Country Life 402 (Full Edition)

EVERY WEEK

Inspiring interiors

Designs for dogs and a magical treehouse

Why storage is more important than space

VOL

Eleanor is an artist and illustrator, well known for her Jubilee Ma’amalade Tea, depicting the late Queen with Paddington Bear, and recently released her Coronation Collection. She is the daughter of Nicholas and Alison Tomlinson of Willerby, East Yorkshire.

Photographed at Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire, by Joanne Crawford

Contents April 12, 2023

Trewithen House, Cornwall (Simon Upton/Guild Anderson)

COVER STORIES

70 Blends with benefits

Change is brewing in Britain

—Rob Crossan meets some of our leading tea sommeliers

80 An eye to the future

Patience and persistence paid off in the restoration of Trewithen House, avers Kitty Galsworthy

92 If you go down to the woods today...

Isabella Worsley’s Derbyshire treehouse is in tune with Nature, as Arabella Youens discovers

96 It’s a dog’s world

Arabella Youens learns how best to live with our four-legged friends

116 A place for everything

Giles Kime argues the case for storage over space in the home

120 Sip back and relax

Vermouth is making a comeback

—and Jack Adair Bevan savours the drink’s satisfying bitterness

144 Dreamy spires

John Hoyland is charmed by the beauty of bee-friendly foxgloves

THIS WEEK

48 Mark Tufnell’s favourite painting

The president of the CLA picks a multi-layered landscape work

50 Going west

Fiona Reynolds marvels at 360degree views on a stroll around Selworthy Beacon in Somerset

52 Protecting our own wild isles

Defra Secretary Thérèse Coffey is drawing inspiration from David Attenborough’s insightful series

54 An Oxford wonder

In the second of two articles, Clive Aslet looks at the furnishing of Jesuit Campion Hall in Oxford

62 Native breeds

Kate Green on the Highland pony

64 As thick as thieves

Ian Morton runs the gauntlet of Nature’s muggers and pirates

68 Three times a legend

Jack Watkins relives Red Rum’s startling Grand National success

78 The good stuff

Sing the blues with Hetty Lintell

90 Interiors

Luxury rugs from recycled bottles, plus furniture, fabric and finds

132 Sense and sensibilities

Charles Quest-Ritson admires the garden at Knoyle Place, Wiltshire

140 Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on radishes

142 A plum job

Tessa Waugh visits the farmers reviving Cumbria’s damson trade EVERY

A new kind of luxury

AGREAT deal of energy is currently being expended on attempts to redefine luxury. Much of the challenge lies in the fact that it’s never been completely clear exactly what luxury is. Chocolates by a turned-down bed in a six-star hotel? Luggage emblazoned with the logos of the brand that made it? Sinking a flute of Krug at sunset in a hot tub listening to the theme of Love Story being played on a Steinway? Over the years, any style icons worth their salt have tried to emphasise that luxury is many things, but never gratuitous self-indulgence. For Coco Chanel, it was ‘the opposite of vulgarity’; for Tom Ford, it’s ‘time and silence’; for Jil Sander, it’s that aesthetic holy grail of simplicity. Luxury, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

On page 90 is an interview with the designer Jennifer Manners, who has created

a range of rugs that are emblematic of a new prevailing mood in luxury. Made to a very high standard, they have a distinctive beauty and supple texture, as well as a resilience that gives them a capacity to last for generations. Added to that, they can easily be cleaned. Miss Manners’s rugs owe their robust character to the fact they are made from items with a resilience that has made them a scourge of the environment: namely, plastic water bottles that would otherwise have ended up in landfill or the sea. It’s an example of what can be achieved when sustainability is approached with mental dexterity, rather than dogma.

Sustainability is an area where there is little clarity and more than a fair share of conundra. Which is better? Scrapping a perfectly serviceable car with low emissions and room for another 100,000 miles

on the clock or dropping £50,000 on a gleaming new Tesla, the production and transport of which, not to mention the mining of rare minerals, has created its own significant carbon footprint? Which is better: to invest in a piece of furniture that has been shipped thousands of miles around the globe, but is so beautifully made that it has the capacity to last for generations, or one produced closer to home that has been poorly made? It’s an area where there are infinite numbers of trade-offs to be made.

The world of luxury has a conundrum all of its own; should it offer little more than self-indulgence or the peace of mind that something is the highest possible quality and made with consideration for the environment? Hopefully, it won’t be too long before these become qualities that are not considered luxuries, but necessities.

Property Magazine of the Year 2022, Property Press Awards

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PPA Front Cover of the Year 2018

British Society of Magazine Editors Columnist of the Year (Special Interest) 2016

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British Society of Magazine Editors Innovation of the Year 2014/15

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Mark Hedges

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Executive Editor and Interiors

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Luxury

Town & Country

Has having the family round for Easter made you wonder if your dining room might require a little sprucing up? Then it could be worth heading down to Christie’s in London to view The Collector, run in collaboration with tastemakers Jane Schulak and David Stark. The sales are running concurrently in London, Paris and New York, with each city receiving its own unique display (the London version is pictured, above), demonstrating ‘inspiring and relevant ways to enjoy living with and displaying decorative arts in dynamic settings of all periods’. Bidding will close in London, New York and Paris on April 18, 19 and 20, respectively. For more information and to bid on the lots, visit www.christies.com/thecollector

Wales on reds alert

CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a squirrel-pox vaccine after almost 80% of the red-squirrel population of Gwynedd, north Wales, was wiped out by an outbreak last year.

A petition, which at the time of writing had more than 11,000 signatures, has called for the Welsh government to commit to funding research into a vaccine, such as the one under development by the Moredun Research Institute from 2010–13. The petition also warns that ‘it is only a matter of time before the infection is spread across the Menai Strait and onto Anglesey’, which is where the majority of the Welsh red-squirrel population lives. ‘When we started on Anglesey, we only had 40 [red squirrels], now we’ve got about 800, potentially a few more,’ says Craig Shuttleworth, who

created the petition and is also an honorary research fellow at Bangor University. ‘But they are under threat, a massive threat.’

Squirrel pox is a virus that can spread easily in grey-squirrel populations, but is ultimately harmless to them. It is, however, fatal to red squirrels and has played a large part in wiping out the native red population across England and Wales in favour of their invasive grey cousins. In Anglesey, a programme to cull grey squirrels was a success, but it has proved almost impossible to repeat on the mainland, leading to the devastating outbreaks in Treborth, Gwynedd. Speaking to the BBC, Dr Shuttleworth said that it isn’t even necessary for a grey squirrel to reach Anglesey

Under threat: the squirrel-pox virus is posing a real danger to the red-squirrel population in parts of Wales

for ‘the pox to come here’, as the island’s red squirrels move between the island and the mainland.

The vaccine under development by Moredun ran out of funding in about 2013. Colin McInnes, who led the Moredun research program, said there was ‘still quite a bit of work to be done’ on the vaccine, including the delivery system and how much protection it offered. Other groups have researched a ‘grey-squirrel contraceptive’, which would see greys chemically neutered in a bid to slow down or even halt population growth.

Despite the cost of developing a vaccine, campaigners believe it would be worth it in the long run, with Dr Shuttleworth suggesting that red-squirrel tourism was worth about £1 million each year.

to lonely cliff edges to ‘map the edges of the Celtic world’. The Victorian wet-plate collodion process allows only 10 minutes before the chemicals dry, so he worked his alchemy in situ, battling winds and staining fingers black in his darkroom tent. The resulting images have an elemental power that eludes modern photography. The Point Of The Deliverance (Kozo Books, £40) features 84 of them, including The Storr, Isle of Skye (above), together with written contributions from artist Will Maclean, historian David Gange and poet Moya Cannon. MM

Share deal for Omai

A‘NEW model of international cooperation’ between the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, US, will see Joshua Reynolds’s The Portrait of Omai (semi) saved for the nation.

The portrait of Britain’s first ‘non-white celebrity’ is valued at £50 million, and had been the subject of an export bar, giving Britain’s museums a chance to acquire the painting. The NPG raised the bulk of the money required for its half of the purchase from a £10 million pledge by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and a £2.5 million Art Fund grant. There were concerns from the NHMF about the sharing agreement, but it was decided that it would be better to have the painting half the time than none of the time. The NPG still requires another £1 million to complete the purchase and, if successful, it’s believed that the painting will go on display in June, once the gallery’s three-year refurbishment is complete.

‘For the gallery, it is important that this outstanding portrait is for the UK public and we will share it with other institutions across the country,’ says Nicholas Cullinan, director of the NPG. ‘This is a painting that should belong to all of us.’

Good week for Pollution punishments

The Government has confirmed that water companies found to be polluting the environment will face ‘unlimited’ fines. The money raised will be reinvested in a new water-restoration fund

Flower power

A Cornish farm has been launched as a LEAF Demonstration Farm in recognition of its sustainable practices. Varfell Farm, the world’s leading grower and packer of daffodils, will become a ‘living classroom’ and promote regenerative farming practices in the cut-flower industry

Community gardens

The National Garden Scheme has announced more than £260,000 in funding for 86 community gardens. The beneficiaries include foodgrowing projects and wellbeingbased gardening support groups Don’t singe the moth

Research from the University of Sussex has revealed that moths are more efficient pollinators than day-flying insects such as bees. The night-flying moths operate for a shorter period of time, but at a much quicker rate

Bad week for Tick-borne tock

A new risk assessment has reported that tickborne encephalitis is likely to be present in England. The risk to the general public remains low, but the UK Health Security Agency has asked people to be vigilant and to seek GP advice if they have flulike symptoms after being bitten

Screaming leaves

Scientists have discovered that plants emit ultrasonic sounds in rapid succession when stressed. Research is under way to see whether the staccato pops can be detected by wildlife

No time to fly

A red kite has been euthanised after being shot on the Lochindorb estate. Police Scotland is urging anybody with information to contact officers AEW

How to re-create a master? This image might look like a classic George Stubbs, but is,in fact, of the horse Superstition (ridden by British three-day event rider Harry Meade), taken by photographer Tom Shaw. ‘Superstition was photographed at Harry’s yard and the landscape is a mix of different places—I tend to work all over the country and, in summertime, when the evening light is at its best, I tend to be on the lookout for “typical” English countryside,’ says Mr Shaw.

‘The green hills are in Sussex, the trees are photographed in Leicestershire. I’m always looking up at the clouds and, often, when they resemble a painting, I will take a few shots. I then combine the image in Photoshop to create the look and feel of a Stubbs painting.’ Mr Shaw is looking to re-create more Stubbs classics, such as hunting dogs and the winners of the five British Classic races, but admits ‘a hippo might be a step too far!’ Visit www. tomshawphotography/stubbs

Six of best in gardenaward bid

SIX beautiful gardens from around the country are battling it out to be crowned the Historic Houses (HH) Garden of the Year 2023. The organisers of the award, launched in 1984 and run in conjunction with Christie’s, announced the finalists last week and voting will be open until August 31, with the winner being announced at the HH AGM on November 14.

The six finalists are Blair Castle in Perthshire, Hergest Croft Gardens in Herefordshire, Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye, Glenarm Castle Walled Garden in Co Antrim, Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute and Scampston Walled Garden in North Yorkshire.

As well as the overall winner, HH will offer a second, direct award to a garden that it considers ‘embodies excellence on a smaller scale, either of area, staffing or access, and hence has less opportunity to influence the

popular poll’; this will be known as the Judge’s Choice Award.

‘The Garden of the Year Award is a great opportunity to recognise and reward the beauty and quality of independent historic gardens,’ says Ursula Cholmeley, chair of the HH gardens committee. ‘The hard work that is put into maintaining and evolving these gardens is undisputed and it’s so

important that not only the owners are celebrated, but also the gardeners and volunteer teams who give up their time and effort, day in, day out, to preserve independently owned heritage.

‘These gardens are among the finest in the country and we hope that you will get great pleasure from visiting some of them and voting for your favourite.’

