TAITLANDS in the Yorkshire Dales was a youth hostel during the second half of the 20th century and had fallen into disrepair by the time it was acquired by Emma Sharp in 2008. Subsequently, she and her husband, Martin, restored and revived it as a country house. In early 2021, they sold the renovated Taitlands to a private owner, ensuring the future of a fine early-19th-century Greek Revival house designed by the Websters of Kendal. Its repair has been a notable conservation success.
In the 20th century, many country houses were acquired by institutions. They were seen as inexpensive accommodation for a range of corporate, educational, charitable and religious uses; numerous fine buildings became schools, convents, nursing homes, offices and similar. This utilitarian takeover provided a lifeline at a time of general pessimism about the future of the country house in Britain, especially in the aftermath of the Second World War in which many places were requisitioned and roughly used. One organisation that took on former houses, especially if they were situated in attractive countryside, was the Youth Hostels Association (YHA).
This story is from the July 14, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 14, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Too divine
Four actresses earn the plaudits this month, for parts ranging from Sarah Siddons to Charlotte Bronté
Stashed away
The vast collection of the late George Withers, encompassing everything from Prattware pot lids to barometers, doubles up as a guide to the mid-market collecting fancies of the past 60 years
Parsley of Macedon
Not quite a native, alexanders can taste like joss stick-tainted celery or sweetly spiced parsnips, depending on your method, warns John Wright
A hungry heart
A man who strove, sought and found, Wassily Kandinsky pioneered not one, but two artistic movements against the tumultuous backdrop of early-20thcentury Europe, as Holly Black relates
Royal favours
AFTER much speculation as to what might be the favourite flower Her of Elizabeth II, the truth was revealed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.
Smart thinking
A private family garden near Godalming in Surrey How does a garden design begin? With a lot of questions and by finding a central theme says James Alexander-Sinclair
Escape to the hills
These four houses in the county of Surrey can offer the best of both worlds: rural settings and easy access to London
A little help from your friends
Driven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue
A (crab) apple a day
They may be too tart to eat, but crab apples can be made into all sorts of good things, from jellies to salves, and may even have been Adam and Eve's forbidden fruit, says Ian Morton
The sound of centuries past
The past 50 years have seen an energetic revival of the instruments that would have been played in Bach's day. Henrietta Bredin meets players fascinated by the noises Baroque composers would have heard