Country Life UK

COUNTRY LIFE®MAY 13, 2015 EVERY WEEKFabulous Summer gardensChelsea Flower Show preview Timeless excellence: the world’s finest clock collectionKeep your head: the art of portrait sculpturePLUS33 pages of the best property for sale

From planters, fountains and statues to balustrades, porticos and follies– our stonework designs look fabulous when new and grow ever-moredistinguished as they age.Browse our unrivalled collection online or call to request a catalogue.haddonstone.com 01604 770711







Best in CLASS NEAR BEVERLEY, EAST YORKSHIRE Beverley: 3 miles, Hull: 10 miles, York: 29 milesImposing and historic country house, 5 reception rooms, 5 principal bedroom suites, staff fat, indoor swimming pool and leisure suite,games room, cinema room, coach house with estate offce, garaging, 3 bedroom cottage, delightful established gardens and grounds I about 8.5 acres I EPC = E Guide £4.9 million

Ben Pridden Camilla FosterSavills York Savills London Country Department01904 617821 020 3489 0608bpridden@savills.com cjfoster@savills.com savills.co.uk

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker struttandparker.com Essex, Margaretting“An attractive arable farm 25 minutes by train to the City.”

An attractive irrigated arable farm with About 680 acres(275 ha)pretty Georgian farmhouse. Farmhouse | 3 Reception rooms | Kitchen/Ingatestone 1 mile | Chelmsford 5 miles breakfast room | 4 Bedrooms | 2 BathroomsCentral London 25 miles 3 Cottages | Outbuildings | Farm buildings Attractive irrigated arable land | Woodland Matthew Sudlow Reservoir Country Department Available asa whole or in 2 lots 020 7629 7282 Tim Fagan Chelmsford Offce 01245 254 665

Private sales. For when discretion is the better part of value. Not every country house on the market appears in Country Life. In fact, 50% ofthe properties handled by our Country House team go on sale without advertising in the press or on websites (even ours). So if you’re looking to buy or sell andyou don’t want the world to know about it, that’s fine by us. Simply call to register your details and we’ll keep you firmly in the picture, strictly on the QT. 13 Hill Street, London W1J 5LQ James Mackenzie 020 7318 5190 | struttandparker.com

MAGNIFICENT FAMILY HOMEIN A DESIRABLE LOCATIONROEDEAN CRESCENT, SW15 PRICE ON APPLICATION, FREEHOLDThis magnifcent designer home is located on one of the premier roads in the area and backs onto Richmond Park, offering unsurpassed panoramicviews. With tasteful interiors and high specifcation fnish throughout, and located within close proximity of many excellent schools, this is a verypopular home for families.Seven bedrooms | fve bathrooms | three reception rooms | kitchen | cloak room | utility room | garage | garden | swimming pool and pool house | EPC rating D020 8255 0088 | Donovan Kellydkelly@winkworth.co.ukwinkworth.co.uk/barnes

carterjonas.co.ukNear york An exceptional residential estate York incorporating a substantiallySeaton Ross extended farmhouse, a converted 01904 558200 grain mill, stabling and extensive edward.stoyle@carterjonas.co.uk- Pocklington 6.5 miles garaging, in approximately 7.6acres.- York 15 miles London Country Department- Beverley 19 miles 3 reception rooms • 6 bed rooms 4 bathrooms • Stunning 69’ kitchen 020 7493 0676 Snooker room • Cinema room • Wine room londoncountry@carterjonas.co.uk Grain Mill - Kitchen, Sitting room, Bed room, Bathroom • EPC rating A Asking price £1,695,000

wiltshire A charming Grade II listed property Marlborough in the heart of the Savernake Estate.Near Marlborough 01672 514916 2 reception rooms • 5 bed rooms rory.oneill@carterjonas.co.uk– Great Bed wyn 3 miles 3 bathrooms • Kitchen/d ining room • Cellar– Marlborough 4 miles Stable block with garaging • Gardens, London Country Department– Hungerford 7 miles grounds & woodland • In all approximately 5.9 acres (2.39 hectares) 020 74930676 londoncountry@carterjonas.co.uk Guide price £1,850,000 JSA Knight Frank Hungerford 01488 682726 nick.loweth@knightfrank.co.uk















There comes a time when the convertible needs a space of its own.At Private Property Search, we don’t just seek out the finest properties on (or indeed off) themarket. We also seek out the particular features that make a property so desirable for you:that underground parking space. The in-and-out drive. The landmark view. And we’ll go onlooking until we find exactly what you’re looking for. Then negotiate a price you’ll like, too.London +44(0)207 318 4640 l Country +44(0)163 590 5240 l London@ppsearch.co.uk l privatepropertysearch.co.uk

Lot 1: The Old ManorLots 3 & 4: 1 & 2 Old Manor Lodge Cottages Lot 7: Manor House Farmhouse smithsgore.co.uk

Lot 2: Highfield Lot 2: HighfieldDorsington, WarwickshireAn exceptional portfolio of estate propertiesStratford-upon-Avon 7 miles • Chipping Campden 9 miles • central London 110 milesLot 1 Quintessential Elizabethan country house Lot 8 Range of period farm buildings for conversion to oneLot 2 A spectacular leisure complex with planning consent dwelling with recently built cottage for change of use to residential Lot 9 Development site for a magnificent country houseLots 3 & 4 Pair of charming semi-detached estate cottages Lot 10 Attractive detached village houseLots 5 & 6 Pair of beautifully presented semi-detached Lot 11 Development site for three new dwellings with village houses existing farmyardLot 7 Handsome eighteenth century former farmhouseFor Sale Freehold by Private Treaty as a whole or in up to 11 lots with further land availableStow-on-the-Wold office London officet 01451 832832 t 020 7409 9490 london@smithsgore.co.ukrobert.pritchard@smithsgore.co.uk smithsgore.co.uk

Chipping Campden, GloucestershireA fine country house influenced by the Cotswolds Arts & Crafts Movement with enchanting gardens, set in an elevated position withglorious viewsChipping Campden 1 mile • Moreton-in-Marsh 7 miles (mainline station to London Paddington in 90 minutes) • Stratford-upon-Avon 12 milesCheltenham 22 milesAccommodation comprising: three fine reception rooms, gentleman’s study, children’s playroom, kitchen/breakfast room, extensive cellarage,four bedroom suites, three further bedrooms and two family bathrooms. Self-contained one bedroom annexe. Garage and courtyard parking.Exceptional formal gardens with water and heated outdoor pool. Informal gardens and grounds comprising orchard, hard tennis court, maturecopse and permanent pasture meadow. Fine views over adjacent countryside towards Chipping Campden and St James’ Church.POA 87 4 11.23 acStow-on-the-Wold officet 01451 832832robert.pritchard@smithsgore.co.uk smithsgore.co.uk