Town & Country

Watching out for wildlife

ARE you a budding Dr Dolittle? Is your garden or park flush with furry mammals? If so, then the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) needs your help. For the past 20 years, the charity has been running the Living with Mammals survey and, for this year’s edition, it is once again asking the public to help by recording sighting of mammals spotted in their ‘gardens, local parks and other green spaces’, so that researchers might better understand our changing environment and ‘encourage urban wildlife to flourish’.

Whether it’s pygmy shrews ( pictured) and pipistrelle bats—the weight of a 20p coin—or badgers, deer, pine martens and foxes, the nationwide survey will record how wild mammals are faring in all corners of the country.

‘Recording which mammals you see is vital to conservation,’ says David Wembridge, mammal-surveys coordinator at PTES. ‘Living with Mammals has been running for more than 20 years and, with the long-term dataset we have so far, we’re building a nationwide picture of where different species are living and how their numbers are changing. We’re lucky to have so many

It’s ready, sheddie... go!

volunteers that take part every year, but more help is always needed. If you can spare some time, we hope you’ll join us in trying to help save as many of our much-loved species as possible.’

Volunteers record sightings of any wild mammal (or the signs they leave behind) online each week. Sightings can be from a garden, allotment or public green space, such as parks, playing fields and cemeteries. ‘People might be surprised to learn that wild rabbits— a species we think of as commonplace —are declining,’ adds Mr Wembridge. ‘Pinpointing a specific cause of this is tricky, however, and we need volunteers’ help to monitor the situation so conservationists can understand exactly what’s going on and help.’

Country Mouse A deer disaster

WHAT an exciting time of year: the dawn chorus is building towards its crescendo in May, the grass is growing (and being cut), the fruit trees are bursting into blossom and my garden, now in its second year since planting, looks full of promise.

This morning, I threw back the curtains to take it all in and was greeted by a walking disaster: a roe doe wandering around the vegetables. Deer and gardens are not a happy mix.

We had never had one chez Hedges before and, as I dashed outside in my pyjamas, gently edging her towards the gate, I noticed that she was heavily pregnant. My hope is that she had been looking for somewhere quiet to fawn, as I had noticed her around the village the past few days, and that she will then return to the big wood and leave my garden alone.

There are roughly 500,000 roe deer in Britain and they are the most elegant of the six species that live wild in the UK. They regularly give birth to twins and sometimes triplets, so their numbers can expand rapidly, as they have no natural predator —except Man. MH

Town Mouse The perfect peroration

EXCITING news for recluses everywhere, as now is the time to show off your shed, with the opening of the 17th annual Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition. With nominations open until May 31, and with eight categories, such as ‘budget’, ‘pub or entertainment’ and ‘most colourful’, any type of shed is welcome, say organisers. Last year’s overall winner was Kelly Haworth, whose potting shed (above), which also won the ‘budget’ category, impressed judges with its use of recycled and unwanted materials, as well as its colour.

‘Every year, the creativity of the submissions increases exponentially—last year, we saw so many first-of-their-kind designs, it makes me extra excited to see this year’s entries,’ says head judge and competition founder Andrew Wilcox. ‘In 2022, we crowned Kelly Haworth the winner for her incredible Potting Shed. Her use of second-hand materials amid the cost-of-living crisis really impressed us, showing that you can still create something very original on a budget.’

Hopefuls should visit www.readersheds.co.uk, where they can share a minimum of six images of their shed, plus an explanation of their creation and why it is ‘the one to beat’. The top prize is £1,000 in cash and £250 of Cuprinol products.

AHIGHLIGHT of the past week was an evening meal or iftar to break the fast of Ramadan. It was a community event for more than 100 people in the local parish church, with food generously provided by a neighbouring restaurant, the Kennington Tandoori. It’s not often that the lives of London’s diverse communities intersect socially or that the goodwill that subsists between them locally—and which is so important to all our lives— finds outward expression. This was one such and it was a memorable occasion.

At home, by contrast, the children have been making use of their holiday time to bicker. The pleasure seems to lie chiefly in the attendant opportunity for histrionics. At the end of a busy day, therefore, it’s all too common to sit down to a dinner table wracked with the emotional dynamics of an opera house. Added to which, it’s almost impossible not to get drawn in, which merely serves to unite the bickering parties against the common parental enemy. One recent intervention, for example, prompted the accusation that I was ‘dumb’. The other child disagreed: ‘Daddy isn’t dumb. If he was dumb, he wouldn’t be able to speak… He’s just stupid.’ The belligerents then departed, conscious that anything more might spoil that perfect and crushing peroration. JG

Town & Country Notebook

Quiz of the week

1) The fox features in the emblem of which English county?

2) Edward I and Richard II had the same number of wives. How many?

3) What plant is known as Old Man’s Beard?

4) What’s the title of Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera?

5) Who was the first author to be buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner?

Word of the week

Procellous

100 years ago in April 14, 1923

KINGSWAY is our one first-class modern street. I suppose it has all been built within the last 20 years and most of it within the last five. It therefore affords an excellent opportunity for appraising our modern monumental—as opposed to our modern domestic—architecture, and the result need not entirely depress us. Indeed, compared with similar work in Regent Street, it is very cheering. The London County Council, unlike the Government, has succeeded in getting erected in its new street a number of big yet fine buildings, which, while they are intensely modern, answering to absolutely modern requirements, take their place as definite pieces of street architecture, enhancing instead of doing violence to the street as a whole—Prof. C.H. Reilly

Cabinet of curiosities by David Profumo

IHAVE been collecting stuff since my school days and am now in possession of a house full of assorted artefacts—to the chagrin of Mrs. P. As an obsessive shopper, I am intrigued by soap, which has a 5,000-year history. Fragrant, mostly affordable, decoratively packaged and nigh ubiquitous, it is an ideal object to acquire on one’s travels. I have accumulated more than 300 examples—from countries as far

Time to buy

afield as Alaska and Tahiti—but I never buy from the internet (donations are a welcome exception). This cabinet houses varieties including absinthe, frangipani, donkey milk, volcanic ash, egg white, royal jelly and persimmon. My favourite is an Italian bar scented with blackcurrant and mint—labelled the Profumo Classico… Follow David on Instagram @david_profumo

Strawberry and mintinfused white balsamic vinegar, £9, Burren Balsamics (www.burren balsamics.com)

Riddle me this

There are two mothers and two daughters at lunch. They all eat soup, but they only need three bowls. How’s that possible?

‘What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are’

The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis

In the spotlight

Great crested grebe (Podiceps Cristatus)

Wines of the week

Apples ’n’ pears

Quintas de Caíz, Encostas de Caíz Avesso, Vinho Verde, Portugal, 2022. £7.99, Lidl, alc 13%

An expressive Vinho Verde from the rare Avesso grape, which is superior to the other Vinho Verde in the current Lidl Wine Tour. Juicy and expressive, with ripe apple and pear flavours and a rounded, almost honeyed finish. The spritz is barely detectable—and there’s a hint of minerality.

Easy does it

Vidal-Fleury, Côtes du Rhône, France, 2019. £9.99, Majestic, alc 15%

FOR some weeks, paired grebes have been paddling about on the river. Their endearing courtship entails much head-shaking, ducking and remarkable passages of mirrored choreography, followed by a ‘weed ceremony’ in which the mates offer nesting material to each other. Pondweed, twigs and even aquatic litter, such as polythene, may be proffered, their acceptance sealing the seasonal marriage vow.

Both sexes look similar in breeding plumage, wearing a characteristic dark crest and striking, tan cheek ruffs. Their twiggy nest, which is often

Unmissable events

Until September 24 ‘Explorations in Paint’, Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex. This Royal Academy of Art exhibition, inspired by the work of Joshua Reynolds, delves into the possibilities of paint (01798 342207; www.nationaltrust. org.uk/visit/sussex/petworth)

Until September 17 ‘Anila

Quayyum Agha and Sue Wickison’, the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens, Kew, Surrey.

Moorish-inspired installations exploring the play of light and shadow sit next to magnificent botanical paintings at this new

anchored to a reedbed, is shallow-sided to allow clambering access from the water. Perhaps three or four eggs will be laid, both sexes equally sharing incubation, and they won’t rear another brood unless disaster strikes. The hatchings occur some 48 hours apart, meaning that the earliest have a head start on life and, ergo, survival. The black-and-white-striped chicks will be given feathers to eat to protect their soft stomachs from fish bones. With the arrival of the last chick, the nest will be abandoned, the young ’uns hitching rides on their parents’ backs.

Unpretentious and uncomplicated, but with a certain layered complexity. The velvety intensity of deep black fruit is offset by the savoury earthiness of garrigue, dried thyme and black-olive tapenade. Firm, round tannins and a subtle balsamic touch, add a refreshing lift.

Cherry and spice and all things nice

Entrecanales Domecq & Hijos, La Poda Mencía, Valdeorras, Spain, 2020. £16.95, Jeroboams, alc 13.5%

exhibition (020–8332 5655; www.kew.org)

April 22 Glyndebourne

Open Gardens, Glyndebourne, East Sussex. Discover 12 acres of glorious gardens, take in magnificent country views and shop for plants grown by the estate’s gardening team (01273 812321; www.glyndebourne.com)

Book ahead

Enjoyable Galician red with perfumed black cherry and violet aromas. Smooth, concentrated blackberry palate, with wellintegrated spicy oak, ripe tannins, notes of leather, herbs and savoury whispers. Black cherry and spice linger on the finish.

Pudding in a glass

April 21–23

Porthleven Food Festival ( pictured ), Cornwall. A celebration of all things gastronomic, with chef demos, food stalls, makers’ market and live music (www. porthlevenfood festival.com)

May 22–26 For The Love of Flowers, Lavender Green, Chelsea, London SW3. Creative floristry masterclasses ina magnificent, immersive setting, bursting with flowers and scented with lavender (lavendergreen.co.uk)

Slade, Southerndown, Glamorgan CF32 0RP. April 15–16, 11am–5pm. Hidden away on the seaside of the Vale of Glamorgan, Slade is a wonderful surprise The garden tumbles from the house and its terrace down a deep valley protected by a belt of woodland. Beyond the bottom of the garden, it is a short walk to nearby Southerndown beach, which you must not miss. In April, there are tubs filled with luxuriant tulips and other spring delights.

Aldi, Specially Selected Pedro Ximénez Sherry, Jerez, Spain, NV. £4.99/37.5cl, Aldi, alc 17% With 388g/L of residual sugar, a tiny glass of this luscious nectar is dessert in itself.

Marshmallowy and creamy with dark-brown-sugar sweetness, it has enough balancing acidity not to be cloying and lingers on the palate with rich caramel and delicate coffee tones.

For more, visit www.decanter.com

Letters to the Editor Mark Hedges

Warning signals

Letter of the week

Cheque mate

IWAS interested in last week’s star letter (Letters, March 29), particularly as I live close to what was once Henry Royce’s beautiful house, but the last sentence brought a sharp intake of breath: ‘Fortunately we don’t need to worry about cheques anymore!’ I use my cheque book extensively—as I would guess thousands of other C OUNTRY L IFE readers do—and, yes, I am perfectly computer literate and not living in the dark ages.

The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol

Secret views

YOUR cover (March 29) beautifully illustrates the private view from the Upper Ward lawn of Windsor Castle down the Long Walk to the Copper Horse. Another private view in Windsor is that of the chapel of the Royal Lodge (above). The parents of my childhood best friend worked for the late Queen and lived in The Village in the park. They invited me to the chapel one Sunday when Her Majesty was visiting. The vicar forewarned all visitors that standing on the pews (to get a better view of the Royal Family) was frowned upon! Jonathan Notley, London

AGROMENES’S article regarding Government warnings of serious incidents being sent to mobile phones (March 29) renewed my frustration with the inept performance of the current administration. Living in a tiny village in west Suffolk, only 3½ miles from the lovely town of Bury St Edmunds, it is not possible

Crow referee

IWAS amused the other day when I saw two hares boxing in a stubble field. There was an additional chap— perhaps a referee—who was interfering in their bout and clearly being a nuisance, as one of the hares would occasionally break off from the boxing match to shoo him away. This lasted for about 10 minutes, until the crow decided he was not getting enough attention and went his merry way. Has anyone seen this before?

to obtain a mobile-phone signal. In spite of raising the issue with our local MP, who, at the time was Minister for Technology, a few years ago, there has been no improvement. When the warnings come, no doubt many of us who live in rural areas, which are not isolated or remote, will continue our lives in blissful ignorance.

