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.
Simon Jenkins — himself a second home owner — tackles the thorny problem of second home ownership, which hits 70% in some parts of the country.
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.
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.
Our cathedrals were once filled with colour, argues Simon Jenkins, and today's monochrome restorations are a historical travesty.
The white paper on planning promises to license untold damage to the British landscape, argues Simon Jenkins.
