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Inside Madresfield Court, the house that inspired Evelyn Waugh’s 'Brideshead Revisited'
John Goodall looks inside Madresfield Court in Worcestershire — home of Lucy and Jonathan Chenevix-Trench — and the family story that inspired Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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900 years old, one careful owner: How Madresfield Court has come down the centuries in the hands of one family
John Goodall looks at the early evolution of Madresfield Court, Worcestershire — the home of Lucy and Jonathan Chenevix-Trench — to tell the tale of a place that has descended in the hands of one family for more than 900 years.
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Plan to save historic church buildings is 'urgently needed', warns National Churches Trust
In the past 10 years, some 3,500 churches have closed their doors, prompting a call to action to rescue those under threat.
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The War Cloister, Winchester College: A moving and elegant memorial to the Winchester boys who lost their lives in the World Wars
The architect Sir Herbert Baker was the creator of the War Cloister at Winchester College, perhaps the greatest of his many public-school war memorials. Timothy Mowl explores the history of this remarkable monument.
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Hollywood comes to the Home counties in a Surrey home inspired by Spanish villas and Irish castles
A stylish 1920s home brought the glamour of the theatre and Hollywood, as well as the most recent fashions of healthy living, to an incomparable Surrey setting, as Clive Aslet explains. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Seeing the light: The lasting legacy of Sir John Soane
For Sir John Soane, the tools of the trade included skylights, tinted glasses and mirrors, as much as classical motifs, bricks and mortar. Carla Passino retraces the life of the man who chased the poetry of architecture and left an extraordinary gift to the nation
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From Windsor Castle and the Reform Club to the house where Ghosts is filmed: Country Life's best architecture stories of 2023
We take a look back at a wonderful year of architecture articles in Country Life, including an astonishing look inside Windsor Castle with pictures taken just days before the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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The architecture of Henry James: How real-life country houses found their way into the work of one of our greatest writers
The stories of Henry James are full of descriptions of country houses. Jeremy Musson explores the messages these houses convey, with the help of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice.
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Somerton: The ruined medieval castle transformed into a magical family home
The sensitive restoration of a neglected medieval castle has created a delightful family home, as Nicholas Cooper discovers. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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Seven things you need to know about restoring a glasshouse
Lucy Denton shares expert insight into bringing a glasshouse back to its former glory with care and consideration, plus the experts to consult when you need assistance
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The engineering genius of Britain's great Victorian glasshouses — and how many are in a battle to avoid 'The Spiral of Doom'
Whimsical and ethereal, as well as feats of engineering, Victorian glasshouses are a reminder of pioneering progress and deserve sensitive restoration, says Lucy Denton.
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St James's Palace: An exclusive look inside the British monarchy's oldest, quirkiest and most mysterious palace
Created as a secure residence for Henry VIII’s heir, St James’s Palace has become the modern home of the Court. Simon Thurley, editor of a new history of the palace, explains the remarkable history of this little-known building. Photographs by Will Pryce.
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A local revival: Lytham Hall in Lancashire brought back to its former glory
A local initiative has returned Lytham Hall in Lancashire from a building in danger to a well-loved and intensively used property. John Martin Robinson reports.
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Ballone Castle: How a roof-less shell inhabited by cows became medieval modernism at its finest
The restoration of the ruined tower house that is Ballone Castle in Easter Ross — the home of Lachie and Annie Stewart — has created the opportunity for a remarkable contemporary essay in the spirit of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement, as Mary Miers discovers. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The Englishness of English architecture
A major new survey of architecture in Britain and Ireland from 1530 to 1830 will be published this autumn. Its author, Steven Brindle, teases out the qualities of one of its most elusive central themes.
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St Bartholomew’s Hospital: 900 years of service
This year, two connected institutions in the heart of London — St Bartholomew’s Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Church — celebrate their 900th anniversary. In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at their foundation story. Photographs by Will Pryce For Country Life.
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St Bartholomew-the-Great: A living fossil in the City of London
In 2023, two connected institutions in the heart of London — the church of St Bartholomew-the-Great and St Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield, London — celebrate their 900th anniversary. In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at their foundation story. Photographs by Will Pryce for the Country Life Picture Library.
