Innholdsfortegnelse for 12-Apr-2023 i Country Life

Letter of the week Cheque mate I WAS interested in last week’s star letter (Letters, March 29), particularly as I live close to what was once Henry Royce’s beautiful house, but the last sentence brought a sharp intake of breath: ‘Fortunately we don’t need to worry about cheques anymore!’ I use my cheque book extensively—as I would guess thousands of other COUNTRY LIFE readers do—and, yes, I am perfectly computer literate and not living in the dark ages. Hilary Davies, West Sussex The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne Secret views YOUR cover (March 29) beautifully illustrates the private view from the Upper Ward lawn of Windsor Castle down the Long Walk to the Copper Horse.…

1901 Unpublished A view of the ‘boat cave’ created in the park at Aldenham House, Hertfordshire, by its then owner, the barrister, MP, gardener and plant collector Vicary Gibbs. The figure in the pleasure boat is probably a gardener acting as a model; witness his wheelbarrow and broom on the bank behind. Every week for the past 125 years, COUNTRY LIFE has documented and photographed many walks of life in Britain. More than 80,000 of the images are available for syndication or purchase in digital format. To view the archives, visit www.countrylifeimages.co.uk and email enquiries to licensing@futurenet.com…

OVER decades, millions of us have marvelled as Sir David Attenborough has brought life from the farthest corners of the planet into our homes. Whether it’s Rwandan gorillas or Antarctic ice caps, we can all agree there is nothing quite like an Attenborough film (Leader, February 15). His latest, Wild Isles, has given us a rare insight into the miraculous and unique natural world of our own backyard. As Environment Secretary, I have been proud to see our natural wonders on show and, like many of you, am thinking afresh about how to protect them. Sir David’s indefatigable enthusiasm reminds us how much we have to celebrate, as well as how much we stand to gain if we step up the brilliant work already under way to save species by…

IN Georgina Montagu’s book Top Dogs (Review, September 21, 2022), which explores the relationship between humans and their four-legged friends, the matter of where they sleep is regularly addressed. At one stage in their lives, all six of Carole Bamford’s shih tzus slept on her bed —on a pillow, stretched out alongside her and curled at her feet. Cedric, a whippet belonging to the gallerist Philip Mould, regularly sneaks under the duvet at night. John Pawson, the architect famous for his neutral, pared-back aesthetic, owns a cockapoo, Lochie, who enjoys free rein of the house and all its furniture; his dog bed, for when he chooses to use it, is upholstered with one of his master’s cashmere jumpers. Even the shepherdess Alison O’Neill allows her sheepdog, Shadow, to snooze in…

THE village of East Knoyle sits on a slope of greensand above the Blackmore Vale near Shaftesbury. Its villagers are proud of its most famous inhabitant, Sir Christopher Wren, whose father was the rector of the parish when the future architect of St Paul’s was born in 1632. Attached to the Georgian façade of the elegant rectory that we see today is an older building and it is there that Christopher lived as a child, although a fire shortly before his birth that destroyed part of the building meant he was actually born in a nearby cottage. When he was eight, his father, by then Dean of Windsor, moved his family to join him in Berkshire. A walk around the woodland at Knoyle with Hervé was an education The rectory…

LAST year’s London Original Print Fair (LOPF) was one of the few that I have missed, so I was glad to find it back at its traditional late-March dates and interested to see how it would work in the different spaces of Somerset House, after 35 years at the Royal Academy. Ground-floor rooms were used in the East and West wings, together with the first floor of the South, or river, wing, allowing for 39 exhibitors. This number is extended by the parallel online platform, which includes more leading dealers, some or all of whom have exhibited in person at past fairs. Andrew Edmunds was to many people the welcoming spirit of Soho, the genial host at his eponymous restaurant and upstairs at the Academy Club, but people visiting…

For all the latest news, visit countrylife.co.uk Wales on reds alert CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a squirrel-pox vaccine after almost 80% of the red-squirrel population of Gwynedd, north Wales, was wiped out by an outbreak last year. A petition, which at the time of writing had more than 11,000 signatures, has called for the Welsh government to commit to funding research into a vaccine, such as the one under development by the Moredun Research Institute from 2010–13. The petition also warns that ‘it is only a matter of time before the infection is spread across the Menai Strait and onto Anglesey’, which is where the majority of the Welsh red-squirrel population lives. ‘When we started on Anglesey, we only had 40 [red squirrels], now we’ve got about 800, potentially…

Mark Tufnell is president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) I have always been keen on landscapes, but this one shows how avenues can be used to draw one’s eye right into the picture. Then you pick up the church on the left, reaching up into the sky and to the heavens with the birds circling in the clouds. On further inspection, you notice the gardener pruning the box trees and a couple chatting; the man with his dog walking towards me; the distraction of the dog closely following his master. I love the detail and I love pictures where you can see multiple layers of life. The lines of the track and the avenue are elements that my late son, Carlie, used in his photography work and…

IN 2007, Red Rum came top of an Ipsos-Mori poll that asked the public to name Britain’s most famous horse. It was 12 years after his death and 30 after his third and last Grand National victory, but he finished well ahead of the fictional Black Beauty and the ill-fated 1981 Derby winner, Shergar. It would be interesting to see the outcome of a repeat poll today. Tiger Roll, the first winner of back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum (in 2019 and 2020), might barely register a blip by comparison. This is partly owing to a shrinking awareness of racing among the wider public and partly because Tiger Roll resides in Ireland, but it is down to the special charisma of ‘Rummy’ and his remarkable story, too. It is also,…

