Architecture

The world's most beautiful theatre, and the visionary who created it with manual labour 'plus a few sticks of dynamite'

Kate Green tells the story of the extraordinary Minack Theatre, carved by hand into a Cornish cliffside.

How the spectacular Wolterton Hall went from Georgian splendour to a Palladian masterpiece you can rent by the weekend

John Goodall looks at the way in which Wolterton Hall, Norfolk, was awakened from sleep as a modern home and place of entertainment. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

The origins of Wolterton Hall

John Goodall looks at Wolterton Hall, Norfolk — former home of Keith Day and Peter Sheppard — to analyse the creation of a new country house by Horace Walpole, a figure in the front rank of political and diplomatic life in the 18th century. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

How 'an insatiable appetite for brass-band music' gave rise to the bandstand, and how we almost lost them all

From Handel to Bowie, our bandstands have been a hub for free live music for centuries, as well as being buildings of architectural interest.

'What else can you do but say "it's completely disgusting"?': Britain's worst new buildings, with Charlie Baker and the Carbuncle Cup

The Carbuncle Cup returns after a six-year hiatus. Competition judge and magazine editor Charlie Baker speaks to James Fisher about why pointing out bad architecture matters.

Gatewick: The 'Georgian' house that was built from scratch in the 1950s

A combination of discerning architectural improvement and collecting in 1950s Sussex created Gatewick — the former home of Charles, James and Primrose Yorke — as a modern country house in the 18th-century spirit. John Martin Robinson reports. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

Elegant and congruous: How Hartland Abbey draws together eight centuries of architectural and family history

John Goodall looks at the history of Hartland Abbey in Devon after the Reformation, and its descent in the hands of one family to the present.

Hartland Abbey: The beautiful Devon house behind which lies 1,500 years of history

David Robinson visits Hartland Abbey in Devon, a seat of Sir Hugh and Lady Stucley, starting from its nebulous medieval origins as an ancient religious site associated with the cult of St Nectan.

How the country houses of Britain proved perfect for the Allied Forces to get ready for D-Day

Country houses great and small were indispensable to D-Day preparations, with electricity and sanitation, well-stocked wine cellars, countesses to run the canteens and antique furniture to feed the stoves, says Allan Mallinson.

Russell House: A Broadway sensation

Russell House in Broadway, Worcestershire, is a Cotswold house beloved by an important Edwardian Anglo-American artistic circle. Now, it has been revived and restored; John Martin Robinson tells its remarkable story. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

The history of Covent Garden: 500 years of the world's most famous market

It’s half a century since Covent Garden’s eponymous market travelled south of the River Thames, but it did little to dent the area’s appeal. Jack Watkins charts the history of Covent Garden from Tudor times to the present day.

Stansted Park in the 20th century: The private made public

John Goodall traces the 20th-century evolution of Stansted Park, West Sussex, and its current revival in the care of an independent charitable trust, the Stansted Park Foundation. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

Stansted Park, West Sussex: From royal favourite to stranger’s heir

John Goodall looks at the stages by which a medieval hunting lodge developed from the 17th century to become a great country house: Stansted Park, West Sussex, a property of the Stansted Park Foundation. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

'We cannot have beauty without paying for it': The glorious revival of Rochdale's Town Hall

A major restoration project has brought one of Britain's greatest Victorian buildings back to splendour and life. Steven Brindle explains the extraordinary story of how it came to be.

Behind the scenes at Blenheim Palace, from the £40m leaky roof to towing visitors stuck in muddy fields

The magnificent buildings of Lancing College

John Goodall examines the outstanding school buildings of Lancing College, an institution celebrating its 175th anniversary. Photography by Paul Highnam.

'One of the great landmarks of the Sussex coast', finally finished some 156 years after work was started

John Goodall looks at the recent completion of the chapel of Lancing College, one of the great landmarks of the Sussex coast. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

Cluny Castle: Granite, grandeur, and testimony to the exceptional wealth of its creator

Never previously described in Country Life, Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire — the home of Cosmo and Bronya Linzee Gordon — is an outstanding Scottish castle that is also an architectural testimony to the exceptional wealth of its creator. John Goodall reports on its history and recent revival. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

Newnham Paddox: The ancient country seat that's also brand new

Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire — the seat of the Earl and Countess of Denbigh and Desmond — is an ingeniously planned new house on a small scale which takes advantage of the landscape of a large predecessor demolished in the 1950s. John Martin Robinson explains more; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.

The tale of Knebworth: How does your garden village grow?

A garden city planned by Sir Edwin Lutyens was never brought to completion. Plans to redevelop it today, however, threaten to destroy the character of what was created. Clive Aslet reports.