LY f oR D C AY, BA hA M AS PA R A DI SE I SL A N D, BA hA M AS ALMA, QUÉBEC, CANADARefned 5 BR, 5.5 bath home with expansive GolfCourse views in the exclusive Ocean Club Estates. Elegant 5,000 sfvilla overlooks the golfcourse. Te home Exceptional property on a private island. Spacious rooms w/ open areas andgated community of Lyford Cay. Tis timeless house comes elegantly furnished ofers 4 BR and 4.5 baths. Owners enjoy club amenities, access to the beach, golf, plenty oflight to admire lac St-Jean from the comfort ofyour home. Te exterior tennis and the Atlantis Resort. WEB: 22451. $2,725,000 US.by acclaimed designer Amanda Lindroth. Vaulted ceilings, pool, 2-car garage. ofers many advantages such as private bridge access, seaplane and helicopter.$5,650,000 US. Nick.Damianos@SothebysRealty.com Samira.Coleby@SothebysRealty.com MLS: 15779047. $1,500,000 CAD. Martin Dostie. mdostie@sothebysrealty.caDamianos Sotheby’s International Realty Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty Sotheby’s International Realty Québec+1 242.376.1841 | SIRbahamas.com +1 242.376.6248 | SIRbahamas.com +1 418.956.8687 | sothebysrealty.caMUSkokA, oNtARIo, CANADA foUNtAIN hILLS, AZ PA R A DI SE VA L L E Y, A ZCanada’s premier summer playground. Best Muskoka development opportunity One-of-a-kind single-level Contemporary, situated atop of a rare 2+ acre Privately gated Paradise Valley transitional home ofers premier city lights,in decades. 3 prime south-facing building lots, $1,900,000 to $2,300,000 CDN.Enjoy a $6,000,000 cottage on build out for fraction of the cost. Start to build Ridgeline property. Surrounded by mountain, desert & city lights views from mountain views, extremely private side & back yard. Features a comfortable &your families dream. StoreyBadger@gmail.com every direction. Dramatic great room, stylish dining room & signature wine secluded master wing to include its own balcony, viewing Camelback Mountain’s room. Wrap-around deck, infnity pool, BBQ island. $2,795,000. Frank Aazami. Praying Monk & sweeping downtown Phoenix. $2,600,000. Frank Aazami.Sotheby’s International Realty Canada+1 705.706.4400 | sothebysrealty.ca Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty +1 480.266.0240 | CrestviewContemporary.com +1 480.266.0240 | ParadiseValleyCityLights.comSoNoMA, CA EASt hAMPtoN, NY NEw YoRk, NYApproximately 140 acre ranch. Approximately 11,800 sfhome with 6 BR, lake, Exquisite custom home featuring 7 en suite BR, 9 baths, double-height foyer, 181 East 65th Street. Nearly 2,300 sfofliving space and 4 BR and 3 baths,beach, sofball diamond, tennis court, gardens, pool and Manager's building, gambrel-style library and manicured grounds. Ed Hollander designed apartment 5A exudes luxury upon entering its 26’ long gallery outftted in landscaping, heated gunite pool, pool house, porch and gazebo. $9,950,000. gleaming herringbone hardwood fooring. WEB: 0010072. $6,750,000.15 minutes to Sonoma Plaza. 60 minutes to San Francisco. Price upon request. Dana Trotter. Dana.Trotter@sothebyshomes.com. Leslie S. Modell. leslies.modell@sothebyshomes.comDonald Van de Mark. donald.vandemark@sothebyshomes.com Sotheby’s International Realty Bridgehampton Brokerage Sotheby’s International Realty Eastside Manhattan BrokerageSotheby’s International Realty wine Country Brokerage +1 631.613.7346 | sothebyshomes.com/hamptons +1 212.606.7668 | sothebyshomes.com/nyc+1 707.337.2227 | SonomaRanchEstate.com© MMXV Sotheby’s International Realty Afliates LLC. a Realogy Company. All Rights Reserved. Barges, used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Afliates LLC. An Eq ual Opportunity Company. Eq ual Housing Opportunity. Each Ofce is Independently Owned and Operated.



St Mary’s House, Fineshade, Northamptonshire GUIDE PRICEStamford 7 miles, Oundle 9 Miles, Peterborough 17 Miles. (Trains to London Kings Cross from 50 minutes) £2,800,000(All distancesand timesare approximate) • 6 Reception RoomsA Superb Late 20th Century Lutyens Style House Set in 21 Acres with • 5 Bedrooms, all En SuiteOpen Views Across the Lake. • Tennis Court, SwimmingPool • Former Wash House withIn all approximately 21 Acres (8.49 Ha.) Planningfor Separate DwellingSTAMFORD • Landscaped Gardens, Lake,Tel: 01780 484520 Email : stamford@kingwest.co.uk Paddock Land and Barn www.kingwest.co.uk

T: 01833 637000 W W W. G S C G R AY S . C O. U KA WONDERFUL OPPORTUNIT Y TO ENHANCE A STUNNING TRADITIONAL LANDED ESTATENorthumberland Wooler 5 miles, Berwick upon Tweed 15 miles, Newcastle 50 miles, Edinburgh60 milesPrincipal House with 2 integral fats in Mature Park, Stable Block and Walled Garden • 2 Farmhouses GSC Grays Barnard Castle12 further cottages and fats • Arable and grassland let on predominantly short term tenancies Guy CoggraveWoodland and Moorland • Potential for High Quality and Diverse Shooting gsc@gscgrays.co.uk 01833 637000IN ALL ABOUT 2,273 ACRES Joint Agent: CKD Kennedy MacphersonFOR SALE AS A WHOLE OR IN UP TO 4 LOTS dick@ckd.co.ukW W W. G S C G R AY S . C O. U K

Show home launch weekend 22nd & 23rd May MARSWORTH WHARFA community of just 13 architecturally designed new homes in a wonderful canalside setting on the Buckinghamshire Hertfordshire borders. Tring station 10 minutes marsworthwharf.com(Euston 36 minutes), A41 by-pass 3.5 miles, London 34 miles.Book your viewing appointment through our sales agents A development by Backed by urban HM GovernmentRegister your interest now01442 824133tring@sequencehome.co.ukCOTSWOLDS SPECIAL ISSUE ON SALE 10TH JUNE, BOOKING DEADLINE 27TH MAYWith its tranquillity, history and rural elegance, • Circulation: 39,132the Cotswolds are one of the most sought after locations • Readership: 206,000 Global: 393,389in the country. • 89% of our readers buy COUNTRY LIFEFrom grand country estates to classic cottages, for the property sectionCountry Life presents the perfect opportunity to promote • Serious buyers: 1 in 3 readers are looking to buy a property within the nextyour property to our affluent readership. 12 monthsFor further information or to advertise your property in the Cotswolds edition • Liquid: 45% of Country Life readers will fund their purchase with cash • Country Life carries more property pages than any other national publication- testament to the audience we deliverplease speak to your estate agent or contact a member of the Country Life team:0203 148 4199 laura.harley@timeinc.comSOURCE ABC PRINT & DIGITAL JAN-DEC14,NRS/NMR JUL-JUN14,COUNTRY LIFE READER SURVEY

