Country Life

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life.

Country Life1 min read
Ms Claire Hanson
www.islandfinearts.com gallery@islandfinearts.com www.rountreetryon.com info@rountreetryon.com www.roseberys.co.uk worksofart@roseberys.co.uk www.roseberys.co.uk/buy-sell/buying-guide www.veedonfleece.com veedon@veedonfleece.com ■
Country Life2 min read
Still Bowling Over
Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk THE 20th-century music critic and cricket correspondent Neville Cardus said that he ‘should challenge the Englishness of any man who cou
Country Life1 min read
Country Life
Editor-in-Chief Mark Hedges Editor’s PA/Editorial Assistant Amie Elizabeth White 6102 Telephone numbers are prefixed by 0330 390 Emails are name.surname@futurenet.com Deputy Editor Kate Green 4171 Managing & Features Editor Paula Lester 6426 Architec
Country Life5 min read
Town & Country Notebook
1) Camberwell Beauty is a species of what? 2) What is the literal translation of the French term sang-froid? 3) Where is Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, buried? 4) What type of animal is Napoleon in George Orwell’s Animal Farm? 5) The persimmon
Country Life9 min read
Ripe For Rescuing
IN 1904, when the first £1 million cheque was signed in the Cardiff Coal Exchange, no one could have imagined that, 120 years later, the French Renaissance-inspired building would be falling into ruin. It now numbers among the Victorian Society’s lat
Country Life3 min read
Letters To The Editor
YOUR correspondent yearns for less boring modern estates (Letters, May 15). We wake up every morning to the modern equivalent of the Royal Crescent in Bath. Created by Barratt Developments, Lakeside Grange is situated in the former hunting grounds of
Country Life3 min read
Athena
FOR all the intensity of the political campaigning brought about by last week’s General Election announcement, Athena would be amazed if the Arts elicit any meaningful comment in the run-up to polling day. Like the blaring music that accompanied the
Country Life2 min read
My Favourite Painting The Late Sir Andrew Davis
‘I have always loved Turner. I especially love all his late works and Norham Castle is one of the most gorgeous examples, where the form disintegrates and it’s all about colour. The castle itself is barely discernible–it’s very blue. People have said
Country Life7 min read
Elegant And Congruous
Hartland Abbey, Devon, part II A seat of Sir Hugh and Lady Stucley IN the late spring of 1796, the Revd John Swete, of Oxton House, near Exeter, set off on a tour of the north coast of Devon. A tireless traveller in the county and an admirer of the P
Country Life3 min read
Blooming Marvellous
CELEBRATION is a vital part of life, but never more so than now, when the world at large is so dark and threatening. The Chelsea Flower Show is an annual reminder that, in every community throughout the country, the British passion for gardens gives
Country Life2 min readHorses
The Legacy Thomas Darley And The Thoroughbred Horse
THE culture of the English Thoroughbred horse, from the Derby (on June 1) to the novels of Dick Francis, on which fortunes have been made and lost, is the legacy of three foundation sires that lived at about the turn of the 18th century: the Darley A
Country Life1 min read
We Salute You
For the full stories of the 16 veterans photographed by Richard Cannon for Blind Veterans UK, visit www.blindveterans.org.uk/dday80 ■
Country Life8 min read
‘Plans Are Worthless, But Planning Is Everything’
AS day broke on June 5, 1944, Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord, the invasion of occupied Europe, was driving to South-wick House near Portsmouth from what he called his ‘sharpener camp’ the other side of t
Country Life4 min read
Empire Protest
WHEN writing it I thought it a failure,’ wrote E. M. Forster to fellow author Christopher Isherwood in 1937. His subject was the novel that, in his lifetime and since, has been acclaimed as his masterpiece: A Passage to India. As Forster himself susp
Country Life5 min read
‘Because It’s There’: The Mallory And Irvine Mystery
AT about lunchtime on June 8, 1924, Noel Odell was at more than 26,000ft on Everest, climbing in support of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. It was a calm, but cloudy day and the Northeast Ridge was wreathed in mist. At 12.50pm, there was a break in
Country Life4 min read
‘Nature Is Nowhere As Great As In Its Smallest Creatures’
STANDING under the beech tree, looking up into the cave roof of blue shade, the density of the tree’s canopy blocking out the day’s sunshine. In late spring and summer, the beech is the parasol tree, casting glad, cooling shade for the weary walker,
Country Life2 min read
Luxury Notebook
YOUR forehand had better match the elegance of this beautifully chic tennis collection from Brunello Cucinelli. Comprising on- and off-court garments for men, women and children, there are some heavenly accessories, too, such as this Tennis Tote Bag,
Country Life1 min readArchitecture
The Designer’s Room
