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The Country Life Magazine - Collection Gems

Bridgeman Images is delighted to represent The Country Life Picture Library! The Country Life Magazine was founded by Edward Hudson in 1897. ​

A View of the exterior of the Old Rectory in North Creake (photo) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
A View of the exterior of the Old Rectory in North Creake (photo) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

The Country Life Magazine was founded by Edward Hudson, a friend of Gertrude Jekyll and a patron of Edwin Lutyens. Images in the collection date from the launch of the magazine to the present day. The Country Life Picture Library contains photographs of country houses, both interior and exterior, that have been commissioned for the magazine since its inception. The glossy magazine is published by TI media.

 

Some of the houses remain icons of the English countryside. A few of the houses in the archive have however been lost forever, succumbing to the problems satirised by Noel Coward in his song ‘The Stately Homes of England’. 

The Country Life Picture Library archives notably document some of the works of Britain’s greatest architects, particularly that of Sir John Vanbrugh and Robert Adam. 

 

English architect Sir John Vanbrugh is best known as the designer of Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace. His architectural work came to be known as English Baroque. This style is characteristic of elaborate decoration and heavy structures. The architecture is bold and as audacious as his early political activism. 

 

The Saloon at Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), Kimbolton is a medieval castle remodelled by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor from 1707 for Charles Edward Montagu, 4th Earl and 1st Duke of Manchester English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The Saloon at Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), Kimbolton is a medieval castle remodelled by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor from 1707 for Charles Edward Montagu, 4th Earl and 1st Duke of Manchester English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

John Vanbrugh designed Castle Howard in Yorkshire for Lord Carlisle. English architect Nicholas Hawksmoor worked as an assistant alongside Vanbrugh. Castle Howard is a magnificent, grand historic house with ornate interiors and landscaped gardens. It has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. The house is part of the Treasure Houses of England group of heritage houses. 

 

The dome, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Castle Howard was built between 1699 and 1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle. English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The dome, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Castle Howard was built between 1699 and 1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle. English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

The Castle Howard facade is imposing and impressive. Symmetrical windows align themselves one after the other. The building stands amongst extensive land of various gardens. Castle Howard has been used as a film location, famously appearing in 2008 film adaptations of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited and Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 film Barry Lyndon. 

 

photo of The south front, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built 1699-1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle./ © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The south front, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built 1699-1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle./ © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

image of The north entrance front, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built 1699-1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle./ © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The north entrance front, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built 1699-1712 by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) for 3rd Earl of Carlisle./ © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

A beautiful, grand gateway to Castle Howard appears below. Faces are carved on the walls smiling with long wavy hair. Castle Howard is peaceful, full of tranquillity and breathtaking.

 

The Satyr Gateway into the walled garden at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The Satyr Gateway into the walled garden at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
 

The Atlas Fountain in the grounds of the castle was carved from Portland stone by the sculptor John Thomas (1813-62) in the early 1850s.

 

The Atlas Fountain, Castle Howard, from 'The English Country House' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The Atlas Fountain, Castle Howard, from 'The English Country House' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

John Vanbrugh also built Blenheim Palace, which is a huge country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The house is the only non - royal residence to hold the title of a palace. The palace was named after the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 and was originally built as a reward to John Churchill for his military victories. 

The west front, Blenheim Palace, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) 1705-c.1724 for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The west front, Blenheim Palace, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo). Built by Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) 1705-c.1724 for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Blenheim Palace is known as the ancestral home and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough.

 

The image below of the first stateroom at Blenheim Palace is showing one of a series of tapestries depicting the campaigns of the 1st Duke, this one represents the battlefield of Blenheim (1704) with news of the victory.

 

The first stateroom at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
The first stateroom at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

This image below of a lion carved out of stone appears highly decorative with a suspenseful gaze presumably out onto the lawns. 

 

A stone lion above a window at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
A stone lion above a window at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Bridgeman Images represents the Country Life Picture Library, meaning that you can contact us for the usage of these remarkable images. 

 

Roofscape at Blenheim Palace, showing the north-east tower in the centre and the profile of the east gate tower in the right distance; from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images
Roofscape at Blenheim Palace, showing the north-east tower in the centre and the profile of the east gate tower in the right distance; from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

A fabulous interior at the Old Rectory, Quenington. Characterised by yellow bright wallpaper and a comforting fireplace. The shell headed niche on the right and the chimneypiece was introduced in the 1960s. Inherited antique furniture and a good collection of earlier-20th-century paintings combine with contemporary commissions and purchases, such as the Fred Baier side tables and cushions by Nicky Thompson. Glassware from across the world is displayed on the shelves in the alcoves on the west wall.

 

The Drawing Room at the Old Rectory, Quenington (photo) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images


 

New Hawarden Castle is a house in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. It was the estate of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, having previously belonged to the family of his wife, Catherine Glynne. Built in the mid-18th century, it was later enlarged and externally remodelled in the Gothick taste. William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 - 19 May 1898), was a British Liberal Politician. His career spanned over sixty years and he served as Prime Minister four separate times, more than any other person. The wood in this study below creates a calming atmosphere. Wood is traditional and corresponds with the nature seen in the glimpse of the outdoor window. 

