Innholdsfortegnelse for 02-Sep-2020 i Country Life

SCHOOL is but a distant memory, yet every time September rolls around, I still get the urge to splurge on new stationery. Choosing Keeping started life in a small shop on Columbia Road—of flower-market fame—capitalising on the resurgence in popularity of handwritten letters and paper diaries and notebooks. It did so well that, in 2018, it moved to larger premises in Covent Garden, where it remains. Ceramic designer Steve Harrison was called in to assist with the new fit-out and his salt-glazed pots and furniture still adorn the store. There are exhibitions four times a year and a Christmas-window reveal every November, but you’ll find it hard to walk away empty handed whatever time of year you visit. Look out for the Antoinette Poisson decorative paper and jewel-coloured luxury fountain…

How long have you been living in London? I moved to London in 2000, to study at Central Saint Martins [the Arts and design college], and now live in Wapping in east London, near the river. Were you in town during lock-down? No, I went to Dorset, to stay at a friend’s house, just in time. There was that panic moment—I took a while to wise up to it, beetling along in my own little world until the news started coming in really strong. It was the longest I’d been away from London since I moved here. How did you find it? It was really interesting because it took me out of my normal routine. Even if you work for yourself, you settle into a repetitive daily process. I think…

THIS week has seen worrying assaults on the countryside. First, of course, is the unnatural weather. Floods, drought and a violent storm mean that crop yields are, on average, 30% down. It’s not only the grain and oil seeds, it’s the hay and the straw. The rain-starved grass has been so sparse that some farmers are already feeding cattle from winter stores and they’ll be hard put to get through to next spring. Some have seen this as the most difficult farming year for a generation, but most are philosophical—there’s not much we can do about the weather. ‘With five such issues emerging, we country people need to be alert’ There’s no excuse for other self-inflicted wounds, however. The Animal Justice Project recently filmed cows in the UK appearing to…

East Devon Photograph by Merc67 TUCKED away on the eastern edge of Devon, where part of the Jurassic coast—some 250 million years in the making and a UNESCO World Heritage Site —tumbles into the sea, this is perhaps one of England’s least well-known, but most beguiling stretches of countryside. Sandwiched between the now in-vogue, but once gently faded Regency town of Lyme Regis in Dorset and the outskirts of Exmouth in south Devon, the AONB, designated in 1963, covers some 103 square miles and 30 parishes. There are charming coastal towns, such as Sidmouth—a favourite of Queen Victoria, thanks to its elongated esplanade and red cliffs that were formed during the Triassic period—and Budleigh Salterton, 15 miles from Exeter, which lies at the mouth of the River Otter. However, for…

AS did so many Victorian towns and cities, Arbroath struggled to find space for its dead. It was to address this problem that a new graveyard—the prosaically named Arbroath Western Cemetery—was laid out on the outskirts of the town in 1867. When Elizabeth Allan-Fraser, heiress of nearby Hospitalfield, died six years later, on November 23, 1873, it offered a relatively unconstrained site for her mourning husband, Patrick—a painter, architect and benefactor of the Arts whose remarkable life was described last week—to create a very unusual monument and resting place for her, her parents and himself. Allan-Fraser was firmly of the opinion that architecture should be functional. That probably made him reluctant simply to erect a grand funerary monument. Instead, over a period of nine years, from 1875 to 1884, he…

VILLAGE life can bring big views and star-filled skies, tranquillity, a pub within walking distance, community spirit, an occasional knees-up in the village hall and a beamed cottage in which to live—Midsomer, perhaps, but without the murders. A rural idyll may not be for everyone, but many who work full time in London offices and yearn for a life in the country have discovered during lockdown that working from home opens up new possibilities. Zoom and Teams have facilitated new long-distance meetings and broadband, despite pockets of problems, can be as good as in any city. James Walker, a director in the Savills country department, says: ‘Lockdown is ultimately a game-changer. Places such as the Cotswolds are opening up even more, including to a younger generation.’ Nick Leeming, chairman of…