Life, love and lambing

MYwife and I were delighted by the photograph of the lamb on the cover of the Easter issue (April 5 ). In 1970, when I was studying in Canada, I sent her, then my girlfriend, an almost identical photograph from a local newspaper. It bore the title ‘Springing into Spring’ and it was a reminder that we were not too far away from ending our time apart. We celebrate our golden wedding this year.

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King prawn

THEgiant prawn on the bridge over meandering water was the carrot that beckoned an instantaneous and incredibly enjoyable read about Danesmoate (‘The sweetest thing’, March 22) and the unusual word ‘bockety’, which I immediately Googled for a definition. ‘Use it today’ leapt out at me—the meaning ‘unsteady’ or ‘wobbly’. May I ask our 93-year-old great-granny how her ‘bockety’ legs are feeling or will she give me a swipe with her stick, I wonder?

Ides of March

Fis for farming

THIS year marks the 230th anniversary of the establishment of the Board of Agriculture and 21 years since its successor—the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) —was abolished. That ended the two centuries during which Government took farming seriously: a fundamental reversal that lies at the heart of the present Government’s rural problems. There was once political consensus when Labour and Conservatives alike sought to bolster British food production under a system pioneered by Labour’s Tom Williamson.

COUNTRY

MOUSE struck an incongruous note by Australian standards (‘A game of two halves’, March 15). March is the first month of what we call autumn, a time of cooling down, clear skies and balmy nights. This year, March has seen day temperatures of mid to high 30s and high sweltering humidity, overnight at least in mid to high 20s. Hedge, tree and lawn growth has been incredible. A chilly white blast in Hampshire seems almost attractive, well, for a few days!

APRIL 19

The unashamed sartorial splendour of the Georgian era and the practicality of the mackintosh, the wonder of wool and a passion for palms, plus the artist who brought Black Beauty to life

It was New Labour that turned its back on farming and created Defra, purposely excluding any reference to farming in its title. David Miliband (New Labour), who later took over the new ministry, exemplified this changed attitude, insisting the Government didn’t need a policy for food security, and the television pundit, Peter Jay, named ‘the cleverest man in Europe’, insisted we didn’t need a ministry of agriculture because we could always get food from the rest of the world. These were the heady days when we thought there would never be another war in Europe and we would have perpetual access to unlimited food and fuel.

Twenty years later and the climate emergency, the cost-of-living crisis, empty supermarket shelves and food businesses going bust have begun to show how wrong we were. Ted Heath was the last Prime Minister who understood the importance of agriculture. His wartime experience not only led him to champion Britain’s role within Europe, but to support his Agriculture Minister, Jim Prior, in ensuring that, despite the reorganisation of government, farming should continue to have a ministry of its own, so important was MAFF to the confidence of the farming community.

Tony Blair had none of this understanding and he was annoyed at the countryside, too.

The protests his efforts at a hunting ban had produced and the consequent expense of Parliamentary time and energy had gone down very badly. Labour had seen it as an easy tit-for-tat win for the Tories’ battle with Scargill and the miners. It was New Labour’s red meat for the left, wrongly characterised as ‘the people versus the elite’. The trouble was that, when hundreds of thousands of marchers arrived in London to protest, they were revealed to be very far from an elite. What had started as a political ploy had become a major political diversion and Mr Blair was increasingly irritated. Agriculture fell out of favour and its claims were ignored. So diminished and unimportant was it considered that, when Margaret Beckett was offered the job of minister, she wouldn’t do it without a much larger remit. To keep her on board, in a deal done over lunch, two centuries of experience were forgotten and a new department —Defra—emerged. It was sold as a better deal for the countryside, covering environment and rural life. But, from the start, it was disregarded and succeeding Conservative goverments have starved it of money and resources.

Now that Brexit has meant the total reformation of our agricultural-support system and because food security has become a crucial issue, the world has reverted to type. To meet today’s challenges, we need to reconstitute a proper ministry of agriculture headed by someone who can command the respect and confidence of farmers.

No doubt it would best be built into a department of land use and planning, but it needs to have its own identity, with a dedicated, expert service capable of reaching out to farmers to help them make the enormous transition we demand. If they are to produce more, look after the environment and join in the battle against climate change, they need a ministry that’s clearly on their side.

We need a proper ministry of agriculture headed by someone who commands farmers’ respect

Athena Cultural Crusader

Euston Station needs renewal

WHETHER you have been a long-term supporter or opponent of HS2, it is hard to see how the recent decision by the Government to delay building the line from Birmingham to Crewe and into Euston for two years serves anyone. After endless problems and a spiralling budget, we are left with only part of a railway line, cut through town and countryside at immense physical and social cost, that cannot serve the central functions that justified the project in the first place. Nor does the financial explanation for the delay make sense. Yes, the costs have soared because of inflation, but does anyone expect that they are going to be more manageable in two years’ time? Added to which, the immediate saving on construction doesn’t

take account of the unknown—but certainly vast and now additional—expense either of decommissioning important elements of this project in mid stride or of recommissioning them again in two years’ time (if that’s actually what happens). Why haemorrhage staff and experience only to rebuild them again?

Have those who took the decision to delay thought through what it means?

There is also the very practical problem of what happens to the London building site in the meantime. The approach to Euston Station is now countersunk within a huge trench and shows up as an impressive scar even on satellite photographs. What do you do with the excavations over the next two years? Have those who took the decision to delay really thought through what it means?

Overall, in other words, this decision not only promises to make HS2 vastly more expensive (once again), but throws everything about it into doubt, leaving the

project neither cancelled, nor completed, but in limbo. It’s a state, moreover, that has uncertain, but massive costs attached. The cynic would say that the two-year delay has nothing to do with money, but serves instead to push everything beyond the next election, passing on the responsibility and associated opprobrium for the hard decisions that actually need to be made to resolve this project accordingly.

The chief concern must be for the communities directly affected by HS2, where daily routine has been interrupted by the construction process. For them, the prospect of dislocation stretches into an uncertain future. For Athena, there is the additional concern about the proposed and welcome redevelopment of the Euston terminus. The present station is the result of a notorious and damaging redevelopment that is neither impressive nor pleasurable to use. It’s complicated, too, by its juxtaposition to a bus terminus, which eats intrusively into the public realm. The replacement ought to be the reverse, but the opportunity for creating it seems to be slipping away.

Right or wrong, HS2 has passed the point where it can be discussed as an abstract proposal. We now need the resolve to push this project forward or the mess is going to get steadily worse.

The way we were Photographs from the C OUNTRY L IFE archive

A view of the ‘boat cave’ created in the park at Aldenham House, Hertfordshire, by its then owner, the barrister, MP, gardener and plant collector Vicary Gibbs. The figure in the pleasure boat is probably a gardener acting as a model; witness his wheelbarrow and broom on the bank behind.

Every week for the past 125 years, COUNTRY LIFE has documented and photographed many walks of life in Britain. More than 80,000 of the images are available for syndication or purchase in digital format. To view the archives, visit www. countrylifeimages.co.uk and email enquiries to licensing@ futurenet.com

My favourite painting Mark

Tufnell

The Avenue at Middelharnis by Meindert Hobbema

I have always been keen on landscapes, but this one shows how avenues can be used to draw one’s eye right into the picture. Then you pick up the church on the left, reaching up into the sky and to the heavens with the birds circling in the clouds. On further inspection, you notice the gardener pruning the box trees and a couple chatting; the man with his dog walking towards me; the distraction of the dog closely following his master. I love the detail and I love pictures where you can see multiple layers of life. The lines of the track and the avenue are elements that my late son, Carlie, used in his photography work and make this picture doubly special

Charlotte Mullins comments on The Avenue at Middelharnis

AN avenue of spindly trees stretches along a road towards a town. In the left foreground, Nature runs free, a thicket of shrubs and undergrowth, but, on the right, she is being cultivated, with neat lines of saplings tended by a vigilant gardener. Perhaps they are being grown for maritime use— a scattering of masts puncture the sky in the far distance, echoing the vertical upthrust of the trees.

The affluent middle-class burghers of 17th-century Holland liked to feel the wind in their hair as they gazed at landscapes on the walls of their city townhouses. They also enjoyed a moralising subtext and, in this work, the trees could be seen to mirror the cycle of life, from the careful nurture of seedlings

on the right to the geometric clusters of young trees towards the town on the left and the soaring giants that draw the eye upwards to Heaven.

Born in Amsterdam, Meindert Hobbema trained with the Haarlem landscape artist Jacob van Ruisdael and specialised in tranquil scenes of trees executed in calm muted tones. From the age of 30, his output significantly reduced when he took a job with the customs office in Amsterdam. This work is considered his late masterpiece and is one of the last that can be confidently attributed to him. Despite early success and a late group of successful landscapes he died in poverty and was buried in a pauper’s grave. Only in the 19th century did his work begin to be appreciated once more.

A walking life

Going west

WHY, I ask, when spring is so definitely on the way, is the day I choose to walk so grey and chilly? I’m heading to west Somerset again, drawn by the allure of the coast and the company of the Deputy Editor of this illustrious magazine, which is always a treat. This time, I’m bringing a young friend with me: an international Cambridge PhD student who is keen to see more of our beautiful country. She’s a talented photographer and hugely excited about seeing the sea.

Kate drives us through Minehead to begin the walk. It’s an elegant little coastal town, although it’s seen better days, and is sustained today by visitors to Butlin’s as much as by its inherent charms. As we climb through Higher Town, we see evidence of its glory days, in the form of generous Victorian villas and gardens.

We emerge onto North Hill, a famous local landmark, and, parking in a little car park overlooking the sea, we’re greeted by a riot of golden-yellow gorse bushes in full flower, as if to say ‘yah-boo sucks’ to the grey morning. North Hill has long been a place of recreational freedom, but it’s also common land and we meet a herd of Exmoor ponies that grazes here all year. Stocky, with their thick winter coats still intact, their limpid eyes widen as Kate’s adorable terrier, Checkers, bounds ahead.

It’s blowy up here and we face into the wind as we walk over Selworthy Beacon towards Bossington Hill, exhilarated by the views despite the greyness.

From our highest point, we look east back to Minehead, west across Porlock Bay to the plunging cliffs of Exmoor’s north

coast, south towards Dunkery Beacon, the National Park’s highest point, and north to the dim line we know to be the south coast of Wales. Around us is a great sweep of heather moorland (the reason Exmoor was designated a National Park in the 1950s) interspersed with ‘intake’ or improved land, occupied by sheep that are shortly to lamb.

My student friend is busy taking photographs, loving the rolling, damp hills, so different from the jagged mountains and dry plains of her home. We drop towards Hurlstone Point, then skirt around Bossington Hill, where the views across Porlock Bay, with its distinctive flat estuary, open out dramatically before us. Soon, we’re perched above the tiny village of Bossington, its red sandstone cottages nestled against the hill.

We’ve been walking within the National Trust’s Holnicote estate for some time now and, in a rush of memory, I recall the debates we had there in the early 2000s about climate change and how to manage the risks of flooding in the vale. Then we felt like pioneers as our messages about our changing climate were barely heeded; today, the Trust is leading the way in Nature

recovery and creating resilience in rural landscapes. There are beavers at Holnicote now and, as we follow our path, contouring the hill above Allerford, we fancy we can see evidence of our new/old compatriots in the re-wiggled River Aller and ponds below.

We’re walking in woodland now and the occasional shaft of light brings beauty to the bent avenues of trees. Near Allerford, we meet Kate and Checkers again; they had heroically doubled back to bring the car to Selworthy to save us from the rain, which is coming in fast, great billowing clouds approaching from the west.

