Innholdsfortegnelse for 18-Jan-2023 i Country Life

GARDENS have traditionally played second fiddle to houses, but in John Sales, head of gardens at the National Trust from 1973–98, they found their champion. And what a champion. He instigated the 100-year plan for Stourhead in Wiltshire (1978), which was, incredibly, the first ever long-term plan to conserve the concept and the design of a garden and identify its key qualities. This preempted his other genius innovation: the Statement of Significance. Prepared for the many new gardens the Trust took on in those early days, it was adopted—and remains the norm—across the horticultural world. With Sales’s death last month, the garden world has been mourning not only the loss of a charming, much-loved and brilliant colleague, but one who gave so much of his time and knowledge. Horticulture is…

Letter of the week A bread-and-butter issue RECENTLY, a reader wrote to note how difficult it was to order the perfect hot buttered toast at an hotel (Letters, December 28, 2022). Here is a recipe from Choice Dishes at Small Cost, a cookbook from 1883, that would, I think, be very difficult to beat: ‘Rather stale bread is best. The bread should be cut into slices about one-third of an inch thick. It should be toasted quickly in front of a clear fire a nice golden brown on both sides. It should be quickly buttered on both sides, and placed in a hot dish. Another piece should then be toasted and buttered, and placed on the top. When four or five slices have been piled up, cut though…

KEW GARDENS has a multi-layered history. Its varied roles as a royal retreat, landscaped park, exotic plant collection, international botanical institution and place of public education, relaxation and enjoyment of floral and arboreal splendour, have involved a succession of important names. To cite William Kent, William Aiton, Sir Joseph Banks, Decimus Burton, Richard Turner and Sir William Hooker barely scratches the surface. However, in the 300th year of his birth, it’s fitting to remember Sir William Chambers (1723–96), the creator of the great Pagoda and a major figure in the ornamentation of the estate in the years before the Royal Botanical Gardens opened to the public in 1841. The Pagoda caused a sensation upon its opening, although many expressed concerns about its stablility Towards the end of his life, Frederick,…

HOW well behaved is King Harold’s high-stepping horse in a hawking scene on the Bayeux Tapestry? A quintet of hounds accompanies the King on his expedition, running alongside the royal mount. The embroiderers have portrayed the hounds in motion, legs and tails extended, noses scenting the air. Three of Harold’s hounds wear sturdy collars fitted with leash rings. A carved stone panel depicting hunting dogs on leashes is about 8,000 years old Dating from the fourth quarter of the 11th century, the Bayeux Tapestry is an unusually early depiction of dogs in English art. Its inclusion of collars, however, is not an innovation. Dog collars were probably invented by the ancient Mesopotamians. A carved stone panel depicting hunting dogs on leashes, excavated at Shuwaymis, in modern-day Saudi Arabia, south of…

Adventurers: The Improbable Rise of the East India Company 1550–1650 David Howarth (Yale, £25) FAR off the coast of Senegal, too, and on the Company’s Fourth Voyage, the ships put on the first performance on water of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.’ Shakespeare had, in fact, come to mind before reading these words in David Howarth’s fascinating, multi-layered book. Not Hamlet, however, but The Merchant of Venice, in particular, Shylock’s appraisal of the titular merchant Antonio’s creditworthiness: ‘Oh, no, no, no, no; my meaning in saying he is a good man is to have you understand me that he is sufficient. Yet his means are in supposition: he hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies… and other ventures he hath, squandered abroad.’ ‘Venture’ (thereby ‘adventurers’) at this time…

A prize of £25 in book tokens will be awarded for the first correct solution opened. Solutions must reach Crossword No 4763, Country Life, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR, by Tuesday, January 24. UK entrants only ACROSS 7 When groom goes native (9)8 Love to make an entrance we hear (5)10 Mob rule as shown by director David has flawed central section (5,3)11 Performed by eye during period of jocularity (6)12 Break in card game (4)13 Said to regret pointed comments when simulates conversation (8)15 Rung to lend elk costume (7)17 Criticising planning (7)20 Enlighten biased us once more (a) (8)22 Covered cold boy (4)25 Simple inflorescence—challenge to get it first? (6)26 Claimed to be shy (8)27 Team prop (5)28 Present chequered flag perhaps after a race (9)…