FOR Jennifer Manners, the stubborn resilience that makes discarded synthetic materials such a threat to the environment has also created an opportunity. The challenge, however, was to combine that resilience with inspiring design and beautiful colours to create soft, supple rugs that redefine the possibilities of sustainable flooring with a material that would otherwise have ended in landfill or in the sea. The Chelsea-based designer—who works with a wide range of fibres, from wool and silk to nettle and jute—can trace the evolution of her new range of rugs to a throw made of recycled bottles. The design struck Miss Manners as a clever way to repurpose some of the millions of single-use bottles discarded each year and she tasked her team of weavers in the Indian city of Bhadohi…

Sit soft Sofas & Stuff offers an impressive range of fabrics for its sofas, chairs and footstools, including its own exclusive woven and printed linens, as well as designs produced in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and V&A Museum. The Orford three-seater sofa in RHS Large Knot Garden Gold linen, £4,634, a design drawn from a garden and orchard plan printed by Adam Islip in 1602 and held in the RHS Lindley Library (0808 178 3211; www.sofasandstuff.com) Light touch The Pagoda hanging lantern was inspired by an 1840s English antique. It is handmade in brass and finished with red, £7,212, from Charles Edwards (020–7736 8490; www.charlesedwards.com) Green and pleasant Interior designer Georgie Wykeham offers a small range of handmade furniture available in a jaunty selection of matt or…

Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk IT’S exactly four years since Grade II*-listed Stouts Hill at Uley, near Dursley, Gloucestershire, was last sold on the open market. Since then, the handsome, Cotswold-stone country house, a rare example of very early Georgian Gothic architecture, which sits in a picturesque hidden valley on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, has been impressively converted back to its original status as a grand family home, having been a prep school from 1935–79, and a country-house timeshare from 1983–2019. Now for sale through Savills in Cirencester (01285 627550) at a guide price of £6 million, Stouts Hill stands in 20 acres of gardens and grounds, which include a lake and a tennis court, and offers more than 13,700sq ft of elegant accommodation on two…

JOHN MASSEY is a happy man. His beaming face is familiar to plant lovers all over Britain and beyond. Plants have been the great love of his life—finding them, growing them, selecting them and selling the best. In 1967, when he was 18, his father bought a small, rundown nursery for him in Shropshire. Today, Ashwood Nurseries is one of our most famous plant centres. It is difficult to come away without spending a lot of money—and feeling very pleased to have done so. Plant lovers have crazes and, sometimes, these passions develop into lasting relationships. Mr Massey has had a series of infatuations, including cyclamen, auriculas, hellebores, hydrangeas and hepaticas. Not content merely to make a collection of plants that fascinate him, he has gone on to breed…

WHY, I ask, when spring is so definitely on the way, is the day I choose to walk so grey and chilly? I’m heading to west Somerset again, drawn by the allure of the coast and the company of the Deputy Editor of this illustrious magazine, which is always a treat. This time, I’m bringing a young friend with me: an international Cambridge PhD student who is keen to see more of our beautiful country. She’s a talented photographer and hugely excited about seeing the sea. Kate drives us through Minehead to begin the walk. It’s an elegant little coastal town, although it’s seen better days, and is sustained today by visitors to Butlin’s as much as by its inherent charms. As we climb through Higher Town, we see evidence…

THE Highland pony, with its thick forelock and flowing mane and tail, will forever be associated with deerstalking, the paintings of Landseer and Queen Victoria, who liked to potter about on one at Osborne House or Balmoral. A photograph of Victoria riding Fyvie at Balmoral, taken in October 1863 with John Brown in attendance, was issued to the public and became a symbol of the Queen’s mourning for Prince Albert. There is still a large breeding herd at Balmoral; Elizabeth II was patron of the breed society and her ponies won many prizes in the show ring, as well as carrying panniers of grouse and stags weighing as much as 17st off the hill. The early crofter’s pony—or ‘garron’, the Gaelic word—was probably lighter in build than today’s sturdy, compact,…

THE Inchbald-trained interior designer Isabella Worsley worked on this project in tandem with Blue Forest, a specialist in the construction of tree houses. It is one of a number of similar structures in the grounds of Callow Hall, a 15-bedroom hotel near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. ‘The setting, up in ancient woodlands behind the hotel, is magical, particularly in spring when there are carpets of bluebells below,’ the designer says. ‘The the interiors are clad in timber planks. Each is different, but they all share a common theme, which is the use of natural materials, such as wool and linen, and colour palettes that are earthy and naturalistic.’ The backdrop of knotty timber, which lends a delightful patina to the space, sets off the headboard covered in a wool stripe. What…

STORAGE has always been a rare commodity in newly built houses. Even at the most luxurious end of the market, a house might be a vision of shiny kitchens, fancy German plumbing and sweeping staircases, but the fact that potential purchasers would have nowhere to hang a thong—let alone a suit—is conveniently glossed over in the glossiest of brochures. As every developer knows, the problem is fitted storage is expensive and will happily chomp its way through that most jealously guarded column in a spreadsheet—the profit margin. In a crowded world where space is an increasingly rare commodity, even the most hard-nosed developers recognise that storage has a magical capacity to transform even the pokiest space, from a bedroom where cat-swinging would be strongly discouraged to the shallowest alcove…

FOXGLOVES, with their towering spires of bee-friendly flowers, are one of our most imposing wildflowers and one of the few to have jumped from the woodland edge and the verges of country lanes into our gardens. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gertrude Jekyll was enthusiastic about their use in herbaceous borders and recommended them to create a link between the order of the garden and the wildness of the countryside. Today, they are comfortably at home in cottage-style gardens, in perennial meadows and even in minimalist modern gardens. They are endlessly adaptable, even flourishing in cracks in paving In the wild, the common foxglove has purple flowers with little variation, save the occasional plant with white flowers, but nurseries and plant breeders have introduced numerous cultivars that encompass…