MUCH like our waistlines during lockdown, it would seem that the commuter belt is widening. As we slowly begin to make our way into offices around the country, you’d be forgiven for thinking ‘I’m not sure I want to do this five days a week’. Nor would you be alone. ‘I suspect commuting will look completely different in the future,’ says Charlie Rearden of Stacks Property Search. ‘It may be jumping the gun a bit, but many homeowners who have been living in areas that have been chosen specifically for their commuting convenience are examining their alternatives.’ With that in mind, and with many of us likely to be only going to the office two or three days a week for the foreseeable future, it’s likely that a longer commute…

IS there anything more satisfying than having someone drive right up your rear end and overtake, then catching up with them at the inevitable traffic light down the road? Not only have you arrived at the same time, but you’ve also saved fuel. Being eco is not that hard and makes a massive difference. Keep the revs low and change early—you’re not racing at Silverstone, you’re nipping to the shops, relax. When you buy a new car, perhaps consider a hybrid, but do read the small print. JF…

WE have a saying in this industry that you have to taste a million cups of tea before you finally get it,’ laughs Tresham Graham. ‘In 1996, when I tasted my first batch of 150 or so cups for Birchall, I remember being stunned how our senior taster had picked out differences in all these teas, which, quite frankly, had tasted much the same to me—but day by day, batch by batch, the ability to differentiate comes. We’re born with a decent sense of taste and smell, it’s simply a matter of engaging it, honing it and thinking about it. Most people have the ability to be a taster.’ ‘You need passion and a sensitivity to what is happening in your mouth, nose and mind,’ elaborates Edward Eisler, founder of…

Senior schools Campbell College, Co Antrim Acreage 100 An all-boys school that, despite its east Belfast location, enjoys extensive wooded grounds encircling a striking Victorian, red-brick building—the setting is said to have inspired one of temporary pupil C. S. Lewis’s Narnia scenes. Big on rugby—international players Mike Gibson, Gordon Hamilton, Chris Farrell and Paddy Wallace started here and it’s won the Ulster Schools Cup 24 times—and the CCF, has a shooting range and offers kayaking. www.campbellcollege.co.uk Rockport, Co Down Acreage 25 Small, co-ed school on the shores of Belfast Lough (but only 10 minutes away from Belfast airport), a member of the international Round Square organisation that promotes ideals of adventure and environment; the headmaster is a qualified mountain leader and takes children hill-walking in the nearby Mourne…

Book now FOR the first time, 65 paintings that normally hang in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace are to go on public display, at The Queen’s Gallery, SW1. ‘Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace’ opens on December 4 and will include works from artists including Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Canaletto (below)—and explore, among other themes, their use of paint. The exhibition will be accompanied by a display charting the evolution of the Picture Gallery following the acquisition of Buckingham Palace by George III and Queen Charlotte, in 1762. For information and tickets, visit www.rct.uk Take a walk on the east side VIDI GUIDES—the travel-experience podcast app—adds a self-guided walking tour of Spitalfields to its roster this month. The tour delves into the history of the east London district and its impact…

Here’s looking at London's schools • St George’s Hospital Medical School ( above )-established in 1733 at Hyde Park Corner, now in Tooting -was only the second institution in England to provide formal training courses for doctors • St Paul’s Cathedral School is the oldest educational institution in London -it was established in 1123, for the cathedral's choristers. The original building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 • The origins of Westminster School can be traced back to the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey, in the early 14th century. However, Elizabeth I is celebrated as the school's founder-she confirmed her royal patronage in 1560 • Christ’s Hospital-the West Sussex independent school that determines fees on a means-tested basis-first opened in Newgate in the City, in 1552.…

MY boyfriend lives in Bethnal Green; I live in Highgate. There was no real debate about where we’d spend lockdownin north London, I am surrounded by parks, nature reserves, ponds, hills and ancient woods. He is in the middle of a concrete jungle. There are some incredible green spaces even in the most built-up areas of East London, but they are rare and in need of protection. Take the Canal Club Community Garden, for example. It has, so far, survived development plans thanks to a loyal, local group of artists, houseboat residents and members of the community. But new plans are afoot—and all that will be left in place of this incredible 10-year-old community and wildlife haven will be more buildings and a few raised beds. At present, there’s a…