THIS starts as a much under-reported ‘everyday story of country folk’. Just before Christmas, in rural Shropshire on the borders of Wales, the rule of law was undermined by the very organisation charged with upholding it: the police. The popular local hunt was to hold a carol service in St George’s Church, Clun. It’s a regular occasion and everyone looks forward to the day. This year, a collection of hunt-haters, mostly from outside the area, sent out details of the service and called on their obsessive supporters to protest to the vicar. They gave out her name, address and telephone number, being under the impression that she was going to officiate. Although that was not the case, she was concerned about these extremists and, rightly, the Diocese notified the police.…

Tahir Shah is the author of more than 50 books, a journalist and a film-maker Sir Wilfred Thesiger’s reputation was as the indefatigable hard-as-nails traveller, a throwback to the Victorian age. He famously crossed the Arabian Empty Quarter twice, was a personal friend of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and later lived in “retirement” with the pastoral Samburu of northern Kenya. Anthony Devas’s portrait of Thesiger, then in his mid thirties, lifts the veil on the public image and provides a fleeting glimpse into the gentle and vulnerable side that most people never encountered. The Thesiger wearing military dress in the pastel-like portrait is the one of profound sensitivity and kindness–the one I was fortunate enough to know as a young man, in the last quarter century of his life…

Antique find This cast-iron plant stand, with elegant foliate design central support, dates from about 1870, £3,600, from Architectural Heritage (01386 584414; www.architectural-heritage.co.uk) Shelf life The Como tiered plant stand, large, £225, is made from powder-coated iron with a distressed finish, from Cox & Cox (0330 333 2123; www.coxand cox.co.uk) Rustic style The stained spruce Aldsworth plant stand, £110, features three shelves of varying depth, from Garden Trading (01993 845559; www.gardentrading.co.uk) In and out These Zinc plant stands, £155 for a set of two, can be used inside and out, from Graham & Green (01225 418200; www.grahamandgreen.co.uk) Planted up The Nkuku Jara planter stand, £70, is made from iron and supplied with three terracotta pots with an aged finish, from Article London (www.article-london.com) Top table Both practical and pretty, this…

ON the third floor of the Free Library on Logan Circle, Philadelphia, US in the Rare Book department featuring a display devoted to the American poet Edgar Allan Poe, the centrepiece exhibit is a case containing a stuffed and mounted raven. A very special raven, of course: the preserved presence of Grip, the beloved companion of Charles Dickens, who appeared as a knowing character in Barnaby Rudge. Grip died in 1841, the year in which the novel was published. ‘On the clock striking twelve he appeared slightly agitated, but he soon recovered, walked twice or thrice along the coach house, stopped to bark, staggered, exclaimed “Halloa Old Girl!”—his favourite expression —and died,’ wrote Dickens in a letter. Although he would go on to have two more pet ravens of the…

Quiz of the week 1) Which is Britain’s fastest land mammal? 2) Which wife of Henry VIII was the first English Queen to publish a book under her own name? 3) Which East Anglian artist completed The Hay Wain in 1821? 4) What colour are the berries of Hedera helix (ivy)? 5) In which fictional Japanese town is The Mikado set? Word of the week Misoneist (noun) Someone who dislikes or hates new ideas and change 100 years ago in COUNTRY LIFE January 20, 1923 THE daily Press recently published a very happy illustration of Lord Grey’s interest in wild birdlife, but I was disappointed to find him citing the robin as an example of a low moral order. A cock robin lived with me through last winter,…

ASHDOWN HOUSE in East Sussex is a compact, neo-Grecian villa built in 1793 for John Trayton Fuller, who was descended from an old Sussex family of iron founders. Less colourful than his cousin, ‘Mad’ Jack Fuller, a patron of Turner, he was inspired in his choice of Benjamin Latrobe as his architect. An early exponent of the Greek Revival influenced by France, Latrobe emigrated to the US in 1796 and supervised construction of the Capitol in Washington DC. Not merely one of Latrobe’s few works in Britain, Ashdown could be the best preserved of all his oeuvre. Inside, the elegant stair hall remains, with scagliola columns bearing the palmette capitals of the Tower of the Winds in Athens. Windows go down to the ground, allowing the Regency owners to step…

