The name Lancelot 'Capability' Brown (1716–83) has become synonymous with the eighteenth-century English landscape garden. Ruthlessly efficient, he could stake out the …
Art Deco was arguably the twentieth century's most popular and memorable design movement, and has come to define the inter-war period with its clean sleek lines, streamlined …
Ned Lutyens was England's most prolific architect since Sir Christopher Wren, and his work still enhances our lives, from the fountains of Trafalgar Square and the Cenotaph in …
Although steel and glass dominate modern cities, Britain boasts innumerable beautiful examples of more traditional construction methods. Many date from the period before easy …
Prefabricated corrugated-iron buildings have been manufactured in Britain since the middle of the nineteenth century. Structures ranging from humble cottages to substantial …
London’s many cemeteries, churches and graveyards are the last resting places of a multitude of important people from many different walks of life. Politicians, writers and …
We agonise and argue when choosing it; we admire, compliment and criticise it (or keep politely quiet about it); and the rest of the time we don’t even notice it. Wallpaper has …
In churches and cathedrals across Britain, tucked away among ordinary items such as pews, screens and pulpits, sit a plethora of fascinating and unexpected objects. From …
Chinoiserie, a decorative style inspired by the art of the Far East, gripped Britain from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. Despite taking its name from the …
Gargoyles are an architectural feature designed to throw rainwater clear of the walls of a building. Widely used on medieval churches, these water spouts were often richly …