II, A AIA  – OAND EEIG BA –  BE, EODIE The bluebell wood Signed lower right: R. WhEELWRIGhT Oil on canvas:  ×  in / . × . cm EIBIED: London, Te Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition, , no.  Price: , To be included in our forthcoming exhibitionCelebrating nature from the th May to the th June at  New Bond Street33 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON W1S 2RS www.richardgreen.com On view for sale at TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7499 4738 147 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON W1S 2TS Email: paintings@richardgreen.com TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7493 3939

Suffolk House Antiques High Street, Yoxford, Suffolk IP17 3EP Tel: 01728 668122 Summer Selling Exhibition Saturday 30th May - Saturday 13th June 2015 Over eighty pieces of early furniture and works of art, many acquired from private collections.For online catalogue go to www.suffolk-house-antiques.co.uk and click on Summer Selling Exhibition 2015. A William and Mary olivewood oyster veneered chest of drawers.A large late Gothic carved oak kneeling angel. Northern France circa 1500.A small mid 18th century oak dresser base with original handles. An 18th century comb back chair with three inch thick burr ash seat together with a fruitwood and oak turner’s table of a similar date.A small George III West Country elm winged settle. An early 18th century Irish walnut oval stool with lion’s paw feet.For further information on the exhibition, please contact Andrew Singleton on 01728 668122 or by email; as@suffolk-house-antiques.co.uk or visit our website www.suffolk-house-antiques.co.uk

DAVID TRESSDavid Tress is an artist of unusual expressive vigour, best known for h is landscape paintings in mixed media on paper.He also works in acrylics and h as made many fully-realised drawings in graph ite and ch arcoal. Widely regarded asone of our most inventive Modern Romantic painters, Tress h as won an enviable reputation for quality and integrity. Green Hill (Wet Spring), 2014 mixed media on paper 66 x 82 cms 26 x 321⁄4 ins PembrokeshireExhibition and Book Launch Wednesday 13th May – Friday 5th June 2015245 x 290 mm, 232 £35 Andrew Lambirth ’s New Book – DAVID TRESS MESSUM’Spages with over 200full colour illustrations. Th is new monograph on th e artist David Tress (born 1955) www.messums.com is th e first account to deal with all aspects of h is career in 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG detail and to explore fully th e cultural context of h is th ough t Telephone: +44 (0)20 7437 5545 and ach ievement. Tress is a landscape painter working in the Romantic tradition whose primary subject is the Welsh countryside around h is h ome in Haverfordwest. He paints h is response to th e landscape h e knows and loves with an expressive power rare in contemporary art. His paintings combine formal assurance witha passionate response to subject: evocation of place is balanced by human involvement, just as realistic depiction is qualified by abstract mark-making.

Chorley’s Gloucestershire’s Fine Art AuctioneersFINE ART & ANTIQUES SPRING AUCTION Furniture, fne paintings, ceramics, silver & jewelleryManuscript music by composers Sir Charles Hubert Parry & Sir Herbert Brewer Peal of eight bells from Prinknash Abbey Residual contents of Plas Gwyn estate, AngleseyPortrait miniature in diamond / paste set Art Deco diamond clip Fine and rare Gothic Windsor chair Václav Špála, Entrance to Marseille Portframe £1,000-1,500 £2,500-3,000 £1,500-2,000 £30,000-50,000Peal of eight bells from Prinknash Abbey Victorian gothic mantel clock Victorian letter box Fine Satsuma vase, Meiji period £2,000-3,000 £400-500 £1,000-1,500Manuscript music by Sir Charles Hubert Meissen ceramic drake, c. 1870 Rare pair of Meissen vases Dean Wolstenholme, Four Hunting ScenesParry, Sir Herbert Brewer and other £3,000-4,000 £15,000-20,000 £15,000-20,000composersTuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th May 01452 344499View Days: Sunday 17th May 10am-4pm and Monday 18th May 9am-5pm enquiries@chorleys.com Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire GL4 8EUFully illustrated online catalogue and internet biddingEntries now invited for our July auction www.chorleys.com

MACCONNAL-MASON ESTABLISHED 1893ELIZABETH ADELA FORBES The Fairy Story14 & 17 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6DB Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 7693fineart@macconnal-mason.com www.macconnal-mason.com





Simon Gardenexhibition: 17 - 30 mayBrianSinfieldGallery 127 The Hill І Burford І Oxon OX18 4RE І 01993 824464 І gallery@briansinfeld.com І www.briansinfeld.com Catalogue available on request ;     ��� ������� ������� �������� �� ������� ����� ������ ��� ��� ����������� ������ ���������� �������� ������������� ��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ��� �������� ������ ������� �� ���� ���� �������� ��� ��� ���� �� ������������ ������� ����� ��� ���������� �� ����� ���� ��� ��� ��� �������� ��� ������� �� ��� �������� ���������



Te limite d e dition Navigator with 24 carat gold plate d ‘grasshoppe r’ move me nt and Chinoise rie artwork de picting the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, thetea clipper Cutty sark and HMS Beaglearriving at theGalapagos Islands with Charles Darwin in the1830s. A ftting tributeto clockmaker John Harrison (1693 - 1776) who madetheworld’s frst marinechronometer. Width 13½” (34.5cm) x Depth 10” (25.5cm) x Height 21” (53.5cm) Only 50 madeworldwide £12,950 One of six beautifully impr essive timepieces now in stock at our London showr oomTHIRD GENERATION CLASSICAL FURNITURE SPECIALIST WITH 1,600 DESIGNS IN STOCKComplimentary transport available to our Vie w furniture in situ prior to purchase ,showrooms from London airports, hotels, de live re d by our e xpe rie nce d te am on our re side nce s and ne arby rail stations Home Approval Service. DORSET LONDON OXFORDSHIREYork House. 61-63 Leigh Road 608 King’s Road Kingston House . High Street Wimborne . BH21 1AE London . SW6 2DX Nettlebed . RG9 5DD Telephone 01202 884613 Telephone 020 7610 9597 Telephone 01491 641115wimborne@brightsofnettlebed.co.uk kingsroad@brightsofnettlebed.co.uk nettlebed@brightsofnettlebed.co.uk Showrooms ope n Tue sday to Saturday BRIGHTSOFNETTLEBED.CO.UK

COUNTRY LIFE® VOL CCIX NO 20, maY 13, 2015 Miss Felicity Furness Felicity, only daughter of Professor and Mrs Peter Furness of The Old Vicarage, Whissendine, Rutland, is engaged to be married to Jonathan Latcham, only son of Mr and Mrs Kevin Latcham of Furzefield House, Speldhurst, Kent. They will be married at St Andrew’s Church, Whissendine, this month. Photographed at the Garden Museum, London SE1, by Anya Campbell

