Innholdsfortegnelse for April 24, 2024 i Country Life

Literary lights • Sir Walter Scott wrote a poem on visiting Bell Rock: ‘O’er these wild shelves my watch I keep/A ruddy gem of changeful light…’ Also, J. M. W. Turner depicted the lighthouse during a storm and Robert Stevenson’s daughter Jane painted it • Thomas Stevenson’s son, Robert Louis (right, with his father), wrote Treasure Island and Kidnapped • D. E. Stevenson, whose insightful, character-driven novels are enjoying a renaissance, was Robert Stevenson’s great-granddaughter LIGHTHOUSES have saved countless vessels from being dashed upon rocks since the days of Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Around Scotland, most of the 207 beacons that illuminate the coast were constructed under the aegis of one family, the Stevensons. Robert Stevenson (1772–1850) began the tradition, encouraged by his…

Book a stay at the exquisite Hound Lodge, complete with your own private butler and chef, and career around the estate in vintage off-road Land Rovers. Goodwood, West Sussex, truly is the home of exceptional experiences (www.goodwood.com) Models photographed with the Duke of Richmond’s 1934 AC 16/80, designed by the 9th Duke, and a Land Rover Series 2A…

ONE day, when someone studies prevailing British taste in the early 21st century, the benefit of hindsight will demonstrate the significant influence of Kit Kemp, the dynamo behind almost a dozen hotels in London and New York—as well as a design studio, tableware, textiles and umpteen books. Almost single handedly, she has stimulated an appetite for pattern and colour and demonstrated a point that every good interior designer knows, which is that the secret of every beautifully conceived interior is, contrary to conventional wisdom, to sweat the small stuff. ‘Some frames are as interesting as the artwork themselves’ Among the many details that bring her interiors to life are painted frames, created in collaboration with the specialist framer Marcus Wells of Haviland Designs (07768 363571; www.havilanddesigns.com), who recognised early in…

West Sussex, £3.25 million Hollist House in Easebourne is conveniently near to glamorous Cowdray Park’s high-octane Gold Cup polo (the final is on July 21), yet lies within its own tranquil, self-contained setting. It has all the ingredients for a happy summer, with an artificial-grass tennis court and a swimming pool amid its exceptional gardens, which run down to a nearly 2,000ft stretch of fishing on the River Rother. The 19th-century, Grade ll-listed, five-bedroom Fittleworth-stone farmhouse, surrounded by woodland, is set in about 7¾ acres and has outbuildings, including a plant room and workshop, plus an adjoining three-bedroom cottage. Knight Frank (01428 770562) Oxfordshire, £2.3 million The gleaming muscles, sleek boats and striped blazers of the Henley Regatta (July 2–7) are a stroll away from this light-filled, modern apartment overlooking…

To say nothing of the dog Bacchus and Ariadne lends itself to a cornucopia of superlatives. It is one of the finest works by one of the greatest Old Masters, capturing a scene from one of the most enthralling classical myths, as sung by two of antiquity’s most distinguished poets. It has everything that befits a masterpiece, from captivating colours to dramatic action and exquisite detail: the emotion gripping Ariadne, whose body still faces the ship of faithless Theseus as her face turns towards the carefree Bacchus; the smitten god’s ungraceful leap from his cheetah-drawn chariot, too lost in the princess’s beauty to pay attention to his step; the motley retinue of nymphs, satyrs and a snake-clad Laocoön revelling in a drunken dance; and, up in the sky, golden stars…

Gilbert Spencer: The Life and Work of a Very English Artist Paul Gough (Yale, £30) WHEN Reading Museum and Art Gallery mounted a Gilbert Spencer retrospective in 1964, the artist ensured that one of the model farm carts he had been making since boyhood was a centrepiece exhibit. It reflected his love of agricultural subjects and the care he took over accurate depiction. His most famous work, A Cotswold Farm (1930–31), in which two carts pulled by Shire horses seem to collide, features a hulking West Country ‘ship’ wagon, bright blue with big red wheels. ‘Gilbert knew every detail and nuance of these massive machines,’ writes Paul Gough. The cart might also symbolise the dividing line with his brother, Stanley. As the earthier, more gregarious Gilbert once said about his…

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Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk NEVER mind the dancing daffodils and fruitful autumns—in Regency Britain, the social Season was the only one that mattered and had Jane Austen’s Mrs Bennet squealing in anticipation. A relentless round of parties, it was defined by the Royal Family’s residence in London and climaxed with Queen Charlotte’s Ball, first held in honour of her birthday, May 19, in 1780. Royal Ascot was long established by then—it had started in 1711, after Queen Anne remarked that Ascot Heath would make a rather good racecourse. The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition (this year, June 18–August 18), begun in 1769, horse-racing at Goodwood (1802)—‘a garden party with racing tacked on,’ as Edward VII later described the event—and Cowes Week…