HAVING lived in this Kensington townhouse for almost a decade, its owner enlisted the help of local interior-design practice Studio Vero to bring it to life. ‘My first boss told me that, as an interior designer, we should create spaces that reflect t
Country Life2 min read
Bringing The Past To Life
ANTIQUE furniture, textiles and treasured collections bring both mood and interest to a space. Yet creating interiors with a sense of the past doesn’t only require a deep understanding of history—but also colour, craftsmanship and texture. It was tha
Country Life8 min read
There’s No Place Like Home
THE countryside just got bigger. Did you notice? Whatever mandates bosses issue about returning to the London office, one thing that the tumultuous past few years have taught us is that life is for living. We’re been forced to re-evaluate what’s real
Country Life5 min read
Stars Of The West
ONE of Somerset’s most intriguing country houses, Grade I-listed St Catherine’s Court stands in 14 acres of famous gardens and grounds, overlooking a hidden wooded valley some five miles north of the World Heritage city of Bath. Originally built as a
Country Life5 min read
Life And Sol
TRADE and conflict shaped the Balearics. From the 8th century BC, a succession of superpowers, from the Phoenecians and the Carthaginians to the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba, brought to the islands their skills, tools and crops. All this built over t
Country Life5 min read
Spring-fed Genius
The garden at Selehurst, West SussexThe home of Mr and Mrs Michael Prideaux MICHAEL and Sue Prideaux bought Selehurst from Robin Loder in 1976. It had been built by Mr Loder’s great-grandfather William Egerton Hubbard in 1889 as part of the Leonardsl
Country Life4 min read
A Tapestry Of Pinks
THE garden is now entering its season of vigour and exuberance. The iris and peonies are showing off, the alliums seem more abundant than ever, the paulownias are looking magnificent and the roses are gearing themselves up to full flowering. Everywhe
Country Life2 min read
Growing In Stature
WHAT is the mark of a good Chelsea? That just when you think you have viewed everything, someone sends you off to see something really special, such as the Size of Wales Garden in the Great Pavilion (of which more overleaf). There were many such mome
Country Life2 min read
Kitchen Garden Cook Strawberries
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced, plus extra for decoration75ml Pimm’s1tbspn caster sugar6 egg whites300g caster sugar2tspn cornflour1tspn white-wine vinegar2tspn vanilla-bean paste600ml double cream, softly whipped300g lemon curd1 orange, thinly
Country Life3 min read
Hops And Dreams
FEW plants I encounter on my walks fill me with as much excitement as the hop: its spiky, palmate leaves on Velcro vines that clamber over hedgerows, up trees and even climbing the full height of a telegraph pole’s tethering cable. The hop was introd
Country Life5 min read
Achilles Healed
LAST year’s heatwave and drought reduced parched lawns to a uniform brown, but one species of spindly weed continued to rise here and there above the desolation, its dark-green feathery leaves and bunches of tiny white or pinkish flowers defying the
Country Life6 min read
By The Skin Of Her Teeth
MISS LA LA floated high above the crowd, the golden frills of her costume shining as she twirled upwards. Her arms pierced the air either side of her body, her legs bent at the knee. Only her teeth, clenching a leather piece at the end of the rope th
Country Life6 min read
The Darling Buds Of May
AS the daughter of William Morris, poet, painter, designer, printer, socialist campaigner, businessman, utopian and driving force of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement, May Morris still has not entirely escaped from his wide spreading shadow. Much of his p
Country Life4 min read
The Nelson touch
ON April 23, 1804, Horatio, Lord Nelson received his final promotion, to Vice-Admiral of the White, then the fifth most senior position in the Royal Navy. I wondered whether the date had any more obvious significance in his illustrious career for Bon
Country Life6 min read
This Isle Is Full Of Wonder
Robert Muir-Wood (Oxford University Press, £20) The hills are shadows, and they flow, From form to form, and nothing stands; They melt like mist, the solid lands, Like clouds they shape themselves and go. (Tennyson, ‘In Memoriam’) GEOLOGY? A bit like
Country Life4 min read
Bridge And Crossword
Andrew Robson THIRD hand plays high is a pivotal ditty for defenders. However, it is important to add the proviso: but think if dummy has an unplayed picture. Take this deal from the 2023–24 English Premier League at the East Midlands Bridge Club in
Country Life3 min read
On The Snail Trail
THE Estonians are a witty lot and up to date. It took them moments to throw off the hideous weight of Soviet occupation, which ended in 1991, and then to rediscover their inner Scandinavian. They have a natural flair for modern design, fashion and ar
Country Life2 min read
Tottering-by-gently
Visit Tottering-By-Gently on our website: www.countrylife.co.uk/tottering We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was source

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