards for Voluntary Service was presented last week.

My heart is in the Highlands

A LISTAIR MOFFAT’S many books on Scottish history are distinctive for the way he weaves poetry and literature, language and personal experience into broad-sweeping studies of particular regions or themes. In his latest— and among his most ambitious in scope—he juxtaposes a passage from MacMhaighstir Alasdair’s great sea poem Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill with his own account of filming a replica birlinn (Hebridean galley) as it glides into the Sound of Mull, ‘larch strakes swept up to a high prow’, saffron sail billowing, water sparkling as its oars dip and splash. Familiar from medieval tomb carvings, the birlinn is a potent symbol of the power of the Lords of the Isles.

Put it in print

Three sales furnished with the ever-rarer paper catalogues featured intriguing lots, including a North Carolina map by John Ogilby and a wine glass gibbeting Admiral Byng, the unfortunate scapegoat for the British loss of Minorca

The rake's progress

Good looks, a flair for the theatrical and an excellent marriage made John Astley’s fortune, but also swayed ‘le Titien Anglois’ away from painting into a dissolute life of wine and women, with some collecting on the side

Charter me this

There’s a whole world out there waiting to be explored and one of the most exciting ways to see it is from the water, says Emma Love, who rounds up the best boat charters

Hey ho, hey ho, it's off to sow we go

JUNE can be a tricky month for the gardener.

Floreat Etona

The link with the school and horticulture goes back to its royal founder, finds George Plumptre on a visit to the recently restored gardens

All in good time

Two decades in the planning, The Emory, designed by Sir Richard Rogers, is open. Think of it as a sieve that retains the best of contemporary hotel-keeping and lets the empty banality flow away

Come on down, the water's fine

Ratty might have preferred a picnic, but canalside fine dining is proving the key to success for new restaurant openings in east London today, finds Gilly Hopper

Perfect manors

For the first time in a generation, two of England’s most pristine and private residential and sporting estates, Corby Castle in Cumbria and Wilsford Manor in Wiltshire, have come to the open market

Little gem

A humble lambing shed has been transformed into a tranquil home office using both antiques and pieces repurposed from past projects

Fresh as a summer breeze

Once associated largely with gin, there is a host of easy-to-grow botanicals that will enliven both cocktail hour and mealtimes

Standing on ceremony

As the sound of music, majesty and military precision marks The King’s Birthday Parade, Simon Doughty considers the evolution of the ceremonial uniform

Her green and pleasant land

Peggy Guggenheim, doyenne of avant-garde art, once lived at a Hampshire cottage in the woods. Mary Miers traces a rare domestic time in the American heiress’s life

Stuff and nonsense

Five collectors of unusual things, from taxidermy to tanks, tulips to teddies, explain their passions to COUNTRY LIFE