That boat has sailed I WOULD like to congratulate you for the measured, succinct, sensible and highly astute article on the issue we are facing regarding immigration (Agromenes, April 10). All politicians of any persuasion should read this and take note. I applaud COUNTRY LIFE for enabling its readers to read and absorb such an excellent assessment of a situation that no one seems to have the courage to tackle or talk about appropriately. Roma Hooper, Surrey Good vibrations YOUR mention of Otto Overbeck, the former owner of Sharpitor, Salcombe, Devon, and the sculpture The Lark’s First Flight is only part of his story (My favourite painting, April 10). He had enjoyed success as the inventor of ‘The Rejuvenator’, a gadget that he marketed with the false promise of renewed…

A cup of water and a rose by Francisco de Zurbarán ‘Zurbarán is known for his religious commissions and for his austere and numinous style. In this intense little painting, the beautiful play of light on water, rose and silver plate makes them glisten and gleam against their plain, dark background. Small it may be, but it has extraordinary presence. The simplicity of its composition and the beauty of its execution encourage contemplation. To a devout 17th-century eye, the objects are likely to have brought to mind attributes of the Virgin Mary–her purity symbolised by water and her Immaculate Conception by a thornless rose. In a collection bursting with treasures, it’s very hard to choose a favourite, but this painting causes me to pause, breathe deeply and appreciate the painter’s…

THE first step had been asking Nick the shepherd to round up his flock. It was the summer of 1993 and the Earl of March was following a long-held dream of bringing motorsport back to his Goodwood estate in West Sussex. Tents had been erected, bales had been laid along the track and a makeshift gantry had been constructed. The night before the gates opened, the Earl himself could be found painting a freshly built bridge in the drizzle. But here was the question: would anyone come? The British Automobile Racing Club had predicted a crowd of perhaps 2,000 to what would be the inaugural Goodwood Festival of Speed. By the end of the weekend, 25,000 people had poured into the estate, among them George Harrison at the wheel of…

Fresh faced ‘How on earth do you look so fresh-faced?’ A compliment recently bestowed upon me during a trip to Geneva for the Watches and Wonders fair—a yearly pilgrimage made by watch and jewellery editors where notoriously little sleep is enjoyed. ‘Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret,’ I whispered, ‘it’s called Ouronyx, and it’s the slickest and smartest holistic facial rejuvenation spot in town.’ It offers many options for different concerns, but NeoGen Plasma is a clever treatment to renew the tone, texture and firmness of the skin. After a couple of treatments, the complexion is radiant—and scarring, sun damage and pigmentation vanish, too. The glowing results have people clamouring for the telephone number (yes, all right, I’ll give it to you). The best bit? It lasts…

ANYONE who has seen the first few minutes of The Hateful Eight—perhaps the least-viewed Quentin Tarantino bloodbath—will remember the roadside cross. It’s post-Civil War Wyoming, in a blizzard. Not the sort of thing an English outlaw of the Victorian era would have encountered and yet Robin of Loxley almost certainly doffed his Lincoln-green cap to the large stone crosses that marked the limit of Sherwood Forest. There were two at Linby, Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood’s day seven centuries ago. One still stands, in somewhat altered condition. Linby is typical of the British countryside. Once upon a time, there were crucifixes, Calvaries and plainer crosses throughout the land. Nottinghamshire alone had hundreds, most of which have suffered like Linby’s. One sad example in nearby Kirkby had just about pulled through centuries…

The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes HIGH MOSS, an imposing white house with a distinctive double-gabled roof, looms splendidly at the very top of its steeply terraced garden. From the south-facing rear, there are exhilarating 180˚ views out to craggy Grisedale Pike and Catbells. From the bottom of the garden, it is a mere five-minute walk to the gorgeous expanse of Derwentwater itself. The key quality of an Arts-and-Crafts garden is its close relationship to the house. As Peter and Christine Hughes began to unravel the history of their home and breathe new life into its tired terraces, they became utterly bound up with the project. For Mr Hughes, the challenge of restoring the garden has led to a Masters in Garden…

HAVE you committed a sin recently? If so, go out and commit six more. Then, find a particular black beetle and crush it. You will be forgiven all seven sins, for you are in medieval England and you have killed the beetle because it deserved to die. You know this because its ancestor is said to have committed contemptuous sacrilege by eating the core of the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had partaken thereof. Hence its destruction makes you a demonstrably upstanding Christian who has achieved absolution—for the time being, at least. Folklore may have fortified the wicked, but it was tough on this little creature. The Middle Ages reeled back from the chunky black insect an inch or so long, with strong jaws…

