Try GOLD - Free
What the Normans did for us
Country Life UK
|January 07, 2026
Architectural statements: the conquering Normans sent out a monumental message in the form of buildings such as Durham Cathedral
WE had time to kill the other day on the long drive north from London to Edinburgh, so we detoured via Durham to revisit the cathedral there.
I am neither a great churchgoer, nor a great architectural historian, but, as I suspect many do, I experience a humbling sense of awe in the religious bastions of our blessed isle.
This story is from the January 07, 2026 edition of Country Life UK.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Country Life UK
Country Life UK
London Life
Your indispensable guide to the capital
2 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Business or pleasure?
As the Festival of Britain turns 75, Kathryn Ferry looks back on the pleasure gardens at Battersea in London that may have been the last of their kind
5 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
China girl
A summer spell in Jingdezhen, once the world's porcelain capital, led Felicity Aylieff to put her twist on Chinese techniques and make ceramics on a monumental scale
5 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Blood relations
This was the ritual fate every Highland bridegroom hopes he might somehow elude'
2 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Drawn to the natural world
She may have dwelt in Beatrix Potter's shadow, but Alison Uttley's magical, arcadian world is a prevailing pleasure to explore
3 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Record UK wildfires spur launch of commission
A RECORD number of wildfires was reported in Britain last year, the devastation in part fuelled by the Carrbridge and Dava Moor wildfire at Strathspey—the worst in Scotland's history—which saw 11,827ha (29,225 acres) of moorland and woodland devastated.
1 min
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
My favourite painting Karl Openshaw
KEN-KUROJIRO is the professional name of Chinese artist Ren Qian.
1 min
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
From cattle byre to elegant bower
The garden of Hodges Barn, Gloucestershire The home of Nick and Amanda Hornby
5 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Right up your alley
The game of boules was unfairly maligned by Henry VIII for inducing the deplorable state of English archery, but, in its modern incarnation, it continues to thrive in Britain,
5 mins
May 06, 2026
Country Life UK
Dark magic
Gentleman's Relish, savoury staple of the Victorian pantry and top-notch teatime treat, looks set to be discontinued. Tom Parker Bowles salutes it-and suggests an alternative
3 mins
May 06, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size