From world-famous icons such as the Royal Albert Hall, to obscure but no less wonderful country houses, we look at some of the highlights of the year from Country Life's architecture pages.
The Forth Bridge: A masterpiece that’s 1.5 miles long, 360ft high, made of 54,000 tonnes of steel
The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, is one of the great masterpieces of Victorian engineering. Jack Watkins told its story.
Cornwell Manor: Inside one of the most admired houses in the Cotswolds
Cornwell Manor, Oxfordshire is a medieval house that also answers the popular ideal of a Cotswold home.
The Archer Pavilion: One of Britain’s greatest Baroque buildings is finally getting recognition — as is its creator
The Archer Pavilion in Wrest Park is one of the most spectacular garden buildings of the English Baroque. Helen Lawrence-Beaton told its story, and that of its architect.
Britain’s best seaside architecture: The playful details that shaped our coastal towns, from funicular railways to Victorian masterpieces
What is it that makes the buildings of the seaside so distinct? Kathryn Ferry looked at the vibrant architecture of our coastal towns.
Athelhampton: The idyllic Tudor home that inspired generations of country house lovers
The 1890s restoration of the idyllic Tudor manor house Athelhampton, Dorset — now the home of Giles Keaton — helped kindle an enthusiasm for England’s ancient houses and a new style of formal garden, as John Goodall explained.
Windmills: England’s beautiful remnants of a simpler time — from the outside so scenic, yet mechanical marvels within
Our remaining windmills are unashamedly romantic slices of old England, explained Eleanor Doughty.
The Royal Albert Hall: A 19th-century marvel that ‘has lost none of its power to amaze’
As the Royal Albert Hall celebrated its 150th anniversary, John Goodall looked at the remarkable story behind the creation of this world-famous venue.
The stone-by-stone project to rescue the cloisters at Iford Manor: ‘We’ve saved it from collapse’
One of Wiltshire’s prettiest houses, Iford Manor, has been recognised by Historic Houses for its fabulous restoration of the medieval-style cloisters. Annunciata Elwes told the tale.
The John Rylands Library: How one of Britain’s great libraries was created
The widow of a successful industrialist turned her inherited fortune towards the creation of one of Britain’s greatest libraries: The John Rylands Library, Manchester.
Sheringham House, Humphry Repton’s ‘darling child’ and ‘most favourite’ work
Jeremy Musson reported on the restoration of Sheringham Hall in Norfolk, the home of Paul Doyle and Gergely Battha-Pajor, looking at the outstanding Regency house, its garden, and its celebrated Repton landscape.
The Howardian Hills AONB: ‘If Yorkshire really is God’s own county, then the Howardian Hills are the divinity’s chosen estate within it’
John Goodall takes a look at one of the varied and picturesque parts of Yorkshire: the Howardian Hills Area of
The salvation of Sudeley Castle: How one of the finest castles in the Cotswolds was saved from ruin
John Goodall delves into the later centuries of Sudeley Castle's existence, telling the story of its revival as a shrine
The Great Hall at Hampton Court, the building that ‘brings the visitor closer to the world of Henry VIII than any other’
John Goodall looks at the remarkable history of Henry VIII's celebrated great hall at Hampton Court Palace.
The Country House Library: Why these rooms and their collections need to be taken much more seriously
A new account of the country-house library will compel us all to reassess these rooms and their collections, says John
Chenies Manor, Buckinghamshire: The Tudor estate that encompasses the ancient oak tree beneath which Elizabeth I lost a piece of jewellery
This Tudor house was the unlikely venue for the first meeting of the founding group of The Arts Society. John