Contents May 13, 2015Marwood Hill Gardens, Devon, Ben A. Pruchniel/Getty Imagesphotographed by Clive Nichols Visual Arts The Red Arrows fly high above the assembled veterans on Horse Guards Parade, last Sunday, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of VE day ‘The restoration is a triumph This week Every week of scholarship and detective 50 How to win the musical lottery 42 Town & Country work’ Pianist Peter Donohoe talks to Pippa Cuckson about judging Bagot goats not so gruff any more The magnificent dilemmas and Russian influences Hanover Tompion, 46 Notebook 54 Bobby Dundas’s favourite painting page 96 48 Letters The polo player chooses a Monet that always gives him Chelsea Flower Show ‘an immediate sense of calm and peacefulness’ 49 Agromenes‘The emerging result is 56 Parish Church Treasures 52 My Weekan accidental Arcadia’ John Goodall investigates the choir stalls at the Church Griff Rhys Jones discovers a competi- After 11 years, Dan Pearson of St Mary the Virgin, Astley, Warwickshire tive streak in the Caribbean returns to the show with 42 Re-creating childhood 74 In The Garden a spectacular show garden, page 76 A set of watercolour views has helped reconstruct the Alan Titchmarsh couldn’t have a garden nursey rooms used in the 1830s and 1840s at Audley End without peonies Portrait sculptors in Essex, says Tom Boggis 102 Property Market‘An old miner climbed 66 Lighting the touchpaper of Nature on the Penny Churchill takes a closer look plinth to At Rockcliffe in Gloucestershire, Emma Kewswick has at two very unusual estates check spent 25 years creating and refining the gardens of her family’s home. Tania Compton explores 104 Property News the lamp switch’ 76 Cover story The week that Chelsea rocks Arabella Youens steps into fantasy treehouses Detail is Remarkable stonework from Chatsworth and very English everything, plantsmanship bring a welcome shift of emphasis to the 116 Art Market show this year, reveals Mark Griffiths page 44 A new book charting the long history 82 A taste for origami of Wartski is a joy to Huon Mallalieu Jackie Hobbs meets the holder of the National Collection 112 Performing Arts of Iris ensata, at Marwood Hill Gardens in Devon Geoffrey Smith looks forward to the 88 For Tsar and Country! thrilling summer music season Mark Goodman tells the extraordinary story of an Old 108 Exhibition Etonian who fought with the Imperial Russian Army George Plumptre marvels at the Royal 90 Cover story How to keep your head Collection’s gardening artworks The complex multi-dimensional art of portrait sculpture is 118 Books alive and well, finds Clive Aslet, as he visits the studios of three leading exponents A Natural History of English Gardening 96 Cover story Collecting time 122 Bridge and Crossword Huon Mallalieu celebrates one of the greatest private 123 Classified Advertisements collections of clocks and watches from the golden age of British clock-making, assembled by the late Tom Scott 132 Spectator 100 A taste of spring Lucy Baring always seems to miss seeing wildlife The freshest of ingredients can add something special and unexpected to a simple seasonal lunch, advises 132 Tottering-by-Gently Simon Hopkinson www.countrylife.co.uk

Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU. Telephone 020 3148 4444 www.countrylife.co.ukA green vision for LondonT HE Chelsea Flower Show has Although London, birthplace of modern embarrassingly undercultivated and uncivil- never had less in common with horticulture, grows ever more barren, ised—notably, the brutal South Bank. London’s green spaces (page other great cities such as Paris and New 76). The Royal Botanic Gardens, York are sprouting groves, shrubberies The proposed Thames Garden Bridge isKew is cutting staff and spending, unable and herbaceous borders. Funded by public certainly no answer to the problem. Thisto launch initiatives of national and global and private money, these plantings are not foolish folly would spoil the finest vista ofimportance and unlikely to re-establish humdrum-municipal; they’re ambitious St Paul’s and its exposure and artificialityitself as Britain’s greatest garden and the gardening at its best. Nor are they all asso- would not be conducive to good sustain-world’s premier plant-science institution. ciated with major construction develop- able horticulture. But what also ought toThe cause is a substantial reduction in ments. Many enhance existing green spaces; be confirming this vanity project asGovernment funding. others conjure Eden anew in long-built-up a bridge too far is its price tag. Its expense places. Despite initial fears of vandalism, to the public alone—conservatively esti- The Royal Parks have suffered similarly. people treat this high-end horticulture mated at £30 million—could alleviateValiantly, they maintain the horticultural with respect, taking pride and pleasure in Kew’s troubles and make a paradise of theexcellence that’s one of their main attractions, its beauty and finding usefulness in its South Bank. The total cost of the bridge’sbut for how much longer? The palpable amenity. By comparison, some of London’s construction (never mind its future upkeep)value of their tranquility is increasingly being most prominent and promising sites are could, in the right hands, garden largesacrificed on the altar of noisy, spoon-fed tracts of London.entertainments. Then there’s the plight of COUNTRY LIFELondon’s council-controlled landscapes. is delighted As a classicist, London’s Mayor, BorisAdmittedly, some squares have been to have been Johnson, knows the value of bread andreplanted and improved, but those are shortlisted circuses. But he should also know thathard-won rarities. More common is the for Cover some matters are of such moment that theyrise of dreary schemes intended to mini- of the Year warrant Augustus’s vision and Maecenas’smise maintenance or to draw income with in the 2015 taste rather than mere sensation and spec-distractions far from greenery’s. PPA Awards. tacle. The greening of the capital is one such Vote for our matter. It’s time to appoint the landscape Take Battersea Park, once the canvas cover here: equivalent of Sir Christopher Wren and,for the leading 20th-century garden des- with him or her, a clutch of Britain’s bestigner Russell Page, now to sacrifice its www.ppa.co.uk/awards growers and garden designers to beautifygrass, planted areas and public access to the metropolis in ways diverse, perennialmake room for a race-car circuit. and affordable. Let Flora reign, not folly. PPA Specialist Consumer Magazine of the Year 2014/15 British Society of Magazine Editors Innovation of the Year 2014/15Editor Mark Hedges Art Editor Phil Crewdson 84427 Managing Director Paul Williams Brand Manager Deputy Art Editor Heather Clark 84422 Publishing Director Jean Christie 84300 KateBarnfield 82622Editor’s PA Rosie Paterson 84428 Designer Emma McCall 84423 Business Development ManagerTelephone numbers are prefixed by 020–314 Freelance Designer Grace Cullen Group Property Ad Manager KayWood 82652;LindseyWebster 82690Emails are name.surname@timeinc.com Picture Editor Vicky Wilkes 84434 JohnGaylard 84201 Head of LuxuryEditorial Enquiries 84444 Chief Sub-EditorJane Watkins 84426 Deputy Property Ad Manager YasminSungur 82663Subscription Enquiries 0330 333 4555 Deputy Chief Sub-Editor LauraHarley 84199 Classified Sales CountryJohanneCalnan 84208; DanielCash 82539;KateMcArdle82557DeputyEditor/Travel Editor Rupert Uloth 84431 Annunciata Walton 84424 NickPoulton 84232;LucyHall 84206 Advertising and Classified ProductionManaging Editor Kate Green 84441 Sub-Editor Victoria Marston 84425 International Danielle Walden 84209 StephenTurner 82681Architectural Editor John Goodall 84439 Photographic Library Manager InsertsMonaAmarasakera 83710Gardens Editor Kathryn Bradley-Hole 84433 Antiques & Fine Arts Manager Advertorials and sponsorshipFine Arts & Books Editor Mary Miers 84438 Justin Hobson 84474 Jonathan Hearn 84461 CarlyWright 82629Property Editor Arabella Youens 84432 Property Correspondent Penny ChurchillActing Features Editor Paula Lester 84446 Acting Managing Editor Countrylife.co.uk Head of Market: Country & Shooting Head of Marketing Claire Thompson 84301Deputy Features Editor Katy Birchall 84436 RosemaryArcher 82610Luxury Editor Hetty Chidwick 84430 Agnes Stamp 84429 USRepresentative KateBuckley001845516Editorial Assistant Geoff Heath-Taylor 84444 Acting PR Manager Victoria Higham 85401 4533 ; buckley@buckleypell.com Editor-at-Large Clive Asletwww.countrylife.co.uk Country Life, May 13, 2015 41