We end our walk in the Periwinkle Cottage Tea Room at Selworthy, where we award a five-star rating for a delicious cream tea with homemade whortleberry and chuckleberry jam. What a splendid way for my friend to see a complete contrast to Cambridge’s flat landscapes and for me to celebrate—yet again—the wonderful work of the National Trust.

Fiona Reynolds is chair of the Royal Agricultural University governing council and author of ‘The Fight for Beauty’

A walk around Selworthy Beacon offers spectacular 360-degree views and a return to an old stamping ground

We’re greeted by a riot of golden-yellow gorse, as if to say

“yah-boo sucks” to the grey morning

Protecting our own wild isles

OVER decades, millions of us have marvelled as Sir David Attenborough has brought life from the farthest corners of the planet into our homes. Whether it’s Rwandan gorillas or Antarctic ice caps, we can all agree there is nothing quite like an Attenborough film (Leader, February 15 ). His latest, Wild Isles, has given us a rare insight into the miraculous and unique natural world of our own backyard. As Environment Secretary, I have been proud to see our natural wonders on show and, like many of you, am thinking afresh about how to protect them.

Sir David’s indefatigable enthusiasm reminds us how much we have to celebrate, as well as how much we stand to gain if we step up the brilliant work already under way to save species by supporting Nature’s innate ability to adapt and recover. I could not agree more. That is why we are taking action.

we need to go further and faster to keep improving, and to anticipate and prepare for further challenges, and our Plan for Water, launched this month, is designed to do exactly that.

from hedgehogs to red squirrels, restoring vital habitats and the species that rely on them.

The comprehensive Environmental Improvement Plan I launched in January will mean more beloved species, such as barn owls and butterflies, have the habitats and conditions in which they can flourish. The plan covers everything from improving protected landscapes to tackling causes of climate change.

In the UK, we look after globally significant wetlands, 85% of the world’s chalkstreams and famous coastlines, lakes and rivers. Yet, as the population grows and the climate changes, our water system is under greater pressure than ever before, so the challenge of improving the quality and quantity of water is a personal priority for me and for this Government.

We have made good progress already, even if it hasn’t hit the headlines. The reality of our rightly high standards is that it is often challenging—and even impossible—to meet ‘excellent’ ecological status. This is because our baseline is 1840 and none of us wants to take London back to a time before the Embankment was built, which is what it would take to return the Thames to its natural state. But

We are strengthening regulation and toughening enforcement, ploughing fines directly into environmental improvements and putting water companies on notice to clean up their act. We are taking on every source of pollution, with a ban on wet wipes that contain plastic, and making the big polluters pay. We are accelerating billions of pounds of new investment into water systems to help protect precious habitats. By enhancing the health of our landscapes, we are making them even more beautiful, so people can feel confident swimming in rivers, lakes and off beaches. We have never done anything on this scale before, or so systematically river by river, each with their own, dedicated action plan—but that is the level of ambition we must achieve.

Our fantastic farmers manage 70% of the land, so we are making the most of our newfound freedom to shake off the legacy of the EU’s approach—which disproportionately rewarded large landowners, but delivered little for food production or the environment —by rewarding farmers’ vital work in taking care of the countryside, as well as supporting them to produce food profitably and sustainably. The multi-million pound Species Survival Fund will help protect the rarest animals,

Last month, I announced a boost for some of the most ecologically important English waters with the first Highly Protected Marine Areas. These will sit alongside our existing network of Marine Protected Areas and support species, such as dolphins, porpoises and nationally important seabirds, plus ecologically important habitats, including fragile ross worm reefs. Through our Blue Planet Fund, we are helping some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities around the world to protect and restore marine habitats; this will help us meet a shared global commitment to protect at least 30% of the world’s seas by 2030 and to use the whole ocean sustainably.

As a scientist, I am proud that the UK is home to the world-class scientific expertise that is vital to making our efforts more effective. I have had the privilege of visiting the worldrenowned seed banks at Kew and the species collections at the Natural History Museum; it is absolutely right that we support the great British institutions dedicated to helping to understand the history of the natural world.

Nature needs our help, if we want to feel its benefits for generations to come. I hope everyone has enjoyed Wild Isles and found fresh inspiration to play a part in the decade of action needed to see this through.

Dr Coffey is the Secretary of State for Defra

The inspiring new Attenborough documentary should encourage us to look at–and protect–what we have on our own doorstep

It has given us a rare insight into the miraculous natural world of our own backyard

An Oxford wonder

Campion Hall, Oxford, part II

Photographs by Will Pryce

WHAT the mondain Jesuit Father Martin D’Arcy called his Treasure Hunt began in the early 1930s. On becoming Master of Campion Hall, centre of Jesuit life in Oxford, he remembered being told by Lady Lovat, with whom he’d been staying in Scotland, that an extraordinary object was about to come onto the market. Due to (relative) poverty, Prince Rupert of Bavaria, the last heir apparent to the Bavarian throne, was selling the travelling altar that had belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots. D’Arcy bought it,

In the second of two articles, Clive Aslet looks at the furnishing of Campion Hall, particularly the treatment of the chapel, one of the city’s outstanding interiors

probably at a good price, for the private hall —effectively a college—that Lutyens built for him in 1934–36. It would be the first of many works of art and pieces of historical interest that would adorn the building. D’Arcy’s budget may have been modest, but his charm and powers of persuasion went far.

There would be early Renaissance chasubles bought from an Italian refugee, chalices secured with the help of an Armenian Jew and gorgeous cloth-of-gold robes from China

decorated with dragons and birds—a nun seamstress transformed them into a chasuble by slitting the armpits and adding ‘a small gold cross at the back’. By the end of the 1970s, the vestment collection extended from medieval pieces to the work of Dior.

Some treasures were modern—drawings by Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson, Rouault and Picasso. Laurence Whistler scratched a poem on the glass of the garden door using a diamond. Having met Princess Marie Louise

on a Hellenic cruise, D’Arcy acquired plates designed for the coronation of Edward VIII that bore an inscription saying that the King had been crowned on May 28, 1937. Attaching the larger of the pieces to a wall near the entrance to the hall, D’Arcy enjoyed challenging visitors to see if they could spot the mistake. (Edward VIII , of course, was never crowned.)

A portrait of St Ignatius Loyola by Jordaens arrived in memory of an undergraduate killed during the Second World War. Bertram

Bisgood, a tall and stalwart broker, gave many presents, including a Murillo and a large ivory crucifix; ‘he figures in Wisden because in the first cricket match he played for his county, Somerset, he made a century’. A Franco-Burgundian chasuble, which experts judged to be one of the finest vestments of the Middle Ages to have come onto the market, was bought at auction after the Second World War: the lots had been so badly displayed that few dealers had noticed it—except for one who said he would not bid against D’Arcy. Similarly, Sir Kenneth Clark, as he then was, wrote to say that he had hoped to buy a Crucifixion, drawn by Michelangelo and painted by his assistant Venusti; he stopped bidding as soon as he saw D’Arcy’s hand go up, believing a religious house was ‘the most appropriate place for such a beautiful painting’.

One spectacular work was contributed, indirectly, by Lutyens himself. Before boarding a liner at Southampton to sail to New York, D’Arcy had lunch with his architect and, as they waited for their food, the latter pulled out a photograph of a 17th-century Spanish carving. The owner had wondered if it would be suitable for Lutyens’s Liverpool Cathedral, the crypt of which was then being built, but D’Arcy immediately recognised it as depicting St Ignatius of Loyola, almost lifesize, with (on their knees) his followers, and snaffled it for Campion Hall. Set opposite the foot of the main stairs, it became one of the most prominent of the hall’s many treasures (Fig 8) . Fitted into the stair wall is a plaque of St Martin in modern military dress by the studio of Eric Gill.

Some Christians disparaged D’Arcy’s pursuit of beautiful objects, leading him to liken the objections to those of Judas criticising Mary Magdalene for pouring precious ointment over the feet of Christ. One justification for his activities, D’Arcy wrote, was that ‘the Jesuits have been so often denigrated —at times quite unfairly, for their lack of taste, more barbari even than Barberini. Campion Hall would prove that this bad taste is not so common as believed in the works of the Society of Jesus’. And, after all, wasn’t a collection of works of art appropriate in Oxford, a city regarded around the world ‘as a paragon of culture’?

By the end of the 1970s, the vestment collection extended from medieval pieces to the work of Dior

As the focus of life at Campion Hall, the chapel became a work of art in itself. Lutyens had created, on the first floor, a spatially simple space, Romanesque in character: a single cell covered by a barrel vault (Fig 1) Restraint added to the beauty. A central aisle paved in black and white (slate and Portland stone) leads to the altar, above which the baldacchino, made out of pine, looks like an arm of the one that Lutyens designed for the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool. Reaching nearly to the top of the vault, itself 27ft high, it is powerful, but not overwhelming. Here, the Delhi order, which features on the doorcase to Campion Hall’s garden front, reappears.

Another reminiscence of the Viceroy’s House are the light fittings: disks of paleblue glass suspended from cords, but with the added detail of a tassel, making them into cardinal’s hats (so high as to be out of reach). Joke or not, the delicacy of the fittings adds charm to the otherwise plain interior. There is only one colour accent, apart from the painting of the risen Christ and Mary Magdalen that now hangs behind the altar: the wave-like beam at the end of oak pews, painted in what Arthur Oswald, describing Campion Hall in C OUNTRY L IFE on June 27, 1936, called sealing-wax red. Asked about the colour, Lutyens said it should be like his

blood. It was a witticism too far: he wrote to apologise the next day. In the panelling to the side are set Frank Brangwyn’s lithographs of the Stations of the Cross (Fig 4) , printed onto thin sheets of wood; they were presented by the artist.

Small in scale, the altars in the ante chapel (Fig 7) and the intimate private chapel, from which internal windows provide a view into the body of the chapel, are monumental in their starkness and geometry. Yet another chapel is reached through an arch at the east end of the main chapel: the Lady Chapel (Fig 5) . Suddenly, the visitor is transported into a world of spring flowers and tender, homely observation, for the walls have been almost entirely covered in murals by Charles Mahoney (Fig 2) They were commissioned in 1941, using royalties from Evelyn Waugh’s Edmund Campion: Jesuit and Martyr, written as a thank-offering to D’Arcy, who had been responsible for his conversion. The royalties amounted to £600 and Mahoney’s estimate for the work was £560.

The original idea had been to commission Stanley Spencer, who had completed his paintings for the Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere in 1932. Declaring that ‘in my painting I owe nothing to God and everything to the Devil’, Spencer proved too much for the fathers and it was clear he would not be prepared to live at Campion Hall for the duration of the project. The Catalonian painter Josep Maria Sert told Lutyens that he would paint the apse if Lutyens gave him the job of artist at Liverpool Cathedral; Lutyens could not promise to, so the deal was off. Happening to meet Sir John Rothenstein, director of Tate Gallery, D’Arcy asked his advice. He recommended Mahoney and described his work, remarkable for its minute observation of Nature. D’Arcy responded: ‘Done.’

Born in 1903, Mahoney had won scholarships first to the Beckenham School of Art and then to the Royal College of Art, where he would later teach in the painting school. In a tribute published after Mahoney’s death in 1968, Rothenstein described his vision as ‘lucid and minutely observant of details which enabled him to portrait in black and white

In the Lady Chapel, the visitor is transported into a world of spring flowers and tender, homely observation

beds of plants, stems, leaves, blossoms, as well as trees more convincingly than could most other artists with the aid of colour… For preference his vision focused itself not only on the near but the commonplace, the familiar even when it was ugly. Rusted roofs of corrugated iron, brick walls, wheelbarrows and allotments figure frequently in his landscapes’. When, following the success of Rex Whistler’s murals for the Tate Gallery, Sir Joseph Duveen looked around for another project and landed on Morley College, SE1 as a suitable site, Mahoney—not yet 27—was chosen as one of three artists to contribute, the others being Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious. Working in oil paint mixed with wax on canvas that had been attached to the wall, he took the Pleasures of Life as his theme, in which figures representing seven Muses were supplemented by scenes of country dances, outdoor pastimes and apple picking.