AURICULAS began life as a cross between two inhabitants of the European Alps, the yellow Primula auricula and the pink P. hirsuta. The offspring, P. x pubescens, was constantly hybridised to unlock a palette box of clear, saturated colours like those of an illuminated manuscript: burnished gold, oxblood, rich chocolate, jade green and carmine red. The English Florists (enthusiasts who bred flowers such as auriculas, tulips and carnations to highly specific criteria for competitions) cultivated thousands of varieties, divided into four main groups: Show, Alpine, Double and Border. Show auriculas are the most exquisite (and the most temperamental) and are divided into further categories called Edged, Stripe, Self and Fancy. Many are coated with varying amounts of farina, a white or yellowish floury powder. The National Primula and Auricula Society,…

PROPOSING on one knee feels traditional, but, historically, engagements were much more businesslike, with romance playing second fiddle. Even as recently as the 1960s, proposals were more casual, perhaps only a simple conversation. I enjoy a little occasion and would recommend something special, or perhaps choosing or even designing a ring together afterwards—a service many of these fine jewellers offer. ‘Those buying an engagement ring as a surprise tend to be a little more conservative,’ notes Guy Burton of Hancocks on the Burlington Arcade, London W1. ‘As a whole, people want one-of-a-kind rings, something that they won’t see another person wearing.’…

IT seems unfair that so much is made of the heroes of English literature when some of its most memorable characters are actually the villains. Tale after tale shows a good villain can carry a plot almost unaided. No matter how feeble or indecisive the main character is, if the antagonist is vile and mesmerising enough, you’ll continue to turn the pages, praying that, at some point, the odious fiend meets their downfall. Part of the reason villains can often be the most compelling characters is that they don’t have to conform to the oppressive level of goodness that constricts the protagonists—especially the ones you find in Victorian literature. Without a really strong enemy, well-meaning characters would simply be a little… dull. Flat. Boring. The villains, on the other hand,…

PANTOMIME is an infinitely flexible form. Anyone who doubts that should go and see Mother Goose, starring Sir Ian McKellen and John Bishop, which will be going on a nationwide tour until just after Easter. As well as the staple ingredients of songs and slapstick, this panto, currently at the Duke of York’s, London WC2, has subversive political gags, Shakespearean quotes and even a sly endorsement of same-sex marriage. Directed by Cal McCrystal—who annually masterminds the gorgeous Giffords Circus—and written by Jonathan Harvey, it is, above all, a celebration of the seemingly ageless Sir Ian. He gags about Orcs and tap-dances to We’re in the money I once compared him to another knight of the realm, Sir Ken Dodd, and the two have a lot in common: a passion…

MY team (Orca) struggled into the final of the 2022 Spring Fours in a motorway junction near Warwick (oh for the days when it was held in nearby Stratford). There we met Team Hinden, who cruised undefeated into the final. They felt like the team of destiny, perhaps because one member of their team is very sadly quite unwell. Both these deals from early in the final contain a similar, instructive point for the defence. Legitimately, the only way to defeat Four Spades is for West to lead a Heart picture, East to win with the King, and to switch to a Club. In the real world, West cashed the Ace of Hearts and switched at trick two to a Spade (anyone for a second Heart?). Declarer won the Spade…

ALF and I are making lists. His begins: Savlon, phone charger, Spotify playlist. Mine begins: shower curtain, radiator, window. This is identical to my list of last January and refers to the same shower curtain, radiator, window. He adds: learn Spanish. I add: buy moth killer. As I said, identical. With less than 12 hours to go before Alf leaves for a backpacking trip around Central America, it seems ambitious to learn a language, but, apart from the T-shirts stubbornly refusing to dry, he is packed and ready to go. We cast around for other things he should be doing in preparation and can’t think of any, so he googles the Spanish for ‘a beer, an ashtray and a ham-and-cheese sandwich please’. I google radiators. He moves on to ‘where…