Town & Country Edited by Kate Green RBST’s gene bank; already, she’s organised small herds to clear a Suffolk Bagot goats Wildlife Trust site and a private are no longer woodland area in the Brecon Beacons. gruff The Bagot has never been developedSteve Taylor ARPS/Alamy; Chris Robbins/Alamy; Richard Wayman/Alamy; Royal Collection Trust/Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2015; 2015 Anderson & Low T HE Bagot goat, a mag- Lucy White, a legal secretary for milk or meat production—it’s mostly nificent black-and-white and rare-breeds enthusiast from been a decorative parkland animal and beast with a distinguished Norfolk, has set up Browsing males are usually castrated to be pets— history, is in danger of Bagots (http://browsingbagots. but it’s hardy and agile and does know becoming extinct—the Rare Breeds co.uk), which aims to ensure how to munch brambles on steep, Survival Trust (RBST) classifies it as the goat’s future through its impenetrable scrubland. ‘We love them,’ ‘endangered’ (fewer than 200 breeding potential for conservation says Mrs White, who owns three adult females)—having been passed over grazing—the clearing of the goats and two kids. ‘They’re quite for more commercially viable breeds. scrub and coarse grass which, wild, like deer, so when you do build However, the Bagot, which has its own if unchecked, will swamp lush a relationship with them, it’s special.’ society (www.bagotgoats.co.uk) with, green grass, herbs and wild until her death in 2014, Lady Nancy flowers. Her idea is to place ‘Conservation Bagot as its president, is also fortunate ‘bachelor herds’ of entire males to have a dedicated champion who with landowners and conser- grazing is a useful is energetically promoting the goat’s vation bodies so that bloodlines weapon in the fight unfussy attitude to eating scrub. can be continued for use in the to save rare breeds’Her main challenge is logistics— 42 Country Life, May 13, 2015 the cost of transport and the long distances between owners—but she reports: ‘Breeders are starting not to castrate the males now that there is this use for them, so I hope this might improve the breed’s status.’ The distinctive, long-haired, long- horned Bagot may have arrived in Britain in the 14th century, possibly coming from Portugal during the Crusades with John of Gaunt’s return- ing army. Another theory is that Richard II gave a herd to Sir John Bagot as reward for providing good sport in the hunting field; the breed was first recorded at his Staffordshire estate, in 1389, and the goats feature in the family’s coat of arms. Conservation grazing is becoming a useful weapon in the fight to save rare-breed domestic animals. Exmoor ponies, which don’t mind eating gorse and rough grass, can be found further afield, grazing the Sussex High Weald and Yorkshire’s Howardian Hills, and the National Trust’s Welsh black and belted Galloway cattle are being used to improve limestone grassland in the Cotswolds. Scrubbing up well: bagot goats (top) and belted Galloway cattle (left) have been given a new purpose grazing on scrubland and limestone grassland www.countrylife.co.uk

For all the latest news, visit countrylife.co.ukNo sour grapes here: the Parva Farm Vineyard in Monmouthshire is now supplying M&S Good week forWelsh wine toasts success Bored parishionersA WeLsh vineyard is celebrating its wine from their farm overlooking the Wye Valley and Stand-up comic and vicar’s son being the first from the principality to grace lay claim to 30-year-old Bacchus vines (01291 Bentley Browning has offered tothe shelves at Marks & spencer (M&s). After 689636; www.parvafarm.com). help coach clergy to liven up theirnearly 20 years of selling wine locally and in the sermonsfarm shop, Parva Farm Vineyard in Tintern, They previously had to turn down the oppor-Monmouthshire, has placed 480 bottles of its tunity to supply Waitrose due to concerns about Treasure-hunters2013 Bacchus white wine with the retailer. ‘M&s not having enough grapes, but recent good crops A bar of solid silver weighingapproached us as it wanted to sell local wine have helped them meet demand. ‘happily, 2013 more than 100lb, thought to havein its Welsh supermarkets and we thought it was and 2014 have both been excellent years,’ been the property of infamousa brilliant opportunity,’ explains Judith Dudley, enthuses Mrs Dudley. ‘hopefully, we will also Scottish pirate William Kidd, haswho co-owns the farm with her husband, Colin. be able to supply M&s with our 2014 vintage been found off the coast of when it’s ready.’ Tintern Parva Bacchus costs Madagascar The Dudleys also produce red, rosé and £13 a bottle and is available online (www.sparkling wines, as well as meads and honey, marksandspencer.com). Katy Birchall Racing pigeons Twenty-four racing pigeons that were stolen from their loft in Aberdeen have been returned to their owner Bad week for Chihuahuas Owners of the petite pooches are being warned to be vigilant after a Chihuahua puppy was killed by seagulls while playing in a garden in Devon Nature knowledge A new study has found that fewer than 58% of 25 to 30 year olds know that a vixen is a female fox Tourists An American tourist has been ticked off by police after flying a drone too close to the walls of Windsor Castle when The Queen was in residenceChina fit for Images froma princess The Queen’s back gardenCollectors ofroyal memo- I n 2011, photographers Jonathanrabilia will Anderson and edwin Lowbe pleased approached simon Brooks-Ward,to hear thatthe Royal director of the Royal Windsor horseCollection Trusthas released a range of official china- show, about making a book on theware to celebrate the birth on May 2of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. equestrian extravaganza that startedThe handmade china is embellishedwith a carousel of the lion and unicorn in 1944 and is held on The Queen’sfrom the Royal Arms surrounding thecoronet of The Duke and Duchess of land in the shadow of Windsor Castle Bring in the heavy artillery: The King’s Troop at WindsorCambridge and oak leaves from theMiddleton family’s coat of arms. in Berkshire. Engraved ‘Celebrating our new royal The result is The Queen’s Backyard, which will be published next month (Dewi Lewis Pub-baby’, the collection comprises a coffeemug, pillbox, tankard and plate, all gilded lishing, £30). The 100 or so colour plates reflect what goes on ‘front of house’—pigtailed girlswith 22-carat gold. Prices start at £19.95(www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk). KB on show ponies, The Queen presenting rosettes, floodlit military tattoos—as well as backstage: bowler-hatted stewards on bicycles, soldiers reading the paper. The five-day show starts today, with free admission, and runs until May 17, with adult admission for the other days starting at £16 (01753 860633; www.rwhs.co.uk). ➢www.countrylife.co.uk Country Life, May 13, 2015 43

