John Goodall
Architectural Editor
John spent his childhood in Kenya, Germany, India and Yorkshire before joining Country Life in 2007, via the University of Durham. Known for his irrepressible love of castles and the Frozen soundtrack and a laugh that lights up the lives of those around him, John also moonlights as a walking encyclopedia and is the author of three books. His latest, Parish Church Treasures, is due to be published in October 2015.
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Holyrood: Inside The King's official residence in Scotland, from throne room to the bed chamber of Mary, Queen of Scots
Holyrood — or, to give it its full title, The Palace of Holyroodhouse — is the official residence in Scotland of His Majesty King Charles III. To coincide with the publication of a new history of the palace, John Goodall offers an overview of the creation, abandonment and rebirth of this working royal residence over the past 900 years. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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All the winners from the 2024 Georgian Group Architectural Awards
This year’s Georgian Group’s Architectural Awards, sponsored by Savills, attracted another outstanding crop of entries. Here are all the winners, as chosen by a panel of judges chaired by Country Life's Architectural Editor, John Goodall.
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Civic splendour: St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry
The guildhall built as a symbol of Coventry's 14th-century prosperity and self-government has recently undergone restoration.
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The destruction and recreation of Scone Palace
In the second of two articles on Scone Palace, Perthshire, John Goodall looks at the Jacobite history of Scone and the transformation of the Palace from 1802 into a Gothic Revival prodigy house. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The tale of Scone Palace, and the mystery of the Stone of Scone
John Goodall explains the importance of Scone Palace, Perthshire — seat of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield and Mansfield — and the great abbey that formerly stood here. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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2,000 years of fountains, from Roman Britain to a 300ft modern masterpiece in Gloucestershire
The fountain has a long and fascinating history in England, from the Roman period to the present day, as John Goodall reveals.
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The chapel of Lincoln College, Oxford: 'Most costly and church-wise'
John Goodall describes the 17th-century expansion of Lincoln College, Oxford, to include an outstanding chapel, amid a bitter personal clash between two strong-willed men, and the institution’s evolution to the present day. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The history of Lincoln College, Oxford: Salvaging the vine
John Goodall describes the initiative of a Bishop of Lincoln to establish Lincoln College, Oxford, and the long struggle to bring it to fruition. Photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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The exotic and irresistible beauty of Leighton House
An ambitious redevelopment project at Leighton House in West London, former home of the artist Frederic, Lord Leighton, has augmented the celebrated interiors of this magnificent studio house. John Goodall reveals how it came into being; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Chillingham Castle: 'Curiosity and beauty' at a spectacular castle that survived ruin by the skin of its teeth
Chillingham Castle, Northumberland — the home of Sir Humphry Wakefield Bt and the Hon Lady Wakefield — is a castle saved from the brink of ruin that is now a memorable home. John Goodall reports; photographs by Paul Highnam.
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Gilmerton House: The great Scottish country house whose history is intertwined with a pitiful murder
Gilmerton House, Lothian — the seat of Sir David Kinloch Bt — is a handsome 18th-century house that's been developed by the same family for the past four centuries. And it has an unexpectedly dramatic story to tell, as John Goodall explains; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.