Country Life
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In spite of Henry VIII’s best efforts in the Dissolution of the mid-16th century, there are still a huge number of habitable abbeys dotted around our countryside, and one is Beeleigh Abbey in Essex, until 2022 the home of the late Christopher Foyle, of Foyle’s Bookshop fame. The abbey is a very beautiful place, a…
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I do enjoy Country Life magazine, mainly for the beautiful old houses that come up for sale and are shown in detail. The actual history of the properties isn’t always mentioned, and so I try to find out more, in the hope of learning of some connection to “our” period. This time the 6-bedroom property…
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Sanda Island is in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, off the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, and it came to my attention when I read this article A Scottish island for sale with seals, seven houses, a lighthouse and its own pub – Country Life in Country Life. The article is beautifully illustrated, with an aerial video that sings…
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My father was a Dorset man—Bridport born and bred—and was always proud of his county. And rightly so. It is indeed breathtakingly beautiful and unspoiled. I remember as a child the excitement of changing trains at Maiden Newton, to take the branch line to Bridport. Leaving the rush and noise of the main tracks and…
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This astonishing door is said to be 1000 years old, belongs to Homestall Manor in West Sussex and came originally from a French monastery. Regarding the house itself: “….Originally a simple farmhouse, the oldest part of the property dates from 1350, when it was probably used as a hunting box by John of Gaunt,…
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Is it just me? Or does this house in Pirton, Worcestershire, which dates back to the Domesday Book and is described as Elizabethan, actually look merely Victorian/Edwardian? Ignore the black-and-white exterior, because even with the original more natural colours the house just does not look 16th/17th century, even though it is. To me it appears…
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Winchester College is a very prestigious establishment…not your average comprehensive, that’s for sure! If you go to this link you’ll learn of the very long and interesting history that comes with the college. And you’ll find a great many illustrations, including the below….which suggests to me that someone needs to get to work cleaning away…
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Otterburn Castle is in glorious Northumberland, see here, and dates back to the time of William the Bastard….er, Conqueror. All you need is £3 million. My quirky sense of humour had a turn when I read “The days of arrows shot from battlements and boiling oil poured over the walls are long gone, however….”…
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We all know about the Oxford/Cambridge boat race, but it certainly isn’t the first such race on the Thames. We also have the “Doggett’s Coat and Badge”, which still boasts an unbroken record since 1715. It takes place on 31 July every year. I confess I had never heard of this race, but if…
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