Alas, Morley College was bombed during the Second World War, leaving Campion Hall as his only large-scale commission to survive.

As did Spencer, Mahoney suffused the life he observed around him with the radiance of the Divine. His gentle style, delicate colours and delight in flowers were particularly suited to the Lady Chapel, the theme of which is the life of the Virgin Mary. Shepherds were modelled from the locals around Ambleside in the Lake District, to which the Royal College had been evacuated during the war (Fig 6) The little girl in the Crowning of Our Lady is Mahoney’s daughter and the cherubs are village children: D’Arcy’s friend and Campion graduate, Father Vincent Bywater, remembered that a ‘little girl visitor was thrilled to find out how the angels got their nighties over their wings’. Although not a portrait painter, we have Bywater’s word for his ability not only to catch ‘a person’s features but his

characteristic expression and especially his bodily stance. The portraits of Arnold and Tom Corbishley full length, on the west wall are perfect’. The image of bursar Father Stanislaus Jones SJ, who not only became a great friend, but went to him for painting lessons after his retirement, ‘is particularly faithful’.

Mahoney was not a Catholic, perhaps not even a Christian, so much as an ‘agnostic socialist,’ according to D’Arcy. But on dull days—he would only paint in natural light, which limited his productivity to the summer months—he would go on walks with people in the hall and quiz them about Biblical story-telling conventions. Was Joseph an old man? Were angels necessarily male? Would the shepherds have brought a lamb?

Sadly, when Mahoney presented his bill in 1953, the then bursar Father Corbishley found the £4,000 he was asking ‘a very unpleasant and distressing surprise’. Relations were broken off. By the time they were restored in the 1960s, Mahoney’s breathing trouble made work difficult and a few scenes were only sketched in black and white. One of these, the Dormition (Fig 3), shows several of the individuals involved in the foundation of Campion Hall, including Lutyens, clustered around the bed on which the Virgin lies. It is an unexpectedly personal and touching memorial to their labours in the chapel, which undoubtedly is, as Father D’Arcy would have wished, one of the wonders of Oxford.

Native breeds Highland pony

Did you know?

It goes against the breed standard to trim the mane or tail hair, and ‘hair pieces’ are strictly forbidden in showing classes

THEHighland pony, with its thick forelock and flowing mane and tail, will forever be associated with deerstalking, the paintings of Landseer and Queen Victoria, who liked to potter about on one at Osborne House or Balmoral. A photograph of Victoria riding Fyvie at Balmoral, taken in October 1863 with John Brown in attendance, was issued to the public and became a symbol of the Queen’s mourning for Prince Albert.

There is still a large breeding herd at Balmoral ; Elizabeth II was patron of the breed society and her ponies won many prizes in the show ring, as well as carrying panniers of grouse and stags weighing as much as 17st off the hill.

The early crofter’s pony—or ‘garron’, the Gaelic word—was probably lighter in build than

today’s sturdy, compact, ample-rumped type, if old paintings and photographs are anything to go by. Their markings, especially the dun or ‘mouse’-coloured ones, with the black dorsal or ‘eel’ strip down the spine and ‘zebra’ legs, would suggest links with the Pictish ponies of ancient times. Injections of Hackney and Arab blood over the centuries have probably helped create their proud stance and arched necks.

Today, the Highland, surefooted and sensible of temperament, is popular as a riding pony, especially in trekking centres. They even make capable hunters, as, although solid, they are forward-going, with a remarkably active gait and a powerful jump. Despite the ponies’ usefulness, however, they are classified as ‘at risk’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. KG

As thick as thieves

WITHIN seconds of my American grandson Tom buying an ice cream on Lyme Regis seafront in Dorset, he was buffeted around the head by wings and his vanilla scoop vanished from its cone. We all laughed and told him it had been a ‘great British seaside experience’. Tom laughed, too—but, in truth, he had become another victim of the sort of opportunist theft that afflicts many a beach and promenade, for gulls are notoriously bold exponents of the natural practice known as kleptoparasitism. In layman’s terms, this means hanging around with the certainty of stealing a meal and it sustains a broad spectrum of taxa, from seaborne scroungers to buccaneering bugs.

However, it’s the birds that we most readily identify. Gulls do not need holidaymakers and carelessly managed fast food to trigger their thieving instinct. Many naturalists have recorded their ruthless interception of puffins returning from underwater forays miles out to sea with beaks full of sand eels. Although they scavenge any food that they can find, our coastal gulls are known to specialise in harassing the colourful little birds until they release their catch before they can take refuge in their burrows. Incidentally, the puffins, known around parts of the Severn estuary as Lundy birds or sea parrots, could well do without this, as their UK numbers—and the sand eels on which they rely—are falling.

Gulls, nonetheless, can themselves become victims. The most blatantly piratical seabird in Britain, found mostly on the coast and islands of northern Scotland, is the skua. Nearly all its food is seized from other birds and Stercorarius skua, despite being little more than gull-size, will attack and rob larger and heavier species—even heron. When easier food is not available, it will kill and eat adult puffins, kittiwakes, terns and gulls. Known locally as the bonxie, a Shetland name

Facing page: Mine! Mine!

of Norse origin, it doesn’t even mind a spot of night raiding, preying on petrels on St Kilda by dark. Probably its most spectacular in-flight attack is on a gannet, which it will seize by a wing, tipping it into the water and savaging it until it disgorges the fish it caught by deep diving (‘You greedy gannet’, January 25 ). The only bird the skua fears is a hungry eagle.

The kleptoparasite habit has been extensively researched and, where theft is the main food source, it was categorised in 1973 by John Maynard Smith, biologist and geneticist and a founder of the University of Sussex, as an ‘evolutionary stable strategy’, meaning that the avian pirates are now so reliant on robbery that they do not hunt for their own food. For them, theft is normal. Sundry researchers have sought to analyse such factors as time and energy spent and the risk of injury and have concluded that kleptoparasitism is most common in mixed breeding colonies and feeding flocks,

seaside criminals. Above: Raiding a puffin’s sand eels where victims are numerous and the energy the thieves gain outweighs what they expend. Theft may be ‘interspecific’, where animals prey on different species, or ‘intraspecific’, when they rob members of the same or similar species. Observations of thefts in a colony of breeding roseate terns indicated that thieving parents produced 45% more fledglings than their victims. Among oystercatchers, the meal of an adult, which can break open mussel shells, is sometimes lost to a pushy juvenile of its own species that is not yet sufficiently strong or adept to plunder the molluscs itself.

Studies have concluded that thieving species have larger eyes and brains than their victims, although their body mass is not significantly larger. They recognise their target, choose the best distance, angle and timing of attack and predict efforts to avoid or frustrate them.

According to a review by Erika V. Iyengar published in the Biological Journal in 2008, a number of investigators

From piracy to hijacking and mugging, Nature abounds with all sorts of bad and condemnable behaviour, but some species have a real knack for stealing, as Ian Morton discovers

Avian pirates are so reliant on robbery that they do not hunt for their own food

have concluded that pirate birds ‘can hone their skills, fine tune their movements and timing… remember the benefits gained, and determine when the profits of kleptoparasitism outweigh the risks’. As a result, they ‘can be rewarded with high success, increasing facultative kleptoparasitism in the population’. Clever thieves get cleverer, their opportunist snatching enhanced by experience.

Kleptoparasitism has so intrigued scientists that its study has broadened to include the theft of eggs, fledglings, nest sites and nest materials. This is globally widespread. In the Antarctic, the breeding-season antics of chinstrap penguins include the pilfering of stones from others to reinforce their nest mounds. In warmer climes, hummingbirds commonly filch material from each other’s nests, finches on Hawaii steal material from Millerbird nests, Australian honeyeater nests are looted, North American warblers pinch nest bits from each other and southern-hemisphere frigate birds not only rob boobies of their fish catches, but groups descend on an unattended nest of their own species, snatching one twig at a time.

Widely dispersed across the US, the brownheaded cowbird lays its eggs in host nests with more than 150 songbird foster species recorded, making our cuckoo look like an amateur, but entomologists have borrowed the cuckoo’s example to describe a class of insects dubbed the ‘cuckoo bees’. These mimic the appearance of mining bumblebees, on which they foist their greedy larvae, laying eggs in or near their hosts’ nests so that their grubs will wriggle in, suck the body fluids of the hosts’ larvae and gorge on stored pollen. Six species are found in Britain—the vestal, red-tailed, gypsy, forest, field and Barbut’s

cuckoo bee. Three nomad bees that look like wasps get up to the same trick. They all obey what is known as Emery’s Rule, named after the Italian entomologist Carlo Emery, who recorded in 1909 that these parasites prey on related species of similar appearance. Food theft spans the animal kingdom worldwide, from large mammals to small insects, so how can it not include humanity? Milk, chicken and duck eggs, honey—these are purloined by us without compunction before they can fulfil the purposes for which they are naturally produced. In the broadest sense, we, too, are Nature’s thieves.

A den of thieves

• Sperm whales habitually take up to 15% of fish off trawlers’ long lines or from nets. They’ve learned that the sound of hydraulic fishing gear signals an opportunity to plunder the catch and modern deep-sea boats have accordingly taken to tracking these mighty thieves in real time and fish elsewhere

• Among land mammals, the most notorious kleptoparasite is the hyena. It hunts in groups and runs down prey, usually a juvenile ungulate, over some miles if necessary, but is better known for the group harassment of big cats in order to steal their kills, hovering and threatening until successful

• Amid identified insect thieves, a family of spiders distributed through the southern hemisphere notably specialises in occupying other spiders’ webs and stealing insects. Brazilian arachnologists have observed techniques, including the introduction of a struggling new decoy to attract the web owner, allowing the intruder to feast on a previously trapped meal

Clever thieves get cleverer, their snatching enhanced by experience

Three times a legend

IN 2007, Red Rum came top of an IpsosMori poll that asked the public to name Britain’s most famous horse. It was 12 years after his death and 30 after his third and last Grand National victory, but he finished well ahead of the fictional Black Beauty and the ill-fated 1981 Derby winner, Shergar. It would be interesting to see the outcome of a repeat poll today. Tiger Roll, the first winner of back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum (in 2019 and 2020), might barely register a blip by comparison.

This is partly owing to a shrinking awareness of racing among the wider public and partly because Tiger Roll resides in Ireland, but it is down to the special charisma of ‘Rummy’ and his remarkable story, too. It is also, perhaps, a recognition of the especially thrilling and demanding nature of the Grand National in the 1970s, in comparison with the reduced, albeit still captivating, spectacle and test of today.

Yet there were mixed emotions when Red Rum first won 50 years ago. It’s often forgotten that the true hero of the 1973 renewal was the valiant runner-up, Crisp. This huge steeplechaser from Australia had been speedy enough to win the two-mile Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 1971 and had enough stamina to finish fifth in the 1972 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Crisp, saddled with the top weight of 12st in the 1973 National, was made 9-1 joint favourite with Red Rum, who was carrying 23lb less.

In the hands of Richard Pitman, the longstriding, front-running Crisp jumped the enormous Aintree fences as if they were gorse bushes on a hack. He was still 20 lengths clear after the second last and, although his pace had faltered, 10 lengths in front at the Elbow, with the finishing line in view. However, Red Rum, patiently ridden by Brian Fletcher and well behind for most of the race, had been making up ground relentlessly and

This year’s Grand National marks the 50th anniversary of Red Rum’s first win. Jack Watkins explains why we may never see his like again

He’s getting the most tremendous cheer, they’re willing him home

was now careering up the run-in. He got up in the dying strides to beat the big black horse by three-quarters of a length, smashing the record winning time for the National by 18 seconds. Crisp was probably the best, and surely the most heart-breaking, loser of a Grand National.