THE Government scheme may have run its course, but, as summer turns into autumn, London is still full of opportunities to eat out and help out-starting with the fact that some of its hottest walk-ins are now bookable for the first time ever. Barrafina on Dean Street (www.barrafina.co.uk), Shoreditch trattoria Gloria (of giant lemon-meringue pie fame) (www.bigmammagroup.com) and Morito in Exmouth Market (www. morito.co.uk) are among those taking reservations. Outdoor seating looks to be a fixture of London life for as long as the weather holds. Quality Wines, Quality Chop House’s boisterous little brother in Farringdon (www.qualitywinesfarringdon.com), and Brunswick House in Vauxhall (www. brunswickhouse.london) both have some covetable new alfresco tables and Stratford skyscraper Allegra (London Life, January 1) (www.allegra-restaurant.com) boasts a spectacular wrap-around terrace complete with a wildflower meadow.…

Arachnophobes Large male house spiders are heading into your homes to look for a mate. The arachnids, which can grow to 4in in diameter, provide a valuable service in eating flies and other insects, as well as startling you when you get into the shower Sober birds Birds are jazz musicians, after researchers discovered that they improvise and re-order their songs. The freestyling releases opioids in their brains; scientists worked this out by giving fentanyl to starlings and recording the songs…

Sarah Fletcher is the high mistress of St Paul’s Girls’ School, London ‘Gillian was fiercely true to herself, a pioneering woman in a man’s world who would have hated to have been singled out as such. Her work was her love and her life. This painting hangs in my office, up close and intimate, a source of inspiration and joy. I love it for its confidence and energy, the swift texture of the paint, the fluidity of the shapes and the creamy-gaudy colours, balanced in dissonance, unmannered and free. It offers commentary, often ironical, always gentle, on the whirl of activity in a school. I admire it for what it represents: the importance of creativity and self-expression, bravery and authenticity. The power of women to use their gifts to…

THE British countryside, as championed by Ruskin, Morris and Gilpin, has been enticing us back since the rise of mechanical industry forced men to leave their agrarian jobs for the satanic mills of the great cities. Technology has a habit of changing everything beyond recognition and, from the moment Jethro Tull perfected his seed drill 320 years ago, farming needed fewer people. Half a century later, the Industrial Revolution began and, thanks to the energy released from the great seams of coal that lay under our fields, Britain became the world’s powerhouse. We never lost our love of the countryside, however. Affection for open spaces, flora and fauna is buried deeper in a Briton’s DNA than it is in that of our Continental neighbours, many of whom see the countryside…

The farm shop The name is something of a misnomer. The uninitiated might think that the farm shop will merely be a source of fresh veg still dewy from the local farmer’s fields, but they tend to be the countryside’s answer to Planet Organic and Whole Foods, too (although without the hemp Parmesan, chia seeds and heart-stopping prices). Everyone wins; you have a brilliant source of fresh, locally sourced meat and veg and local producers don’t have their margins squeezed until their pips squeak by a supermarket. The community-run store ‘It’s unlikely that ads from a rogue roofer get past the rector’s all-seeing eye’ It was Jack Woolley who saw the writing on the wall; running a village shop was a struggle even before a cavalcade of Ocado vans loomed…

FOR many people living in the country, the opportunity to work from home requires a radical re-think of the way they use space. The result is that many country houses are evolving rapidly; outbuildings, in particular, provide flexible additional space for offices, accommodation and gyms. With broadband creating the possibility of living in remote areas, there is also a greater focus on guest accommodation and space for large-scale entertaining. For many, this new-found freedom is providing exciting chances to create the perfect rural idyll. The architect Ross Sharpe, Yiangou Work There are two emerging schools of thought on how home offices are best achieved. Some people are happy to remain in the main house and feel part of the action. Other clients want to detach themselves from domestic life and…