 

Sir William Gladstone's desk for his political work in the Temple of Peace at Hawarden Castle / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

This beautiful interior at The Ivy below shows a central curved window with multiple square sections. The glazing bars are new, replacing Victorian plate glass. The bathroom, made out of a dressing room or closet, has a chair for lounging in, with patterns of leaves all over its beige covers.  

 

A Bathroom at The Ivy, Chippenham (photo) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images


 

Llanerchaeron, known as "Llanayron House" to its nineteenth-century occupants, is a mansion on the River Aeron, designed and built in 1795 by John Nash for Major (later Colonel) William Lewis as a model, self-sufficient farm complex located near Ciliau Aeron, some 2½ miles south-east of Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales. There is evidence that the house replaced an earlier mansion. Its larder is neatly organised, with wooden planks storing all the foods next to one another. Pale pink walls accompany the brown wood well. 

 
The Larder at Llanerchaeron (photo) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Burghley House is a grand sixteenth-century English country house not far from Stamford, Lincolnshire. The exterior has an Elizabethan appearance. This interior shows a portrait of Capability Brown by Nathaniel Dance. Nathaniel Dance was a famous English portrait painter who focused on a neoclassicist style. Lancelot Brown (Baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener"

 

Interior with a Portrait of Capability Brown by Nathaniel Dance, Burghley House (photo) / © Country

 

The Country Life Picture Library archives also document the works of Sir Edwin Lutyens.

This photograph of a spiralling staircase at 42 Cheyne Walk plays with geometric forms alongside curves. 42 Cheyne Walk was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for Guy Liddell and his wife Hon. Calypso Baring; The house was demolished to make way for a block of flats in 1936.

 

The staircase well at 42 Cheyne Walk, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo) © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

This image shows the Queen Mary's Dolls' House, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), being packed up from the Lutyens' drawing-room in Mansfield Street ready to be taken to and exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley;

 

Removal men packing up Queen Mary's Dolls' House, 1924 from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses'  © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens designed Viceroy’s House. Lutyens was renowned for adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. This image shows extensive land of neat gardens, a large water fountain with foundations of red sandstone and built in three tiers. The design was inspired by lilies. The gardens extend into the background matching in with the cultivated landscape. 

 

Looking west from Viceroy's House across the water garden, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images


 

This building in New Delhi has one large circular dome in the middle construction of the building. Plants grow in secular departments. The windows and arches on this building appear with open gaps allowing air to transform the space. 

 

The west front of the Viceroy's House seen from across the formal Moghul water garden, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo) © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) joined the Delhi Planning Commission in 1912 and was responsible for designing the Viceroy's House; The new capital of British India, New Delhi was officially opened in 1931;

 

Two members of the 2000-strong Viceroy's House staff clean one of the lamps in the south main staircase, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

The Hoo in Sussex is regarded by Lutyen as one of his greatest architectural achievements. The building proposes neo - Georgian motifs. Formality and symmetry are favoured in this country house. The Hoo was designed for Alexander Wedderburn in 1902-03, the gardens were planted by Gertrude Jekyll.

 

The garden front of The Hoo, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

‘In his lifetime (Luytens) was widely held to be our greatest architect since Wren, if not, as many maintained, his superior’, Christopher Hussey. 

Plumpton Place was built in 1568, divided into cottages during the 18th and 19th centuries and was restored by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) after it was bought by Edward Hudson, the founder of 'Country Life' magazine.
 
A view of Plumpton Place from over the lake, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Plumpton Place is a listed Grade II Elizabethan manor house in Plumpton, East Sussex. 

Tiled flooring at Plumpton Place, from 'Edwin Lutyens: Country Houses' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Dodington Park, a country house and estate in Dodington, Gloucestershire, England. The house was built for Christopher Bell Codrington by James Wyatt. Codrington’s family made a fortune from sugar plantations in the Caribbean. This house is classical in style with multiple huge solid columns across its facade. 

 

Dodington Park, the west front, from 'Country Houses of the Cotswolds' (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Kings Weston House is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England designed by John Vanbrugh. Bristol is the only UK city outside London to possess buildings designed by Vanbrugh. The staircase in this image is only supported at outer angles.

 
The staircase at Kings Weston House, Bristol, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

Kings Weston House was built for Sir Edward Southwell, Secretary of State for Ireland; the hall was adapted in the 1760s by Robert Mylne (1733-1811); it was originally designed to have a first floor arcade connecting with the staircase hall behind.
 
 
The hall, Kings Weston House, Bristol, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

A checkered floor at the Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, England. Designed by Vanbrugh, the floor creates a diagonal illusion. Statues embedded into the walls are decorative and reminiscent of classical architecture. 

The house was built for Admiral George Delaval in 1718; the house was gutted by fire in 1822 and never restored.

The main hall at Seaton Delaval, Whitley Bay, Northumberland, from 'The Country Houses of Sir John Vanbrugh' by Jeremy Musson, published 2008 (b/w photo), English Photographer, (20th century) / © Country Life / Bridgeman Images

 

 

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