Entertainment
Country Life UK
A celebration of life
Charles Quest-Ritson watches the leaves unfurl in one of spring’s most glorious sights–the reawakening of Japanese maples in all their infinite variety
6 min |
March 24, 2021
Country Life UK
Let Them Make Furniture
Once the height of fashion among collectors, including George IV, pieces by Marie-Antoinette’s favourite cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener are back in the spotlight, reports Rufus Bird
7 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Gardens Are Like People– Most Don't Age Well
When I was 18 and waiting to go up to the Varsity (as my grandmother called it), I hitchhiked out to Italy in search of all those new excitements that young men hope to experience. Culture, mainly, in my case—the girls were unassailable in those days. It was my first solo trip abroad and I fell deeply in love with Baroque churches, olive landscapes and classical gardens.
4 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
IF you stand on Horse Guards Parade and look up, you might see a figure surveying St James’s Park from his window, one of the British Army’s heirlooms next to him—the Duke of Wellington’s desk.
8 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
Day and night, night and day
The Radio 3 anchors on the values of silence and patience
5 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
The female of the species
They may be championed by Sir David Attenborough now, but the first women entomologists had to overcome great prejudice to study insects, reports Ian Morton
6 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Pretty in pink
Only available for a fleeting moment, rose-hued forced rhubarb–grown in the dark and harvested by candlelight in Yorkshire’s ‘tusky triangle’–is an ephemeral vegetable with a muted, yet distinct, lip-smacking tartness.
3 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Sussex secrets
A manor and a villa on the site of a lost mill are two examples of the fine country houses in this home county
4 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
The plants are the thing
The garden of the eminent plantsman John d’Arcy, The Old Vicarage, Edington, Wiltshire, is home to an astonishing collection of plants, finds Charles Quest-Ritson
8 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Improving on history
A beautifully preserved Georgian house reveals the influence of pattern books in the practice of English architecture. John Goodall admires its revival and the addition to it of two well-judged new wings
8 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
It's simply pure racing
The Cheltenham Festival will be a strangely silent affair, with no Guinness, no Irish punters and no amateurs, but that won’t detract from the quality of racing, which is set to be as illustrious as ever, says Marcus Armytage
6 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
Thelwell: more than a one-trick pony
Sixty years after Penelope and Kipper rode into our lives, Alice Wright explores Norman Thelwell’s expert touch in capturing all aspects of country life
5 min |
March 10, 2021
Country Life UK
The Painting's On The Wall
Once practised by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci, the art of fresco creation has changed little in 1,000 years. Marsha O'Mahony meets the artists following in their footsteps
5 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Taking it on the chin
From how to wear red trousers with aplomb to always ‘going to the loo’, The Chin Dictionary is a self-deprecating and witty guide to being ‘posh’, observes Joe Gibbs
6 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Circles of life
Shrouded in mystery and once believed to replenish themselves magically at night from condensation in the air, spherical dew ponds are often manmade and fed by rainfall, explains Simon Lester
4 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Georgian grace
The late 18th century saw a wealth of fine country houses spring up in the county of Somerset
4 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
A minister for all seasons
The Defra Secretary on badgers, Brexit and other burning topics
5 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Affairs of the heart
Romance–as well as scientific and artistic endeavour–was synonymous with Mayfair long before Bridgerton appeared on our screens, discovers Carla Passino
7 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Brilliant blossoms
The collection of magnolias begun by a former president of the RHS is being continued by his daughter in the arboretum at Llanover in Monmouthshire, reveals Stephen Anderton
5 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
The land is yours
Official War Artist Thomas Hennell, who struggled with schizophrenia throughout his short life, should be better appreciated for both his shocking portrayals of conflict and his fine watercolours of pastoral life, says Peyton Skipwith
5 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
The right trousers
Once frowned upon, now a staple of the female wardrobe, trousers have come a long way. Emma Hughes charts the journey of this favourite garment
7 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
A Kerr-handed castle
Ferniehirst Castle, Roxburghshire A seat of Lord Ralph Kerr Rebuilt in 1598, this delightful Borders castle, built for left-handed people, was revived by bursts of sensitive restoration, as John Martin Robinson explains
8 min |
March 03, 2021
Country Life UK
Tanks For The Memories
Once a common sight across Pembrokeshire, German tanks–and the soldiers who trained in them–have been consigned to the past, laments Harry Mount
3 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
The most apt of names
Belle Isle, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland The home of Lord and Lady Nicholas Hamilton. An 18th-century beauty spot that briefly fell into complete neglect has been restored. John Goodall tells the remarkable story of this island estate, its eccentric owners and its modern revival
8 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
The greatest shows
Five brilliant musicals that have that all-important ‘moment-of-ecstasy’ factor
5 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
Portrait of a young man
A child prodigy who sold his first sketch aged five, the great portraitist met his match in royal women, says Matthew Dennison
4 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
Interiors: The Designer's Room
Architect John Comparelli has created a contemporary garden room to make the most of its pleasing outlook
1 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
Not so prim at all
Primroses naturally produce tantalising variations that have been avidly collected since Elizabethan times. Val Bourne looks at how modern breeding has increased the arresting forms and sumptuous colours of this much-loved spring woodlander
7 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
My own private Idaho
Originally conceived as peaceful retreats in which their owners could escape from the world, many of our surviving hermitages are located in some of the most enchanting spots in the country, observes Bronwen Riley
6 min |
February 17, 2021
Country Life UK
Keeping it in the family
The Apter- Fredericks sale sent out the encouraging signal that 18thand 19th-century furniture is in demand again
4 min |