THE launch onto the market of two of southern England’s most enviable country estates—elegant Ashe Park in affluent north Hampshire and dreamy Julians Park in sleepy north Hertfordshire —has, it’s to be hoped, set the tone for the country-house market this autumn. The past 100 years have been a roller-coaster ride for the 235-acre Ashe Park estate near Steventon, a small, rural village in the rolling north Hampshire countryside, best known as the birthplace of Jane Austen; she was a regular visitor to Ashe Park in the 1790s and mentioned it in her letters. The oldest part of the house dates from the 1600s, since when it has been altered, extended and improved a number of times. The estate was tenanted in the 18th and early 19th centuries, during…

DURING Rupert and Elizabeth Nabarro’s first year at Bere Mill, a nightingale would sing in what is now the Wisteria Garden, an area of water meadow just across the River Test from the house and the rest of the garden. There was barely any garden to speak of when they moved here 28 years ago, only an abandoned orchard below a handsome Hampshire wall and a derelict walled garden. The famous chalk river, where it was diverted through the watermill, had become a muddy stream with the unprepossessing remnants of a fish farm at the far end of the property. Yet the location, upstream of Whitchurch in the bottom of the wooded Hampshire basin, was idyllic. From the beginning, the Nabarros knew they wanted to bring this back to being…

A FLOCK of ducks quacks angrily at the foot of the Blue Bridge in St James’s Park, against the stately backdrop of Horse Guards Parade. Despite the noisy interlopers, a palpable change in atmosphere unfolds in the brief walk from Westminster to Pall Mall. Everything becomes more imposing, distinguished, almost rarefied in St James’s. This is a part of London that was regal by design—and it has remained so for the past 350 years. ‘It’s that feeling of history, of beauty that you see in the shops and the buildings that appeals to me most,’ says Andrew Love, chairman of The Ritz and the St James’s Conservation Trust, which works to preserve the area’s ethos and visual integrity. ‘St James’s is like a little village of its own and it’s…

Exhibition Until September 22 ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year (right)’, The Gallery, Winchester Discovery Centre, Hampshire. Annual showcase of the world's best Nature photography, revealing beauty, unexpected animal behaviour and the stories behind the images. Tickets from £5, visiting times to be pre-booked (01962 873603; www.hampshireculture.org.uk) Anniversary celebration September 5–6 Historic Life Weekend: Museum at 50, Weald & Downland Living Museum, Singleton, West Sussex. To mark half a century since its opening, the museum is running a series of demonstrations and displays on building conservation, as well as a ticketed 1970s-themed picnic (01243 811363; www.wealddown.co.uk) Festival September 5–6 Dogstival, Burley Park, Burley, Hampshire. The canine extravaganza is back at a new venue for 2020, with an aqua pool, doggy paddle-boarding, scent work, agility, veterinary and behavioural advice, plus a vintage…

1919 November 15 published The other Cliveden Set: dairy workers pose for an official COUNTRY LIFE portrait at Lord Astor's dairy at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire. The original article was keen to point out the latest in hygenic milking pails (pictured). The COUNTRY LIFE Picture Library contains 120 years' worth of photography and articles from the world's leading architectural and gardens experts. We are delighted to note that works are again available to license or purchase in print form, from £35 plus VAT. Please email enquiries to clpicturelibrary @futurenet.com…

A WEEK in Snowdonia after months of lockdown feels like liberation. We are hungry for new surroundings and the chance to see two of our daughters. We pack our puppy, Ruskin, and cats Octavia and Miranda (no prizes for guessing the inspiration for these names!) into the car and leave Gloucestershire in sweltering heat. Snowdonia is a full 10˚C cooler than south-east England, but that’s hot for North Wales and it’s busy: Llyn Padarn, reputedly the deepest and coldest lake in Snowdonia, is attractively swimmable in this weather and we join many others for a cool dip several times. The sea, too, is gorgeous, although Ruskin is surprisingly ambivalent. ‘It’s going to be a glorious day; the sharp outlines of the Snowdon horseshoe are already crystal clear’ However, for me,…

