Tag Archives: England

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 11

SPA TOWNS: A mineral-laced spring could lead to a profitable resort for Georgian landowners. Clive Aslet dips into spa towns.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Levi jeans, Van Gogh’s head and a dinosaur — they’ve all taken flight through Cameron Balloons in Somerset.

WALTER SCOTT: Despite inventing the historical novel, Walter Scott’s books are often left on the shelf. Why is that, asks Jack Watkins, on the writer’s 250th anniversary.

CARLA CARLISLE: Carla on dogs raging at the dying of the light.

GREEK ARCHITECTURE: Marking the 200th anniversary of the completion of St Pancras Church, Harry Mount considers the 19th-century enthusiasm for Greek architecture.

INTERIORS: Romantic sash windows have their fans and detractors.

LUXURY: Hetty Lintell is by the pool.

CHILLI: Tom Parker Bowles was drawn into the chilli’s fiery embrace from a young age.

ELTON HALL: Tilly Ware visits the transformed historic gardens of Elton Hall in Huntingdonshire, where much of the past is a mystery.

And much more…

Homes & History: ‘Down House’ – Charles Darwin’s Home In Kent, England

Down House (confusingly, next to Downe village) was Darwin’s family home for nearly 40 years. In its rooms, gardens and grounds, he researched and refined the ideas for which he became famous. 

John Goodall, August 8, 2021

In origin, Down House was a plain Georgian property, a brick box with a main front five window bays wide built in about 1730. It was internally reconfigured and extended with a kitchen block by a wealthy businessman and landowner, George Butler, after he purchased the house in 1778.

At the same time, the main entrance was moved from the front to the side of the building. The house was then leased and sold again before coming into the possession of the Revd J. Drummond, vicar of Downe, in 1837. He employed the London-based architect Edward Cresy to make various improvements and also to render the house in conformity with the taste of the moment.

It was this house, with its 18 acres of land, that the Darwins occupied on September 24, 1842. Charles quickly settled into his new home, establishing a regular routine that distinguished his domestic arrangements. ‘My life goes on as clockwork,’ he wrote in 1843, ‘I am fixed in the place where I shall end it.’

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English Manor Houses: 15th Century ‘Rymans’ In Appledram, West Sussex

Rymans Manor House in Appledram, West Sussex, a picturesque coastal area three miles south-west of Chichester, is bounded to the west by the main channel of Chichester Harbour, to the north by the River Lavant and to the south by a stream that runs into the harbour below Birdham Mill.

Penny Churchill, August 7, 2021

It is described by Pevsner as ‘a delightful small 15th-century manor house’, which takes its name from William Ryman, a prominent merchant and lawyer who was knighted in 1420 and appointed Sheriff of Sussex in 1434. He built the house of stone from the Bembridge and Ventnor quarries in about 1410.

This oldest part of the T-shaped house, which remains largely unaltered, comprises a three-storey stone tower with trefoil windows and a south wing of two storeys under a tiled roof.

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English Country Homes: The Old Watermill In Clophill, Bedfordshire

The word ‘idyllic’ doesn’t seem quite enough for some properties — and the Old Watermill in Clophill, Bedfordshire, with water rights over the River Flit and waterfalls in the garden, is a prime example of just how magical a house can be.

Lydia Stangroom, August 6, 2021

The stunning property is thought to date from the 18th century, with many of the bricks transcribed with the date 1725. However, as expected, the bricks are just the beginning of the many period features retained in this property.

Within the house is ‘an undershot wheel which drove three pairs of stones, grinding both wheat for flour and grain for animal feed’. Although, perhaps the most obvious feature are the exposed ceiling timbers, which run throughout every room, and juxtapose effortlessly with the exposed red brick work.

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Front Covers: Country Life Magazine – August 4

Here’s a small selection of what you’ll find inside.

FLYING VISIT: Charles Harris takes glorious flight over the Lake District

ROCKPOOLS: Life in the rockpool can be cut-throat, says Adam Nicolson

INSECT APOCALYPSE: Dave Goulson on averting the impending insect apocalypse

MY FAVOURITE PAINTING: Sally Clarke, restauranteur, chooses a simple, restful study by Dürer

ELGAR: Jack Watkins examines Elgar’s ‘best of me’ oratorio

TURVEY HOUSE: Jeremy Musson details the refurbishment of neo-Classical Turvey House in Bedfordshire, by the seventh generation of the family that built it

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Morning News: Myanmar Military Rule, France-UK Rift, Kososvo’s Olympics

We get the latest from Myanmar with Asean under pressure to name an envoy to the country. Plus: we ask why Franco-UK relations are so poor and discuss official Olympic recognition for Kosovo.

Cornwall UK Views: The ‘ANNY OF CHARLESTOWN’, A 1930 Topsail Schooner

Clinging on tight to the rigging just below the main yard, I looked down at the rollers of clear green water sweeping along the white sides of the ship, beneath her polished wood and neatly slaked lines.

Above me, perched nonchalantly on the yard, was bosun David, moving to the motion of the swaying mast as the hull lifted and fell on the waves. A few fathoms away lay Charlestown, with its grey stone harbour, white-painted cottages and sheltering cliffs.

 Octavia Pollock, July 31, 2021

I was aboard Anny, a topsail schooner available for day and overnight charters from the south Cornish village, well known to viewers of PoldarkThe Three Musketeers and The Onedin Line. So little has Charlestown changed in 200 years that it is a favourite with location scouts and its unpolished charm makes it a delight to visitors, too. With Anny and her consort Irene, a 1907 West Country trading ketch, moored off shore and not an ugly modern steamer in sight, it is easy to imagine oneself back in time.

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Walking Tours: St. Jame’s In London, England (4K)

St. James’s is an exclusive area near Buckingham Palace, with many fine-dining restaurant options. The Theatre Royal Haymarket and Her Majesty’s Theatre stage West End plays. Art dealers surround Christie’s auction house, while the Royal Academy of Arts draws crowds to Piccadilly. Upscale shops include Fortnum & Mason, with its posh food hall, and Jermyn Street’s tailors. St. James’s Park is popular for picnics.