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'Wrecking balls swung from the ceiling, pillars were shown toppling, cornices crumbled... it was sensational': The groundbreaking museum exhibition that helped save the country house
After years of neglect and countless demolitions, 1974 witnessed a revolution in attitudes towards country houses. It proved a turning point in Britain’s treatment of its old buildings generally and the saviour of places such as Covent Garden, as Simon Jenkins explains.
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The solution to the second home problem? A charter that would ensure second home-owners enrich and support communities
Simon Jenkins — himself a second home owner — tackles the thorny problem of second home ownership, which hits 70% in some parts of the country.
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Why and how our local churches should live on for the benefit of us all in a secular age
Parish churches may still be physically the centre of communities, but their redundancy as places of worship is becoming a national crisis. Simon Jenkins proffers solutions to the nation’s greatest conservation challenge, including deconsecration and looking to European models.
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'Country Life is Britain’s one serious magazine that is relentlessly happy': Sir Simon Jenkins on 125 years of Country Life magazine
Author, journalist and former National Trust chairman Simon Jenkins — who began his career at Country Life as an up-and-coming scribe — marks the magazine's 125th anniversary by considering what Country Life does each week, and why it matters so much.
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Simon Jenkins: Europe's cathedrals are the true wonders of the world, and were once daubed in colour — it's time they were once more
Our cathedrals were once filled with colour, argues Simon Jenkins, and today's monochrome restorations are a historical travesty.
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Why it’s time for the Royal Family to turn Buckingham Palace Gardens into a public park
If the gardens of Buckingham Palace were opened to the public, it would transform the frenetic centre of London, says Simon Jenkins.
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Simon Jenkins: The new planning white paper is a domesday for development
The white paper on planning promises to license untold damage to the British landscape, argues Simon Jenkins.