SAMUEL JOHNSON would despair, but some of us have tired of London. Within a week of lockdown, it was apparent that our main reasons for being in the capital—a short commute, an outstanding local primary school and flat whites on every corner—were redundant. With three children and two dogs, the Victorian townhouse we had renovated as a newly married couple was no longer working for us. Our woolly ideas about moving to the country began to take shape. With my husband, who works in Fintech (financial technology), unlikely ever to go back to five days a week in the office, we felt liberated to look beyond the ‘golden hour’ of commuter-land. We wanted to travel past the manicured lawns and verges into wilder countryside —as described by Nancy Mitford in…

Swimming In town, you usually have to pay for the pleasure of a few lengths in a heavily chlorinated pool, but in the country, the bracing waters of British lakes (such as Coniston Water, Cumbria, above ), rivers and beaches offer a far more wholesome experience. Food It’s possible to pay a small fortune for a punnet of blackberries and a bag of mushrooms from Borough Market, but in hedgerows and woodland they are up for grabs. Depending on the season, you can take your pick of Nature’s bounty—sloes, wild garlic, chestnuts and crab apples all offer the flavour of the countryside. The night sky Planetarium? Heavens, no! In the absence of light pollution, the night sky in many parts of the country reveals celestial wonders. As well as a…

THERE is no English word for pied-à-terre. That is as it should be, because the flats that are now an essential part of city life in this country originated in the apartments of the Continent and the US. London looked towards Paris. As were other cities on the mainland of Europe, Paris was, in the 18th and 19th centuries, more densely developed within its city walls than London, which had spilled out into suburbs such as Southwark by the Tudor period. Soon, London found it did not need its wall. Vienna had to wait until the 1860s before replacing the old fortifications with the Ringstrasse; Paris was still building walls in the 1840s (the last section was not demolished until after the First World War). The tradition was different in…

FOR the majority of readers of this magazine, the notion that ‘the countryside is a nice place to be’ would hardly register as news. Each week, we celebrate the very best that this green and pleasant land produces, from peacocks, pigs and peregrine falcons to the finest houses (for sale, for rent or simply to look around), music and art. As the lockdown threw into sharp relief how important green space and Nature are to our mental and physical wellbeing, so, too, has it adjusted our opinion on our working lives. The need to be in the office every day of the week seems almost a distant memory and the benefits of home-working (should you have the space) are myriad. The fantasy of living full time in the countryside is…

I FIRST met the Defender at school. It was a fancy school, with fancy students, the parents of whom had fancy cars, and there, among the BMWs and the Mercedes, was the rusty green square. My father would be in it, beaming, and I’d hop in, slamming the door with a satisfying clunk—out of necessity, as otherwise it would decide to open itself and wave at passing traffic if you went around a particularly sharp corner. I would wonder what it was like to have satnav, air conditioning or heating, screens in the headrest and comfy seats. I asked my dad about that once and he told me that the Defender had all those things and more. ‘We have vents for when it’s hot,’ he would say, referring to the…

I HAVE given and received many excellent pieces of advice in my life. ‘Never eat a biscuit that floats’ and ‘Unless it’s 1976, don’t listen to the new Dylan album’ rank highly. Yet nothing quite matches the words I heard a respected Irish grower give a new allotmenter, anxious that he might have bitten off more than he could chew: ‘Sure as shite, y’should give up half of it to squash. They’ll grow for any clown.’ This is gardening gold, pure and simple. As long as you get them off to a good start, a few squash plants will wander across your veg patch, filling spaces, smothering weeds, retaining soil moisture and make you look horticulturally masterful, yet ask little of you in the process. By early autumn, you’ll…

IN 1945, the then master of Dulwich College devised the ‘Dulwich Experiment’: a grand plan to have the school comprise 50% fee-paying students and 50% boys on local-authority awards. Fast forward some 75 years and the current master, Joseph Spence, is doggedly resurrecting that same mission to make it a school of access. ‘We want every bright boy in London to think that Dulwich is possible for them,’ Dr Spence says of his 1,600-strong powerhouse, set in 70 acres, yet only a 12-minute train ride from the capital’s centre. ‘My aim is to become “needs blind”, meaning any child that would benefit from a place could have one, irrespective of their family income. It’s a phrase I’ve avoided using for a long time, but I’ve gone back to it, because…