Town & CountryAppeal for ClandonT he National Trust has begun an appeal or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk. for its 18th-century Palladian master- The last disaster on a similar scale waspiece Clandon Park in Surrey, which hasbeen reduced to a shell by fire. Some paint- the fire that destroyed Uppark on the Southings, furniture and silver were saved and, Downs in 1989; a remarkable conservationfortunately, the hangings for the state bed programme has restored it to glory, buthad recently been restored and were still it’s not known yet whether a similar exercisepacked up, but the Trust is anxiously wait- can make Clandon rise from the ashes.ing to learn the full scale of the loss and isasking the public not to visit at the moment. Surveying the damage: the NationalTo donate, telephone 0344 800 1895 Trust is yet to learn the full scale of the loss at Clandon Park in Surrey Gallery pushes the envelope outSpring is here! Hound puppies at the Belvoir hunt kennels pour out to T he house of Illustration, the London gallery formedgambol on the grass. The hunting fraternity will be wondering if repeal in 2014 to provide a home for the art of illustration,of the ban will be back on the agenda post-election is celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Penny Black. Until the stamp’s advent, postal charges were paid by the recipient, rather than the sender. The exhibition, in col- laboration with the hereford College of Arts, features 138 decorated envelopes (above) from around the world. ‘Push- ing the envelope’ runs until May 16 at the house of Illus- tration, 2, Granary Square, N1 (www.houseofillustration. co.uk) before moving to the hay Festival (May 21–31).44 Country Life, May 13, 2015 www.countrylife.co.uk

Woodcock (oil on paper, 9¼in by 12in, £2,950) by Rodger McPhail Country Mouse (b.1953), which can be seen in his solo exhibition at the Rountree Tryon Galleries, 7, Bury Street, London SW1 (until May 29, 020–7839 8083; www. The rural majority rountreetryon.com). Mr McPhail is, for many people, the heir to Thorburn as far as gamebirds are concerned and the exhibition contains many S INCE the astonishing results of last exquisite examples, as well as delightful depictions of songbirds. week’s election, Nicola Sturgeon and her gang are already demanding more for Dylan Thomas has his day Scotland. However, a far greater ‘silent’ majority won the election. According to government figures,National Trust Images; Trevor Meeks; Stephen Axelsen; Nora Summers/Dylans Bookstore; Dreamstime.com W ELSH writers and in Carmarthenshire by 5.3 million people live in Scotland whereas artists have con- pony and trap, and his 9.3 million people live in rural areas of England. tributed to a book granddaughter What is quite clear is that it was the rural popu- celebrating the poet Hannah Ellis recalls lation of Britain that, more than any other group, Dylan Thomas, who life in Laugharne, voted the Tories to victory and a precious majority. died 101 years ago. where Thomas These rural voters will not only watch carefully and his wife, that the ruling party’s manifesto promises on hunt- Griff Rhys Jones Caitlin, lived in ing, superfast broadband, rail fares, rural post offices, (My Week, page 52) a boathouse. bovine TB, flood defences and local controls on writes on Thomas’s A Dylan Odyssey planning are adhered to, but will also, in the manner London days, in (£20) is published by of the SNP’s calls for more for Scotland, expect and Fitzrovia, Gillian demand more for rural Britain. This magazine will Clarke, the National Poet Graffeg tomorrow (May 14) seek to ensure that more is done on litter, affordable of Wales, travels around Dylan and Caitlin on the first official housing and safeguarding our farming industry. his childhood haunts with baby Aeronwy International Dylan Day. There is more research needed on bees and GM crops, more protection required for the green belt Capture the essence of summer and our historic houses and more must be done to promote rural tourism, just for a start. David E ASTON WALLED GARDENS, the Cameron should remember that, although Scotland Lincolnshire garden restored by didn’t vote for him, the countryside did. His majority COUNTRY LIFE contributor Ursula Cholmeley must be used to improve rural Britain. MH (COUNTRY LIFE, March 18), and rural property consultant Smiths Gore have Town Mouse launched a photography competition on the theme of summer gardens. On the buses The overall winner will receive £500 I T was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon and work by category winners, who will that, at St Paul’s, we decided to stay on the each receive a David Austin rose, and surface, so we jumped onto a bus. It was a Route- runners-up will feature in an exhibition during Snowdrop Week at the gardens master, one of those practically indestructible vehicles in 2016. The categories are sweet peas and roses, summer life, Easton Walled developed in the late 1940s—a classic of British Gardens, garden landscape, countryside at work and under 18. Email photographs engineering. I sometimes caught one to school, judging to photos@eastonwalledgardens.co.uk by September 30. the exact spot at which to jump off the open platform at the back to a nicety (although occasionally being www.countrylife.co.uk ignominiously sprawled on the ground, pencils and books spraying across the pavement, when I got it wrong). I’d expected a rush of nostalgia. Instead, I was only conscious of pokiness and discomfort. We’ve got used to the smooth, ergonomic Boris buses that our Mayor-cum-new MP introduced as a kind of homage to the traditional double decker. As it happens, Making by Thomas Heatherwick, the bus’s designer, fell through our letterbox the other day. Not literally; it wouldn’t have gone through and, if it had, it would have made a hole in the floor. This celebration of the Heatherwick Studio is as heavy as Ed Miliband’s unfortunate pledge stone, although richer in ideas. Bring on the Garden Bridge, I say. As well as the magic of providing a garden over the Thames, it will siphon the crowds that fill Trafalgar Square along to the South Bank, in the process revitalising that ancient but dowdy thoroughfare, the Strand. CA Country Life, May 13, 2015 45