It was soon recognised, however, that Red Rum’s triumph was in the realm of fairy tales. The compact, Irish-bred (by Quo rum out of Ma red ) bay gelding, so pleasing to the eye, started out on the Flat and made his debut in a five-furlong seller at the Grand National meeting of 1967 (Flat racing was discontinued at Aintree in 1976). He was ridden a couple of times by Lester Piggott and one of his stable lads was Lee Mack, now a wellknown comedian. He was switched to jumping and enjoyed success in hurdles and novice chases for the Grand National-winning northern yard of Bobby Renton (responsible for Freebooter, 1960), but he suffered from a foot disease, pedal osteitis, and was sent to the Doncaster Sales in 1972.

Here, the colourful Southport trainer Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain snapped him up for an octogenarian local businessman, Noel Le Mare, for 6,000gns, with the intention of aiming him at the National. McCain operated on a small scale, with only a handful of horses stabled behind a car showroom, and he drove taxis in his spare time. Exercise on the nearby sands and in the shallow salt waters of Merseyside worked wonders for Rummy’s feet.

In 1974, the horse was allocated a weight of 12 stone, but still beat the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner L’Escargot by seven lengths. This was the first horse to win successive Nationals since Reynoldstown in 1936 and it was a third win for his quiet jockey, Fletcher, who triumphed on Red Alligator in

1968. Red Rum followed up by winning the Scottish National at Ayr only two weeks later. He was second at Aintree in 1975 when L’Escargot gained revenge and again in 1976, behind Rag Trade. By this time, the Irish champion jockey Tommy Stack had replaced Fletcher. Stack’s 25-length triumph in 1977, at 9-1, on Red Rum, now 12 years old, set a record and incited one of Peter O’Sullevan’s most stirring commentaries: ‘He’s getting the most tremendous cheer from the crowd, they’re willing him home.’ His extraordinary performance caused a national outpouring of joy and was instrumental in rescuing Aintree racecourse, which had faced the threat of closure.

Red Rum lived to the age of 30, a ripe age for a racehorse—or, indeed, any horse—and was buried by the winning post at Aintree. He had run 100 times and only fallen on one occasion. He even only pecked once over the huge Aintree fences—McCain, a defiantly outspoken figure, had plenty to say about later modifications to these once-imposing obstacles. The pair entered racing legend and, in 2004, McCain won the great race again, with Amberleigh House. His son, Donald Jnr, won it with Ballabriggs in 2011.

The Aintree Festival starts tomorrow (April 13–15). The Randox Grand National is on Saturday at 5.15pm

Blends with benefits

Photographs by Clara Molden

AFRIEND of mine messaged me from Guatemala not long ago, having just arrived in Central America for the start of a random three-month ramble around the eastern coastline. Yet, his WhatsApp message didn’t contain pictures of Aztec ruins or sun-kissed beaches. Attached was a photo of a ruined pile of Yorkshire Tea bags, waterlogged and rendered beyond brewing by a leaking hotel ceiling that destroyed the supply he’d brought all the way from London. ‘Feel like coming home already,’ he moaned. He was joking—but only just. Such is the Englishman’s devotion to tea; a product that, like chicken korma, pizza and lukewarm Chardonnay, has almost nothing to do with the nation that has commandeered it as its own true love.

Tea is the great leveller. The vessel you drink it from, the time of day and environment in which you consume it and the posture you assume when imbibing it may vary. However, it’s still the greatest solution to the emotionally constipated, repressed English character we have: our words of comfort or our ability to discuss the mood and health of loved ones may struggle to eclipse the verbal dexterity of a Clinton’s greeting card—but we all know how to offer, make and present a cup of tea to the sad, the grieving, the tired and the hungover.

It’s a process that often starts in childhood. It certainly did so for food and drink consultant Jane Milton: ‘I grew up in Glasgow in the 1970s and, for as long as I can remember, tea has been at the heart of my life. I can remember being given a cup of milky tea in the evening as I was getting ready for bed —the ritual of the pot being heated, the tea being stirred and allowed to brew. It was

something done with care, reverence even, in our not particularly “foodie” family. It was something that you were offered everywhere and it showed hospitality.’

Tea, Dr Milton notes, is a great starting point for conversation: ‘In most cultures, there is a “tea” that is brewed and shared out, people gather round and drink it. Tea is always the answer.’

with more awaiting her in her office, she encourages people to be more adventurous. ‘Opening a new packet of tea is like opening a new bottle of wine. You won’t know what you’re going to get until you taste it—quite light, honeysuckle and caramel in one. A real burnt-sugar feel to another. If you like black tea, stick with that to begin with and explore, and, after that, perhaps branch out and get into oolong tea, roasted two or three times so the tea goes very dark.’

However, if some manner of tea is almost a cultural universal, the way different countries brew the leaves of Camellia sinensis ‘can be traced back to the route that their tea took out of China—by sea to Europe, overland to the west of China along ancient trade routes, such as the Silk Road, or to countries to the east of China because of the connection with Zen Buddhism,’ explains Jane Pettigrew, one of a growing cohort of tea sommeliers. First exposed to black tea, the British became used to drinking it strong and dark with milk and they are very conservative about it. ‘It’s really hard to get [them to go] beyond English Breakfast blend and Earl Grey. We’re simply trying to open their eyes to other possibilities. It’s really very much like wine was 30 or 40 years ago, when we only chose “rosé”, “white” or “red”.’

It’s an approach that tea sommeliers such as Ms Pettigrew seek to change. Revealing that she currently has 80 different teas at home,

Her preferences are the dark oolongs made in the Wuyi Mountains in China’s Fujian Province. ‘Once the teas have been processed, they are roasted over charcoal to give a roastytoasty character with hints of ripe stone fruits, such as peaches, plums and apricots, and deeper, darker notes of dates, prunes, toasted grains and lightly charred wood. My favourite is Rou Gui (Cassia), which has a wonderful dry, spicy cinnamon character with suggestions of molten sugar and honey in the flavour and a delicious lingering aftertaste that is sweet, spicy and slightly smoky.’

She is also partial to Chinese white teas, which are a complete contrast to the complex, layered character of Rou Gui. ‘The more expensive (called Yin Zhen, meaning Silver Needles) are made using only the new leaf buds, which are covered with fine silver hairs that give the dry leaves their silvery, pale-green appearance. If you run your fingers over the surface of one bud, it feels like velvet. When these gorgeous furry buds are steeped in water at 80˚C, they yield an aroma that reminds us of honeysuckle and gently perfumed white flower notes. The taste is gently floral, slightly herbaceous, often with hints of almonds before the nut’s brown skin has been removed. These teas can be steeped several times and, although they are quite costly, they deliver wonderful aroma and flavour from each brew.’

The British are very conservative when it comes to tea, but a gentle revolution is under way, spearheaded, in part, by a new breed of experts. Rob Crossan meets some of our best tea sommeliers to discuss the nation’s cuppa habits

In most cultures, there is a “tea” that is brewed and shared out. Tea is always the answer

Awarded the British Empire Medal for Services to Tea Production and Tea History, Ms Pettigrew is currently director of studies at the UK Tea Academy and oversees the qualifications that budding tea enthusiasts can attain to enter the tea-tasting industry or even, perhaps, become a tea sommelier themselves. ‘The word sommelier originates from Middle French and was used for a member of the household who looked after everything from the linen to the groceries—sourcing them, storing them, transporting them and looking after them. That’s what our graduates do with tea,’ she says. ‘We start right at the beginning, by teaching people how to store tea, where best to buy it, how to brew it— there’s so much more to this than dumping hot water into a mug with a bag in it— describing tea and its origins to people and knowing what time of year it’s picked, what its flavour profile is.’

It takes more than 10 hours of lectures for the initial ‘tea champion’ qualification. There’s homework in the upper levels beyond that, with everything taught online in sessions that last up to three hours at a time. Yet that’s nothing compared with what Giandomenico Scanu, who holds the exalted position of tea sommelier at the Palm Court Lounge inside The Ritz on Piccadilly, London W1, went through to earn his tea spurs. The Ritz is one of a small, but growing, number of hotels and restaurants that are taking their tea stocks as seriously as their wine cellars. Signor Scanu was raised in Sardinia, Italy, and his tea fixation began when he moved to London and landed a job at The Ritz in 2002. ‘I grew up in a country not famous for tea drinking at all and I’m a convert,’ he admits. ‘I qualified in 2012 through the International Tea Masters’ Association in the US, before the UK Tea Academy was even formed. I travelled to Japan, Sri Lanka and Taiwan as part of the course to learn about tea and even took a course in Mandarin, as I thought it would help me converse with tea farmers.’

Signor Scanu is quick to point out that the cost of good tea is about £300–£400 for a kilo (about 2lb). It’s a cost The Ritz can easily absorb, but I wonder if customers used to paying so little for tea in supermarkets are ready to shell out more money for their brew.

‘I definitely see tea culture changing in the UK,’ he asserts. ‘It’s small steps, but change is happening for sure.’ For example, he observes, ‘guests do ask a lot more questions about tea than they used to. Our English Breakfast blend is still by far our most popular brew served at afternoon tea, but that isn’t boring for me. I love the fact that, even if people stick to the tea they know, their expectations are getting higher. Britain has the passion for tea. It’s simply that the really good tea out there doesn’t have much to do with an ordinary tea bag!’

For Dr Milton, the path that took her from childhood cups to graduating as a tea sommelier was unwittingly shaped by her mother. ‘My mum never drank milk with her tea; so, from 14 or 15, I was doing the same.’ This early, milk-less experience (rare at the time) eventually led to her working with a Sri Lankan tea company called Dilmah. Keen to enhance her own knowledge and improve that of others—

‘I remember having tea described to me as “Ceylon” in one restaurant when it wasn’t even from Sri Lanka at all’—she became the first British citizen to take the written exams, blind tea cuppings and oral tests set by the president of the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada on the History and Mythology of Tea. ‘It was quite a commitment! Some online classes were in the middle of the night, so I had to drink tea on Canadian time—having 40 different teas in the middle of the night then going back to sleep!’ To qualify as a Certified TAC Tea Sommelier Professional in 2017, she even travelled to Toronto to sit one exam.’ Some people become Masters of Wine for the fun of it, so why not?’

Given her mastery, I’m intrigued to find out whether she thinks humble tea drinkers in the UK are well served by standard paper tea bags. ‘Supermarket teas are designed in the UK to work as well as they can with our tap water, milk and

Slow down and let it brew for more than the usual 10 seconds that the British tend to think is enough

two sugars,’ she says, rather diplomatically. ‘The big boys, such as Tetley and PG Tips, presume that you’re going to brew your tea very quickly and not in a pot. Their teas perform well for that purpose. I absolutely think that people should drink tea exactly as they want it. But it’s a bit like the difference between having a chocolate sorbet and a slice of chocolate cake. You’ll always taste the chocolate more in the sorbet, as there isn’t any fat in it. With tea, it’s the same principle; remove the milk and the sugar in a good tea and the flavour will come out so much better.’

Perhaps because of her early experience of tea as solace, she doesn’t turn up her nose at soothing cups: ‘Let me tell you about Genmaicha—a green tea with pieces of toasted rice in it, often described as having a popcorn-like flavour. The toasted rice brings a nuttiness that accentuates the sweet notes in the green tea, a pan-fired tea. For me, it is a great comforting drink and a pick-me-up, good when you need something with sweetness to give you a boost.’ Similarly, she admits a fondness for chai: ‘Although some may be sniffy about adding milk to black teas, chais are made to be creamy and comforting and there are endless combinations of cinnamon, cardamom,

ginger, black pepper and other ingredients, such as fennel seeds and cloves, too. Chai warms your soul.’

Both Ms Pettigrew and Dr Milton have tasted obscure teas from all over the planet

and are increasingly being called upon by restaurants eager to learn not only about the best stand-alone cuppas, but also about tea pairings. ‘If adding new teas, buyers need to be aware that customers love the backstory to the products they choose, so the venue needs to buy teas that have an interesting story; get as much information about each and every tea as possible, about the tea garden, the tea maker, any special stories about the people, the region, the garden, the method of production, etc,’ insists Ms Pettigrew.

