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A decades-long project to save a house from 500 years of 'ungainly, hotch-potch extensions' and reveal its original beautyRescued from dereliction in the early 1990s and never previously described by Country Life, Balgone House in East Lothian has evolved from tower house to remarkable Classical seat, as Mary Miers explains. Photography by Will Pryce.
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A glimmer of hope for Mentmore Towers, the 'treasure-house that would evoke all the richness of 16th-century Venice'The home, once belonging to the Rothschild family, is in desperate need of repair. Something must be done.
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Projecting power: How the Normans used architecture to conquer EnglandWithin a century of William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings in 1066, the Normans had transformed the architectural face of England with churches and castles. John Goodall examines their legacy.
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The rise and ruin of an Elizabethan Hall that tried in vain to prepare a war poet for the trenchesWilfred Owen was one of a myriad First World War troops who learned the art of trench warfare at Park Hall.
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The 'King's favourite architect' bows out after 60 years of excellence and keeping the flame of Classicism alive in the dark decades of ModernismAs the celebrated Classical architect Quinlan Terry retires after a career spanning more than six decades, Clive Aslet looks back at his life and work.
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Charles Berkeley on the arch at the castle that's been in his family since the 1100sJohn Goodall meets Charles Berkeley, whose family have owned Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire for nine centuries, to find out about one of its most striking original features.
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Thomas Becket, a lion and the author of 'Out of Africa' all lived in this medieval monastery photographed for Country LifeMelanie Bryan recounts the fascinating history of Haverholme Priory.
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Duelling, revolution and a picture-perfect cottage in IrelandDuring the 1790s, a widow, Mary Bushe, created a Romantic cottage and garden for herself: Dangan Cottage, Co Kilkenny. John Goodall explains the background to its creation and reports on the remarkable recent restoration of the property, now the home of Christopher Moore.
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Even a visit from Queen Mary couldn't save this 15th-century Yorkshire mansion from Britain's coal industryMethley Hall surpassed everyone's expectations and managed to stay standing long beyond its time.
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Curraghmore: The great Irish house transformed by the most 'brilliant, exasperating, expensive and chaotic' architect of the 18th centuryIn the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at the later development of Curraghmore, Co Waterford — home of the Marquess and Marchioness of Waterford — and a new discovery relating to its outstanding interiors by James Wyatt. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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What to do with the remains of Glasgow's Mackintosh building?A recent update on the condition of the building, and what to do with it next, has raised some eyebrows from the architectural and conservation communities.
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Bird poo fuelled the First World War and also financed this manor house with a plant collection that rivals KewMelanie Bryan recounts the green-tinged history of Aldenham House.
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One family, six centuries and an Irish house of unsurpassed beauty: The fascinating tale of CurraghmoreCurraghmore in Co Waterford, Ireland — the home of the Marquess and Marchioness of Waterford — has been developed over the course of six centuries by a single family. In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores its early history and first Georgian transformation. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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'They will never be for the purists': The relentless, referential and upbeat joy of postmodern buildingsAs many of postmodern architectures finest buildings enter their fourth decade, Jack Watkins makes the case for why this often overlooked architectural style warrants further study.
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The great Tudor hall that housed the guillotine probably used on Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793. Rumour has is that the exact same machine found its way to Weald Hall in Essex where it was photographed by Country Life.
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Scarborough: How the 'queen of spas' created the modern seaside townA woman’s discovery of an iron-rich spring four centuries ago launched the development of Scarborough as the original seaside resort. Kathryn Ferry tells the remarkable story of the architectural development of the North Yorkshire spa.
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This remarkable timbered home was preserved for 300 years — and then flattened by a earlLynmore Hall was inextricably linked to the fall and rise of the British monarchy, but it only took a humble earl to finish it off.
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The unpublished photographs of a gargantuan Victorian mansion whose bulldozed remains were dumped in its own ornamental lakeWarter Priory was once a prime example of peak Victoriana architecture and interior design — but it met a watery end.
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From Arabia to Dorset: T. E. Lawrence's 'pathetic little shoddy' sanctuary that became a remote home for a true one-offTo escape his celebrity and write, T. E. Lawrence created a sequestered home for himself: Clouds Hill, Dorset. Michael Hall finds an unlikely hideaway of tins and silver walls.
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'It contained a hippopotamus, which lived in the Billiards Room': The strange country house that gave way to a crematoriumMelanie Bryan traces the history of Muntham Court and its eccentric residents.
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'My house will rise again': The promise and its fulfilment of iconic architect Clough Williams-Ellis, and the home he and his wife loved and (almost) lostA disastrous fire in 1951 gave the architect Clough Williams-Ellis the opportunity to re-think Plas Brondanw, Gwynedd, the house that he and his wife, Amabel, loved. Kathryn Ferry admires the result. Photography by Paul Highnam.