Town & Country Notebook Quiz of the week The nature of things wards through the 20th century and are now commonplace everywhere in Europe, their1) Which celebrated children’s novel Collared dove ability to live with Man having given thembegins: ‘These two very old people are a foothold in towns and cities. Pair bonds arethe father and mother of Mr Bucket’? E VEN the best plans of the dramatist lasting and several broods may be raised in2) What do the letters CG denote can unravel when the action ventures a favourable season, from (usually) two eggson an Ordnance Survey map? outdoors. Thus, after all the BBC’s efforts per clutch. KBH3) What two words are typically used in creating candlelit chiaroscuro inin the construction of a simile? Wolf Hall, we had Henry VIII strolling Illustration by Bill Donohoe4) According to legend, Queen Boudica outside beside billowing clouds of wis-is said to be buried under a platform teria (unknown here before 1816). Plantsof which London train station? often scupper a period drama’s ‘authen-5) The song ‘Sing a song of sixpence,/ ticity’ and, sometimes, so do birds;A pocket full of rye,/Four and twenty hence, the soft croonings of the col-blackbirds,/Baked in a pie’ was used lared dove (a latecomer, only arrivingas a coded message to recruit crew- here in the 1950s) were unexpectedmembers for which 18th-century pirate? in 1910s- and 1920s-set Downton Abbey. 100 years ago in This charming little dove’s drowsy song is unmistakeable: a languorous monotone COUNTRY LIFE of just three syllables, with the last being rather abrupt. ‘I lurrrve you… I lurrrve May 15, 1915 you… I lurrrve you…’ he seems to chant through the warming months, although theT HE way to shorten the war is sudden appearance of a sparrowhawk circling to pour on to the Continent can bring him to wisely abrupt silence. Both an abundance of soldiers and an sexes look similar and their plumage is Armani abundance of munitions. In the plain, being all-over shades of grey-beige, relieved meantime agriculture must do the by the eponymous black-and-white collar. best it can, and a duty lies upon the women to come forward with Hailing from the Levant and nearby states, their help. Not that Lady London- collared doves spread westwards and north- derry would impose this burden upon every member of her sex. Time to buy The Ceilidh Some are physically unfit to under- Fox-terrier- take it; to others it is naturally fabric picture, Place, Ullapool, repugnant; and, again, there are many women who are fitted for from £17, Pink Ross-shire farm work. The hours of labour Hannah (01454 are not too long for them, and 614388; www. Britain’s Quietly set a block we know on the best evidence pinkhannah.co.uk) that women farm servants can best or so away from the be, and are, healthy and efficient. Pact coffee, pubs interesting water- front of this beau- Words of the week £6.95 (special offer for COUNTRY tifully placed West Ergophobia (Noun) LIFE readers: £1 for the first bag, Highlands fishing and ferry harbour, An abnormal fear of work quote ‘country- this quirky place holds great appeal Hebetude (Noun) life15’), Pact (www.pactcoffee. for anyone who values individuality The state of being dull or lethargic com) Blenheim more highly than punctilious mod Bouquet Inspissate (Verb) soap, £23 for cons. Serving food virtually all day To thicken a box of three, from breakfast on, it’s a bar, cafe,1) 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' 2) Cattle Penhaligon’s restaurant, interesting bookshop,grid 3) Like and as 4) KingÕs Cross 5) Blackbeard (0800 716 art gallery and music place all rolled 108; www. into one. The fish and shellfish are penhaligons. really fresh and coffee and cakes com) are also justly popular here; the bar is very well stocked, not just with dozens of whiskies, but also with two or three dozen wines by the glass. The bedrooms—dogs allowed—are an appealing throwback to warm- hearted country hotels of yesteryear and the upstairs residents’ lounge (with honesty bar) is charming. Frequent good live music. (01854 612103; www.theceilidhplace.com) Alisdair Aird is co-editor of ÔThe Good Pub Guide 2015Õ, out now from Ebury (£15.99)46 Country Life, May 13, 2015 www.countrylife.co.uk

Unmissable May 13–17 ‘Vanishing Garden Until May 20 What to drink this week events Lines’, Art Bermondsey, May 16 The Society of First Floor, 183–185, Ber- Broadwoodside, Wood Engravers’ Loire redsHorse trials mondsey Street, London Gifford, East Lothian, 77th annual exhib-May 15–17 Dodson SE1. Artist Fred Ingrams Scotland. This ancient ition, Kevis House For raspberry-& Horrell Chatsworth draws on his deep pas- setting, rescued from Gallery, Petworth, West scented, youngInternational Horse sion for the landscapes dereliction, houses one Sussex. Showcasing red wines, lookTrials, Derbyshire. Three of the East Anglian Fens, of Scotland’s finest con- a mixture of wood eng- to the Loire,days of thrilling equestrian where straight lines dis- temporary gardens. Open ravings, woodcuts andsport, combined with enter- appear into the horizon from 2pm to 6pm, entry linocuts (www.kevis says Harrytainment for all the family (right, 07768 890111; £5, children free (www. house.com) Eyresin the beautiful surround- www.fredingrams.com) broadwoodside.co.uk)ings of Chatsworth House As the days get warmer, the desire(www.chatsworth.org) Polo Blagdon, Seaton for hearty reds gives way to a yen for May 16 St Regis Inter- Burn, Northumber- something lighter, fresher and moreExhibition national Cup, Cowdray land NE13 6DE lively. This can be perfectly satisfiedUntil September 6 Park Polo Club, West by the deliciously sappy red wines‘Artist Rooms: Jeff Sussex. Now in its eighth May 17, 1pm–4.30pm. £4, children free. of the Loire valley, mainly made fromKoons’, Norwich Castle year, this match, which A rare opportunity to visit a jewel of the North. The the Cabernet Franc grape. TheyMuseum & Art Gallery. will see England take on Ridley family has given the garden an outstanding are some of France’s—and theThe only chance to see The Americas, is the first collection of trees, which will be at their best with fresh world’s—most undervalued.the influential and contro- international of the 2015 new foliage. A little-known contribution in the shapeversial American artist’s UK polo season. Front- of a formal water garden and other architectural Why you should be drinking themwork in the UK in 2015 row parking positions features comes from Sir Edwin Lutyens, Cabernet Franc is very seldom more(01603 493625; www. and entry tickets avail- whose daughter Ursula was the present than a junior partner in Bordeaux,museums.norfolk.gov.uk) able in advance, entry Lord Ridley’s grandmother (www.ngs.org.uk) but it comes into its own around the on the day is £15 with historic château-towns of Saumur, under-12s free (01730 Chinon and Bourgueil in the central 813257; www.cowdray Loire valley, making wines that smell polo.co.uk) of raspberries and what the French call sous-bois, the early-summer Theatre woodland undergrowth. They’re Until June 14 best drunk relatively young. Other Peter Pan, Regent’s Loire reds are made from Pinot Park Open Air Theatre, Noir and Gamay. London NW1. The 2015 season kicks off with What to drink J. M. Barrie’s original Saumur is better known for spark- stage play. Other upcom- ling than still wine, but the best ing shows include Chek- reds are classic Cabernet Franc. hov's The Seagull, Seven Château Fouquet 2013 (below, Brides for Seven Brothers £12.75; www.yapp.co.uk), from and William Golding's Domaine Filliatreau, has an int- Lord of the Flies (0844 riguing bouquet, more mint and 826 4242; http://open blackcurrant leaves than black- airtheatre.com) currant, then there’s the charac- teristic Cabernet Franc dustiness HE plain, simple scone (and This fierce rivalry reignited (a positive note for me) on the cakes) in 2011 when a Devon dairy palate. Not all Loire reds areT is one of the more con- launched a campaign to apply made from Cabernet Franc; for Protected Designation of FPG/Staff/Getty Images; Neydstock/Dreamstime.com; Dreamstime.com Menetou Salon 2014 DomaineBunstroversial members of the Origin status for the name Jean Teiller (£13.95; www.yapp. co.uk) is a relatively rare exampleEnglish bun brigade—start- of Loire Pinot Noir, with truffle notes and vigorous sappiness.of Britaining with the pronunciation of The best Loire red for me is Cabernet Franc-based Chinon.its name. Whether it rhymes Scone ‘Devon cream tea’ on the basis Chinon L’Arpenty 2013 (£13.50;with ‘cone’ or ‘gone’ is a dis- that the cream should come www.yapp.co.uk), from an excellent vintage for Loirepute that has rumbled on for from Devon—something reds, has a vivid purplish colour, a superb, dramaticyears, with seemingly no right that infuriated Cornish nose of raspberries and mint, velvety texture on the palate.or wrong answer. Similarly foodies. It was turned down.questionable is how to dress No one quite knows who firstit for a cream tea. In Devon, invented the scone. Originally, theyit’s customary to put cream were made with oats, shaped intoon first and the jam on top, a large round, scored into fourbut this is fiercely con- or six triangles and griddle-tested by the Cornish, baked over an open fire. Today,who insist it should be they are round and made with flour,done the other way sugar, baking powder, butter, milkaround. ‘We are proud and eggs, and baked in the oven. A scone mayof our cream in Cornwall, so why hide it include raisins, currants or even cheese, but,under the jam?’ states the Cornish cream- more often than not, it is plain. Ellie Hughesmaker Rodda’s. Illustration by Fiona Osbaldstonewww.countrylife.co.uk Country Life, May 13, 2015 47