‘And she’s fading down the river’ THE Fighting Temeraire (1839, right), at one time the nation’s favourite painting, is travelling up to Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery this summer, where it will be joined by some 20 additional works by Turner, as well as ones by L. S. Lowry and other artists, up to the present day. The loan is part of the ‘National Treasures’ programme, by which 12 standout paintings are being loaned around the country to mark the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary (page 144). Known to her crew as ‘saucy’ and kept ‘in England’s song forever’, as Sir Henry Newbolt’s ballad goes, 98-gun HMS Temeraire played a heroic part in the Battle of Trafalgar, but, in 1838, made her sad final journey up the Thames to Rotherhithe to be…

AGROMENES has taken full advantage of the few sunny, dry days we’ve had so far this year. He’s even once had lunch outside! The fields are still fairly boggy, but at least the raised vegetable beds have dried off, so planting could start. First off, of course, the cold frames needed filling with lettuce plants and cucumbers, but, now, the onions are in their beds and the First Early potatoes have been sown. That was a more cheerful process after Monty Don confirmed that he, too, hadn’t planted his early potatoes in March, as he was awash. Nothing like a bit of confirmation from an expert when you’re downcast at the lack of progress in the garden. Now that the worst of the wet is over, we’ll be out there…

Stansted Park, West Sussex, part II The property of the Stansted Park Foundation AT about 8.30pm on August 3, 1900, after the social exertions of the Goodwood races, Mr and Mrs George Wilder, the owners of Stansted Park, were roused from the dinner table by a fire alarm; a coachman and manservant had spotted flames rising from one corner of the house. A hose was immediately connected to an emergency water supply, but the lead roof made it impossible to fight the blaze effectively and a fierce gale fanned the flames. By the time the combined fire brigades of Emsworth and Havant had arrived at about 10pm, the conflagration was beyond control and—in the words of a breathless report in The Bexhill Chronicle—it ‘became evident that the beautiful mansion was…

NO one puts on a picnic with quite as much panache as Ratty. The cold chicken Kenneth Grahame’s affable and generous water vole brings to the little blue-and-white boat, alongside ‘cold tongue cold ham cold beef pickled gherkins salad French rolls cress sandwiches potted meat ginger beer lemonade soda water’ has companion Mole ‘in ecstasies. “This is too much!”’ However, beyond the extravagances of this particular feast in The Wind in the Willows, what also sets it apart is the ‘fat wicker luncheon-basket’ in which the edibles are encased. How much more beguiling surely than the ‘parcel’ protecting the sandwiches that Mr Ramsay opens and shares in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse or even the undisclosed paraphernalia at that most famous of literary picnics, in Emma on that ‘very fine…

AFTER her clients inherited this 18th-century-style house designed by Quinlan Terry in the 1970s, the designer Flora Soames set out to freshen the interiors throughout. ‘I had already worked on their house in London and they were both very trusting and up for introducing colour and pattern,’ explains Miss Soames. ‘Although my client has memories of the house as a child, she was keen to start a new chapter.’ When it was first built, the house was configured for a different style of living: there was a strong focus on entertaining and no family kitchen. ‘It was so important for my client to have everything she needs in one space: here, the family can gather to cook, eat and relax.’ She worked with Jane Taylor (020–7795 0955; www.janetaylordesigners.com) on the…

LAUNCHED before Easter at a guide price of £8 million through Strutt & Parker (020–7591 2213), Georgian, Grade II*-listed Chalcot House at Dilton Marsh, near Westbury in Wiltshire, has set the pace in what promises to be a busy spring market for classic country houses. Selling agent Oliver Custance Baker is already seeing a steady flow of enquiries from mainly London-based buyers, for whom Westbury’s accessibility by rail and road is a major incentive. Only a handful of high-profile owners have possessed Chalcot House since Henry Phipps, a prosperous clothier, began buying property in Westbury towards the end of the 16th century; his sons, Henry and Nicholas, became lords of the manor of Westbury Mauduits in 1585. According to the Victoria County History, ‘the Phipps family ‘continued to accumulate lands…

BEFORE the Indian Mutiny of 1857—otherwise known as the First War of Indian Independence—silver items made in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay (modern-day Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai) were produced in British styles by European firms. After 1858, however, new hybrid styles evolved in other places that blended European forms with Indian decoration. In some ways, this is a parallel to the Chinese export porcelain industry of the 18th century. There were distinct regional stylistic differences, although some successful patterns from one area might be adopted by another. Kashmir, for instance, drew on its copper-working traditions, but Bombay adopted motifs and patterns not only from other southern centres, such as Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and Madras, but also from Cutch (today’s Kachchh or Kutch) to the north. Cutch was probably the most important…