‘For instance, I love a green tea called Long Jing (Dragon Well) from Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. The tea growers and makers live in the hills that surround West Lake (Xi Hu) in Zhejiang where the humid air feeds moisture to the tea plants. The same style of tea is made by all the villagers and they process the tea using their bare hands in a hot wok. The skilful hand movements shape this famous tea into instantly recognisable, small, flat, jade-coloured needles. The leaves brew to give a crystal-clear, pale-golden liquor that has a nutty, savoury aroma and is thick and velvety in the mouth with hints of roasted nuts and sweet young green vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus and pea pods.’

Yet, they both tell me that some of the most interesting tea developments are actually

I love the fact that, even if people stick to the tea they know, their expectations are getting higher

happening closer to home, albeit with a hefty price tag attached to them. ‘The tea market is amazing in this country,’ says Dr Milton. ‘I found a company called Nine Ladies Dancing in Perth, which makes a tea that costs £95 for a 40g caddy at Fortnum & Mason. You only need a bit under 2g to make a good cup, but that’s still a very high price. I genuinely think it’s worth it, but I haven’t tried it yet!’

Before we empty our wallets and purses in the pursuit of ultra-rare teas, however, I’m curious to know what I can do right this minute to improve my next cup. ‘I always

All the tea in China: where to taste proper tea

The Ritz Palm Court Lounge, London W1

It’s £92 per person for Champagne afternoon tea at The Ritz, but you can’t really spend it better; the array of sandwiches, cakes, scones and, naturally, a tea menu featuring more than 20 different blends is one of the most life-affirming experiences London can offer. Gents must still wear a jacket and tie to be allowed in to peruse a menu that includes a Lapsang Souchong blend from China; a peaty, black tea made from leaves smoked over a pine fire.

www.theritzlondon.com

advise people to buy a water filter to put in your fridge and make your tea with that,’ explains Ms Pettigrew. ‘You will not believe the difference this will instantly make to any tea that you brew up. Chlorine in tap water kills flavours in tea like you wouldn’t imagine.’

Dr Milton also suggests stirring the tea as it’s brewing, in either the pot or the mug. ‘Slow down and let it brew for more than the usual 10 seconds that the British tend to

Waldorf Hilton, London WC2

Significantly cheaper than The Ritz (£59 per person), afternoon tea inside the Homage restaurant at the Waldorf Hilton is inspired by the story of Beauty and the Beast and includes some unusual teas, such as an organic Chaquoing green tea from Sri Lanka, as well as a Waldorf signature blend, made with whole orange pieces. The menu even notes at what temperature each individual tea is brewed.

www.afternoontea.co.uk

think is enough. Look at the box and see how much time it recommends you to leave it for. I would also heat the mug by filling it with hot water, pour it out and then put the tea in to brew. It’s a great trick for retaining heat for longer.’

Above all, however, her advice is to enjoy your cup, taking a few minutes to yourself: ‘It’s such a great ritual. It’s still the cheapest way to relax there is.’

The good stuff

Lemtosh Black with Celebrity blue tint, £365, Moscot (020–7379 1915; www.moscot.com)

the blues

Jaco Swimsuit, £380, Eres (www.eres paris.com)

It’s the colour that flatters all, says Hetty Lintell as she selects accessories to stop you feeling blue

Jubilee collection Mach III shaving set, £325, Truefitt & Hill (020–7493 2961; www. truefittandhill.co.uk)

Single playing cards case in Panama, £195, Smythson (0808 164 1801; www.smythson.com)

Aqua Terra 150m with Atlantic Blue dial, £6,100, Omega (www.omega watches.com)

Cabin case, £630, Rimowa (020–762 98131; www. rimowa.com)

Men’s nubuck calfskin sneakers, £690, Brunello Cucinelli (020–7287 4347; www.brunello cucinelli.com)

Lio tote bag, £158, Poppy Lissiman (www. poppylissiman.com)

Wolferton shawl lapel waistcoat, £290, Favourbrook (020–7493 5060; www.favour brook.com)

An eye to the future

MY husband, Sam, and his siblings grew up at Trewithen, the 18thcentury house where we live in Cornwall. Their father, Michael, inherited it from his great-aunt, Elizabeth Johnstone, a formidable woman who had left a legacy of service to both the estate and to the county. From a young age, Sam knew it was his father’s hope that he would one day make Trewithen his home and run the estate. In 2015, the family celebrated 300 years of life

at Trewithen and we became the 10th generation to live here. Moving to the house was as exciting as it was daunting; it has long been prominent in Cornwall and its garden is open to the public from March to September. Arriving here in 2016, we began to learn how the stewardship of a historic house works and were extremely fortunate to be guided by Sam’s father and stepmother, whose years of experience provided us with all we needed to know.

Embarking on a new chapter in the history of an ancestral home requires patience, persistence and the right guidance, finds Kitty Galsworthy

In our first year, the long views from the sash windows allowed us to absorb our new surroundings as they evolved through the seasons. We started the process of creating an estate masterplan with the brilliant landscape architect Matthew Tickner and considered what changes we might make to the interior. Our instinct has always been to rely on the past to inform our decisions,

as well as preparing the house and estate for the future. With this in mind, we enlisted the help of Timothy Mowl, my favourite lecturer at Bristol University, who has written prolifically about British houses and gardens, including Trewithen. He seemed the obvious person to research and write a Heritage Statement, which we were hopeful would support any argument for proposed changes.

With the brilliant and experienced Martin Llewellyn of Llewellyn Harker Lowe as architect and Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham as interior designer, we coaxed the house into the 21st century. We began to look at how to put plumbing into the east end of the house, praying that there would be voids to accommodate pipework. There was much to unpick; with walls full of horse

Installing

hair and floor joists that comprised almost the entire length of a tree. The last major structural changes to the house were made in 1760 by Robert Taylor, architect of the Bank of England.

When the building team started, we discovered exquisite pencil signatures and sketches on the panelling that must have pre-dated Taylor and been hidden for centuries behind fitted shelves of the Smoking

Room. We sought the advice of the architectural historian and colour expert Edward Bulmer, who believes that the colour of the preserved panelling was the original drab green, untouched by time. We also discovered drawers containing mother-of-pearl opera glasses and many pairs of hornrimmed spectacles. An 18th-century sampler provided inspiration for a new fender made for us by Fine Cell Work, the charity that

We discovered exquisite sketches in the Smoking Room that must have been hidden for centuries

teaches prisoners how to make high-quality needlework. With the help of Caroline Hartley of Good Sorts, we organised, catalogued and packed up the contents of the house for the duration of the work. We repurposed as much as we could, including

some chintz that was made into shower curtains and huge cushions for the window seat in the playroom.

After work was completed, we were able gradually to return furniture to the house and we were able to consider where each

piece would be best placed; re-hanging the historic paintings gave us the opportunity to tell the family’s story. The library was brought back together and catalogued, revealing some incredibly rare books, as well as the interests of various generations.

Since completion, some of the building team has formed a new company with Sam —Ilex Construction, which focuses on the rejuvenation of heritage buildings. We have our own significant upcoming project, which will involve restoring the Home Farm building, the 18th-century Walled Garden and Trevithick Barn, that housed the first ever steam-powered wheat-threshing machine and is named after the Cornish engineer who designed it, Richard Trevithick. Sam’s passion is regenerative farming and we have an organic dairy and an English longhorn herd on the home estate.

To live at Trewithen is such a joy. The responsibility of being its custodian encourages a depth of understanding and engagement that becomes a part of the pleasure. To have been preceded by family who have each chosen to mark their legacy in different, but significant ways makes the future extremely exciting.

Trewithen, Truro, Cornwall (01726 883647; www.trewithengardens.co.uk)

Contacts

Artorius Faber (01935 847333; www.artoriusfaber.com)

Edward Bulmer (01544 388535; www.edwardbulmerinteriordesign.co.uk)

Fine Cell Work (020–7931 9998; www.finecellwork.co.uk)

Good Sorts (01491 845552; www.good-sorts.co.uk)

Guild Anderson (01747 820449; www.guildandersonfurniture.co.uk)

Martin Llewellyn, Llewellyn Harker Lowe (01749 860022; www.llewellynharker.com)

Matthew Tickner, Cookson & Tickner (01823 430085; www.cooksonandtickner.co.uk)

Salvesen Graham (020–7967 7777; www.salvesengraham.com)

Timothy Mowl (www.timothymowl.com)

Renovation is an opportunity to reconsider the positioning of each piece of furniture

The responsibility encourages a depth of understanding and engagement that is part of the pleasure

Interiors

A lot of bottle

FOR Jennifer Manners, the stubborn resilience that makes discarded synthetic materials such a threat to the environment has also created an opportunity. The challenge, however, was to combine that resilience with inspiring design and beautiful colours to create soft, supple rugs that redefine the possibilities of sustainable flooring with a material that would otherwise have ended in landfill or in the sea. The Chelsea-based designer— who works with a wide range of fibres, from wool and silk to nettle and jute—can trace the evolution of her new range of rugs to a throw made of recycled bottles. The design struck Miss Manners as a clever way to repurpose some of the millions of single-use bottles discarded each year and she tasked her team of weavers in the Indian city of Bhadohi near Varanasi (known as ‘carpet city’) with the challenge of transforming them so that the material mimics the look and feel of wool. ‘Without their enthusiasm for the project, we would have hit a dead end.’

The result is her /re/Purpose Performance Collection of hand-knotted rugs that are

luxurious, beautiful and functional—and so hard wearing that they can be bleach cleaned (small rugs can easily be washed in a domestic washing machine). ‘Synthetic fibres are impermeable, so things such as red wine— or worse—sit on the fibre rather than sinking into the pile and creating permanent damage,’ she explains. ‘There were very few luxury brands with this approach and committing

such as hotels, as well as homes with children and animals. ‘They work particularly well for areas of high traffic, including as stair runners —and they are moth-proof, too,’ she says.

to a sustainable product at this level felt a bit courageous.’ The gamble paid off and the timing worked well. ‘I’m under no illusion that these rugs are going to change the world by repurposing plastic bottles, but I’m doing my bit,’ says Miss Manners.

Although it wasn’t her intention at the time, the durability of the rugs (described as ‘bulletproof’ by devotees) has been welcomed by designers working on commercial projects,

Last month, two new designs were added to the Provence Collection in response to the growing appetite for natural-looking, hardwearing flooring in timeless designs. Cassis and Mougins join Antibes and Marseilles, inspired by the effortless elegance of the south of France and naturally dyed to mimic the colours of jute and sisal. ‘They are heavy on craft and light on pattern,’ she says. As with all her designs, rugs can be re-sized and re-coloured to a client’s specifications. The Provence collection joins several existing designs that use the same repurposed fibres. These range from the ikat -inspired Malibu rug, which comes in a striking lemon yellow, to Rondel, a contemporary design produced in collaboration with the interior designer Henry Prideaux. ‘We promote a focus of buying well and buying less,’ says Miss Manners. ‘It’s better for our clients and it’s better for the planet.’

Jennifer Manners Design (020–3648 6865; www.jennifermanners.co.uk)

Jennifer Manners has spent three years developing a range of luxury rugs made from recycled water bottles, finds Arabella Youens

The durable rugs are described as “bulletproof” by devotees

If you go down to the woods today…

Isabella Worsley has designed interiors of treehouses in the grounds of Callow Hall in Derbyshire that are at one with their surroundings, finds Arabella Youens

THE Inchbald-trained interior designer Isabella Worsley worked on this project in tandem with Blue Forest, a specialist in the construction of tree houses. It is one of a number of similar structures in the grounds of Callow Hall, a 15-bedroom hotel near Ashbourne in Derbyshire.

