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Curious Questions: Why did London never have a building to rival the Eiffel Tower?
England and France competed fiercely for bragging rights in the 19th and early 20th centuries — but no version of France's most famous building ever came to fruition. That wasn't for the lack of trying, though, as Martin Fone discovers.
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Spetchley Park, the country house with interiors that have evolved with the centuries in breathtaking — and surprising — fashion
John Goodall looks at the stylish interior reinvention of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, the home of Henry and Kate Berkeley, a grand Regency house on an estate that's been home to the Berkeley family for more than four centuries.
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Spetchley Park: One of Britain's best-ever architectural accidents
John Goodall tells the story of how a stable was replaced by a splendid Regency seat to create Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, the home of Henry and Kate Berkeley. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The feudal splendour of Arundel Castle's magnificent interiors
Arundel Castle in West Sussex — the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal — is every bit as spectacular within as it is from outside. John Martin Robinson describes the transformative representation of the Victorian interiors over the past three decades. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Arundel Castle: The creation of one of England's great princely seats
In the first of two articles, John Goodall looks at the early development of the celebrated Arundel Castle, West Sussex, now the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal, and a creation of the powerful and wealthy medieval Earls of Arundel. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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'The ideal of a Scottish castle': 800 years of Dunvegan Castle, one of Scotland's great fortresses
One of Scotland’s most celebrated and anciently occupied castles has undergone a decade of restoration and renovation. John Goodall reports, with photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Hellifield Peel Tower: The miraculous revival of a medieval tower in Yorkshire
Hellifield Peel Tower in North Yorkshire was not so long ago a decaying shell. Now, this medieval peel tower has undergone a near miraculous restoration and revival as a family home. Jeremy Musson reports. Photographs by Christopher John for Country Life.
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Curious Questions: Why was John Nash, London's most celebrated architect, despised in his own lifetime — and for decades afterwards?
John Nash is the man responsible for London's most beautiful buildings — yet he was once as reviled as he is now revered. Carla Passino retraces his life to see how his star rose, fell and rose again.
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How a 'scarred and degraded' landscape became a 21st century Reptonian marvel with a dream country house at its heart
A landscape previously used for intensive farming has been turned into the setting of an idyllic new country house in a classical idiom. Jeremy Musson reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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A third of a millennium since it opened, the Royal Hospital Chelsea's work is as vital as it ever was
Roger Bowdler looks at the evolution of the Royal Hospital Chelsea as a working institution to the present day and, in particular, at the contribution of Sir John Soane.
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The Royal Hospital Chelsea: Inside Christopher Wren's masterpiece in SW3
This year is the 300th anniversary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren. In the first of two articles, Roger Bowdler revisits the Royal Hospital Chelsea, one of his most celebrated creations, and the SW3 landmark whose grounds host the annual Chelsea Flower Show.
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Villa Ventorum: The Newt's recreation of a 2,000-year-old Roman house in the heart of Somerset
The reconstruction of Villa Ventorum — a Romano-British villa at The Newt, Somerset — has prompted a wonderful experiment in living archaeology. Bronwen Riley steps into the past. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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The medieval cloisters moved stone-by-stone to Manhattan, thanks to the infinitely deep pockets of the Rockefellers
The Cloisters in New York — a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art — is one the most important museums of medieval art in the world — yet it could only have been created in 1930s America, as Jeremy Musson discovers.
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Powered by the wind since 1887: The past, present and future of Britain's wind turbines
Wind turbines are becoming a familiar feature of the landscape. John Goodall looks at their operation, form and future through the example of Whitelee Windfarm in East Renfrewshire, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK.
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Audley End: The 'great and splendid country house' that beguiled a king
Built to attract a visit by James I, Audley End in Essex is a hugely ambitious house that has been massively reduced, and yet remains both outstanding and magnificent. John Goodall reports; photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Broadwoodside: A farm steading in the heart of a magical Scottish landscape
Broadwoodside — the home of Robert and Anna Dalrymple — is a modest farm steading in East Lothian that has been stylishly transformed into the heart of a magical landscape and garden. John Goodall admires the sympathy and humour of the project. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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Castle Drogo: The extraordinary challenge of building a castle in the 20th century — and saving it from ruin in the 21st
In the second of two articles on Castle Drogo in Devon — a property of the National Trust — Clive Aslet looks at the challenges of building a 20th-century castle and the recent work of the National Trust to restore it.