Letters to the Editor Mark HedgesLetter of the week Not a yolking matterLand to write home about A LMOST exactly 60 years ago, I was the navigating officer and senior watchkeeper of the destroyer HMS Consort. We were alongside in OkinawaY OUR magazine champions the beauty and importance and my captain, one Snowy Eyre, returned from a heavy lunchtime session of the British countryside in all its varied and manifest at the US Navy O Club and asked his steward what was for lunch. ‘Bakedforms, but how protected is it? We have ANOBs and SSSIs, beans, sir,’ was the reply. ‘First lieutenant’s wife ate your Scotch egg.’but there are other areas that are paramount to our cultureand heritage. I refer to countryside that has inspired great I was sent for, as I was the first lieutenant, and we were informedliterature and artistry. that my wife was forthwith banned from setting foot onboard ever again. This ban was enforced for the ‘I was brought up as a boy in one of the Home Counties remaining months of deployment. Snowy neverin a district which I still think the loveliest in England,’ wrote yolked about these matters.E. M. Forster (above right) about the countryside of his child- David Aldrich, Commander Royal Navy, Somersethood, near Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which inspired HowardsEnd. But, for years, it has been threatened with new housing. Pressed flowers make fine memories Already, two literary landscapes have fallen to or been app- I ENJOYED greatly your illustrated piece on wild- roved for the bulldozer—the site of Watership Down by flowers (April 15), not least because it reminded me of the pressed-flower collection I made as a young Richard Adams at Sandleford Warren, near Newbury, child in the mid 1950s. I still have it: more than 80 Berkshire, and land close to Anne Hathaway’s pressed wildflowers gathered, I think, with my mother cottage at Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon. in Kent and with my rather wobbly handwritten identi- As a group of literary-landscape supporters, The fications. I’m not at all sure that every flower still Friends of the Forster Country (www.forstercountry. exists, which makes me wonder if the collection can org.uk) has identified some 30 similar areas of country- be put to any practical use. Any ideas? Dr Catherine M. S. Alexander, Warwickshire side that might be at risk: Wessex (Thomas Hardy),Hampshire (Jane Austen), Cornwall (Daphne du Maurier), South Fifty years of COUNTRY LIFE: the fullness of timeTyneside (above left, Catherine Cookson), Medway (CharlesDickens), Sussex (Virginia Woolf) and Suffolk (John Con- O N the day of my birth, particularly exercisedstable), to name a few. In addition, many historic battlefields my parents, with great your Leader writer, asare also exposed, without legal protection from development. foresight, kept aside for did the parlous state me a copy of COUNTRY LIFE of the road network, Now that Octavia Hill’s greenbelt is threatened like never that was published on that illustrated by the con-before, perhaps the time has come to create a new form very same date. Therefore, gestion encountered onof protection, such as ‘Historic And Literary LandscapeS’ it will be with particular a journey north. Housing(HALLS), enshrined and protected by law for future gene- interest that I will read issues are also broughtrations to enjoy. To quote Forster again, ‘only connect’ and we the upcoming May 13 edi- up in an article about thecould permanently protect ‘the untouched country’. tion to compare it with the attractions of investingStephen Pollock-Hill, Vice-Chairman, one from 50 years to the in property.The Friends of the Forster Country day earlier (right). An enduring pleasure of COUNTRY LIFE then, as now, of course, isThe writer of the letter of the week will With the exception of a few of the a perusal of the property pages.win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve advertisements, in 1965, photographs It is here, however, that the starkestChampagne were black and white, although the difference is likely to stand out. Even front cover shows a suitably colourful accounting for inflation, if only Contact us 18th green at St Andrews. The world, a Georgian vicarage in Gloucester- of course, has changed greatly since shire, set in 21∕2 acres, could still (photographs welcome) then. However, one soon realises that be bought for £8,750 or a six-bed- Post: Letters to the Editor, COUNTRY LIFE Editorial, many of the pleasures and concerns room Kentish manor house for Blue Fin Building, 110, Southwark Street, London of the countryside remain constant. £11,000. Of note is a full-page adver- SE1 0SU tisement for the sale of Highgrove Among the articles are ones dis- House at Tetbury; the house is set (with a daytime telephone number, please) cussing the pros and cons of feed- among open meadows with no hint ing cattle on grass or barley and of the splendid royal garden they Email: countrylife_letters@timeinc.com suggestions for scented spring shrubs. were later to become. The perennial issues of traffic and Simon Condliffe, Norfolk Time Inc. (UK) Ltd reserves the right to edit and to reuse in any format or medium planning are also present; proposals submissions to the letters page of COUNTRY LIFE. for changes to Piccadilly CircusCOUNTRYLIFE,ISSN0045-8856,ispublishedWeeklybyTimeInc.(UK)Ltd,BlueFinBuilding,110SouthwarkStreet,London,SE10SU,UnitedKingdom.Country Life Subscriptions, PO Box 272 Haywards Heath,West Sussex, RH16 3FS. Enquiries: 0844 848 0848. Email: magazinesdirect@quadrantsubs.com One year full subscription rates: 1 Year (51) issues. UK £170; Europe/Eire €350 (delivery 3–5 days);North America $425 (delivery 5–12 days); Rest of World £330 (delivery 5–7 days) PeriodicalspostagepaidatJamaicaNY11431.USPostmaster:SendaddresschangestoCOUNTRYLIFE,Airfreightandmailinginthe USA by agent named Air Business, c/o Liberty Express Distributions USA LLC, Suite 201, 153–63 Rockaway Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Subscription records are maintained at Time Inc. (UK) Ltd, Blue FinBuilding, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU. 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If two Half-Yearly indices from a single year, and the Cumulative Index, are required, the total price will be £80.48 Country Life, May 13, 2015 www.countrylife.co.uk