Tag Archives: Country Life Magazine
English Country Houses: Blenheim Palace (1725)
Vast and impersonal country houses, built to create an impression on visitors rather than bestow creature comforts on inhabitants, had been a feature of the English landscape long before Blenheim Palace. Yet this huge complex, the house alone encompassing seven acres of Oxfordshire on completion in 1725, bore comparison with the largest palaces of Europe.
Set to become the historic seat of the Dukes of Marlborough after Queen Anne gifted the manor of Woodstock to the 1st Duke, John Churchill, in 1705, as a reward for his military triumphs, it’s the only English country house — those of bishops aside — that has by longstanding popular consent been accorded the honorific title of palace (it was once described by some as Blenheim Castle).
Front Covers: Country Life Magazine – SEP 22
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Front Covers: Country Life Magazine – SEP 15
Scottish Country Houses: 18th C. ‘Wedderburn Castle’ In Berwickshire
Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, is one of Robert Adam’s less familiar commissions — yet just as extraordinary as many of his more famous buildings. Recently rescued from neglect by owners David Home Miller and Catherine Macdonald-Home, it has a fascinating story to tell about the development of his castle style.
The ‘castle style’ of the Georgian era might be said to have been invented by Vanbrugh, who aimed to give ‘something of the castle air’ with his additions to Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdonshire, in 1707–10 .
In practice, that amounted to little more than a battlemented parapet applied to a completely symmetrical building. In the late 18th century, the architect Robert Adam was undoubtedly influenced by Vanbrugh, whose mastery of what he called ‘movement’ in architectural composition — ‘the rise and fall, the advance and recess with other diversity of form, in the different parts of a building’ — he admired (although he deplored the Baroque master’s ‘barbarisms and absurdities’).
Profiles: British Painter William Lee-Hankey – ’19th Century Rural France’
William Lee Hankey RWS, RI, ROI, RE, NS was a British painter and book illustrator. He specialised in landscapes, character studies and portraits of pastoral life, particularly in studies of mothers with young children such as “We’ve Been in the Meadows All Day”.
Flight Views: Lake District, England In An Autogyro
There is a certain ecstasy in flight. Travel with no constraints of speed, boundary or traffic, surmounting geography without effort, looking down like a god or a hawk.
The best place to do this is the Lake District, where I went in June. Modern autogyros (also called gyrocopters) are usually slender aircraft about 3ft wide and 15ft long.
They have no wings. Instead, an unpowered rotor provides lift and a small engine and propeller at the back give forward speed.
Recent video of Lake District autogyro flight:
The delights of our flight were marvellous: floating buoyant in the summer air, deftly absorbing or avoiding updrafts and downdrafts, thrumming softly over the tapestry of lakes and fells, skimming steep, dun-coloured slopes or the meadows where poets wandered, Ruskin enthused and Beatrix Potter conjured small animals to human life.
Front Covers: Country Life Magazine – August 25
English Cottages: ‘Micro-Hamlet’ Of Dulwich, UK
With its white weather boarded exterior, blue plantation shutters, lush sprawling garden and exquisite interiors, you may well think that this enchanting Georgian property was situated by the coast in Cornwall, or even tucked away amongst the lavender in Provence.
Situated in ‘its own private micro hamlet’ in the Sydenham Hill Conservation Area of Mount Gardens, the property has undergone a complete renovation, having been transformed into a ‘bright and airy four bedroom detached home that is full of character.’
The results really will inspire – with a kitchen/dining room that flows seamlessly out into the leafy garden, that leads to a covered outdoor terrace. Also helping to create a flow between indoor and outdoor living is a garden room plus a detached art studio/ separate annexe.
Views: The Wild Coastlines Of Britain And Ireland
The spectacular coastlines of Britain and Ireland get battered by weather in autumn and winter, but on a fine day in spring or summer they’re the equal of anything in the world.
The west coast of Ireland bears the brunt of some of the Atlantic Ocean’s most terrific swells. As a result, its beaches are a Mecca for surfers. Lahinch — a mile-long, sandy crescent — is regarded as one of the best. And remember your golf clubs: the links course at Lahinch is a joy, one of the finest in the country.
On a sunny day, Luskentyre beach could easily be mistaken for somewhere in the Caribbean — something that could be said of all the best beaches in Scotland. The sand is a brilliant sugar-white sweep and the sea a vivid shade of blue. Sand dunes to the north provide protection on windier days and there are excellent walking trails for those who don’t fancy a dip. If bad weather sweeps in, you’ll certainly feel ready for a dram afterwards.
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