‘The setting, up in ancient woodlands behind the hotel, is magical, particularly in spring when there are carpets of bluebells below,’ the designer says. ‘The the interiors are clad in timber planks. Each is different, but they all share a common theme, which is the use of natural materials, such as wool and linen, and colour palettes that are earthy and naturalistic.’ The backdrop of

When researching different style options, the idea of gypsy folklore and storytelling struck the designer as a suitable theme. She enlisted the help of the decorative artist Tess Newall (‘A passion for pattern’, October 12, 2022) and, together, they agreed on introducing touches of Swedish folklore motifs

to the rooms. The artist painted stencil designs around the window architraves and wardrobes, allowing the textured grain to show through and adding whimsical, hand-painted patterning. ‘They imbue the interiors with a story,’ says Miss Worsley. ‘What I really wanted to avoid was pastiche or anything overwhelming; the setting is so spectacular that it was important nothing detracted from that.’

Isabella Worsley (www.isabellaworsley.com)

Callow Hall, Derbyshire (01335 300900; www.wildhive.uk)

Blue Forest (01892 750090; www.blueforest.com)

What I really wanted to avoid was anything overwhelming

It’s a dog’s world

IN Georgina Montagu’s book Top Dogs (Review, September 21, 2022), which explores the relationship between humans and their four-legged friends, the matter of where they sleep is regularly addressed. At one stage in their lives, all six of Carole Bamford’s shih tzus slept on her bed —on a pillow, stretched out alongside her and curled at her feet. Cedric, a whippet belonging to the gallerist Philip Mould, regularly sneaks under the duvet at night. John Pawson, the architect famous for his neutral, pared-back aesthetic, owns a cockapoo, Lochie, who enjoys f ree rein of the house and all its furniture; his dog bed, for when he chooses to use it, is upholstered with one of his master’s cashmere jumpers. Even the shepherdess

Alison O’Neill allows her sheepdog, Shadow, to snooze in front of the fire in her house.

The Duke of Richmond’s dogs, two cocker spaniels and a dachshund, exist in what might be described as the twilight zone when it comes to dogs’ sleeping habits. ‘We don’t say they’re not allowed upstairs, but they don’t have beds up there.’ The only person interviewed in the book who seems to hold a more old-fashioned view on this subject is Jake Fiennes, head of conservation for the Holkham Hall estate in Norfolk and brother of the actor Ralph. Logan, a cocker spaniel, sleeps in a crate. ‘Dogs in the bed? Absolutely appalling,’ he says.

Over the past century, dogs have migrated from the chilly climes of the outdoor kennel to the warmth of their owners’ homes. The first penetration into the domestic space was when they were ushered into vinyl-floored utility rooms to sleep in plastic baskets, typically chewed around the edges and upholstered with newspaper and an old towel. A spluttering hot-water tank, sheathed in some disintegrating insulation, gave warmth and company throughout the night. Today, things have moved on: they are more likely to enjoy the comfort of the Aga, a sitting-room sofa or their owners’ bedrooms (and beds). In most cases, it’s been seen as a welcome advancement of civilisation. A house without a dog lounging in front of a fire or radiator risks feeling sterile, lifeless or inanimate. Lucy Hammond Giles, associate director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, is unequivocal on this matter (020–7518 8571; www.sibylcolefax.com). ‘As with children, people ask if dogs should be allowed in the smartest of rooms. Yes, in our house, absolutely—houses are for living in!’ she replies. Her family’s dog Storm ends up sleeping on all sofas in the sitting room and then on her sons’ beds at night.

Below: Doggy luxury from Charley Chau. Right: Stephen Pettifer’s Hungarian vizsla, Bean, comfortable on the Wilton estate

What’s the best way to live side by side with our four-legged friends, asks Arabella Youens

A house without a dog lounging in front of a fire or radiator risks feeling sterile, lifeless or inanimate

Interiors

The Duke of Richmond is quick to point out in Top Dogs that concern for the physical comfort of canine companions isn’t an entirely modern phenomenon—nor a worrying sign of the slackening of formal values. In some cases, it was ever thus. His ancestor, the 3rd Duke, commissioned the architect James Wyatt to design a grand set of kennels, providing his foxhounds with central heating long before guests staying in the main house were given the same treatment. Such was the quality of the kennels that, today, the building has effortlessly been reborn as the Goodwood golf clubhouse (01243 755168; www.goodwood.com).

Now that furniture is more regularly shared with four-legged friends, the challenge is on to make sure that some semblance of cleanliness and elegance can be upheld. Throws on upholstery offer an obvious choice, as do sofas and chairs covered with loose covers that can be thrown in the washing machine. Any fabric likely to tear (fine wool or cashmere) should be avoided. To mark territory, dogs have scent glands on the bottom of their feet that secrete a distinct pheromone. That familiar ritual of turning in circles and scratching on the sofa cushion (or bed) isn’t only them rearranging the feathers to create a more comfortable nook, it’s to show others they’ve marked the spot as their own.

Dog-bed designer Christine Chau believes, if you buy the right bed for your dog—one that mirrors the way in which it prefers to sleep, including snuggle beds for those that like to burrow—you stand half a chance that it will sleep in it rather than on any furniture (0161–848 8702; www.charleychau.com). The business she co-founded with her sister has transformed the market in dog beds, which hitherto had been dominated by garish gardencentre varieties that clash in any aesthetically considered space. Chau’s designs are ergonomically sound, long-lasting, functional in that they are machine washable, yet smart enough to fit into the most stylish house.

Flooring is another consideration, especially on the ground floor, where wet dogs tend to nose dive along carpets and rugs after

breakfast or a wet walk. Check that a carpet is made of materials that are easy to clean; a shorter-weave design will be easier to vacuum. Hardwood floors are practical; tiles and, for those with a modern bent, floors of polished concrete are ideal because they’re easily cleaned. Engineered wood floors are more structurally stable when exposed to moisture (from a mop, as well as wet paws) than solid wood. Polished parquet risks being scratched by claws of those canines that employ the drying technique colloquially known as ‘mad

dogs’—running at high speed around the house. Jennifer Manners has a collection of rugs made from recycled plastic bottles that are highly resilient when it comes to stains (020–3903 0687; www.jennifermanners.co.uk).

Nina Campbell, another dog-loving interior designer, recommends a sink in the utility room large enough to bathe a small dog or a shower outside (plumbed for hot water) for larger hounds (020–7225 1011; www.shop. ninacampbell.com). For dogs to live inside the house, keeping them clean is ‘pretty vital’.

A grand set of kennels provided his foxhounds with central heating long before guests in the main house had it

Interiors

Mulberry Home, Scion, Schumacher and Mind

The Gap, a new arrival at the Design Centre. Ultimately, however, for dogs and their owners to live in harmony together in the home, it requires more persistence and discipline in the form of training. Regardless of how many rules are implemented and stair gates fitted, the truth is that a well-behaved dog will make far fewer demands on an interior than a hound that has been given the impression that they are the master of the domestic universe. Concerns over hygiene, having sleep broken in the night by a dog moving around the bed or snoring too loudly, are brushed aside when the owner has learned to control their canine companion.

Top dog tips

• Sign up to a puppy-training course and continue any training until the basic commands of ‘let’s go’, ‘stay’, ‘leave’ and ‘in’ are learnt

• Use stair gates to make boundaries clear and enforceable

• Buy a spare set of loose covers for the sofa (look out for a fabric with a Martindale value of at least 25,000— this a rub test that establishes durability)

• The Unnatural Flooring Company makes washable sisal-look carpet

• Install a butler’s sink in the boot room or an outdoor shower for larger breeds ‘Top Dogs: A British Love Affair’ by Georgina Montagu, with photographs by Dylan Thomas, is published by Triglyph Books (£60)

The subject of dogs and interior design was recently explored at an event at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10, with the author of Top Dogs and Mrs Hammond Giles, associate director of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler (who features in the book)—both of whom were accompanied by their dogs, as were most of the audience. As well as the practical aspect to the challenge (for example, the tactical positioning of child gates for corralling canine members of the family when necessary and choosing breeds such as poodle crosses that don’t moult) there was much discussion of how

and why dogs remain such an important ingredient in any happy home.

Dogs bring significant joy to the Design Centre, too, where they are not only welcomed, but positively encouraged; on occasions, customers, showroom staff and interior designers are invited to celebrate their beloved companions at Dog Days, with the chance to win awards. Dogs are championed, too, in many of the collections at the centre; the artist Holly Frean has created an assortment of fabrics and wallpapers featuring various breeds that are also available on cushions. Dogs occur in the collections of Pierre Frey,

New looks

The latest furniture, fabrics and finds, selected by Amelia Thorpe

Sit soft Sofas & Stuff offers an impressive range of fabrics for its sofas, chairs and footstools, including its own exclusive woven and printed linens, as well as designs produced in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and V&A Museum. The Orford three-seater sofa in RHS Large Knot Garden Gold linen, £4,634, a design drawn from a garden and orchard plan printed by Adam Islip in 1602 and held in the RHS Lindley Library (0808 178 3211; www.sofas andstuff.com)

Light touch

The Pagoda hanging lantern was inspired by an 1840s English antique. It is handmade in brass and finished with red, £7,212, from Charles Edwards (020–7736 8490; www.charles edwards.com)

Green and pleasant

Interior designer Georgie Wykeham offers a small range of handmade furniture available in a jaunty selection of matt or gloss finishes, including the Turkish console table in Feld, £1,900 (07795 810539; www.georgiewykehamdesigns.com)

Ready the table with cork placemats by interior designer Flora Soames, who has emblazoned them with her signature Dahlias design with a high-gloss finish, £155 for a set of six (01747 445650; www.florasoames.com)

Interiors

Hanging out

The Gwynn lantern, £3,420, features pierced quatrefoils in the upper fretwork, inspired by the Gothic tradition. The pagoda roof and scrolled terminals are a nod to Chinese-export styles popular in England during the 18th and 19th centuries, from Jamb (020–7730 2122; www.jamb.co.uk)

Creative collaboration

Classic look

Create a classical-style floor with Grosvenor English limestone tiles and Kingsbury English limestone cabochon, from £300 per sq m, Artorius Faber (01935 847333; www.artoriusfaber.com)

In a swirl

This set of four colourful Swirl tumblers, £95, will brighten any table, available from Joanna Wood (020–7730 5064; https://shop. joannawood.com)

Interior designers Bunny Turner (below left) and Emma Pocock (below right) of Turner Pocock have recently collaborated with furniture-maker Julian Chichester (below centre) to create a capsule collection of furniture and mirrors. ‘The philosophy of both brands has familiar foundations; notably, taking inspiration from the past to create unique statement designs,’ says Mr Chichester. Each piece is named after Bunny and Emma’s children—including the Jackson desk, £6,120, shown here (below left). It features tactile reeded detailing and is finished in light African Walnut and Jade high-gloss vellum inlay. Lilah mirrors (left) are inspired by an antique Dutch ‘Ripple’ design, with hand-carved gesso frames, £2,039 each (020–7622 2928; www.julian chichester.com)

Interiors

Spring fresh Welcome spring with the Striped Planter, from £65, made from tole with cut-out detailing, from Matilda Goad & Co (www. matildagoad.com)

Fancy footwork

With feet inspired by the paws of a lion cub, the Sarabi bench, £4,560, has a Gilded Gold paint finish to accentuate its elegant legs, from Porta Romana (01420 23005; www.portaromana.com)

Getting organised

Fitted-furniture specialist Neville Johnson suggests that a wellordered boot room helps create ordered calm in even the busiest of homes. The Wentworth cupboards, shelves and bench seating starts at £3,600 (0161–873 8333; www. nevillejohnson.co.uk)

Easy living

The Ottilie loose cover collection from Love Your Home includes this comfortable chaise corner sofa, from £3,805, complete with soft feather-wrapped cushions and loose covers that can be easily removed for laundering (01483 410007; www.love-your-home.co.uk)

Italian detail

Inject a little Italian style into any room with the Portofino rattan side table, £1,635, from Paolo Moschino (020–7730 8623; www.paolomoschino.com)

Passion for pattern

Acclaimed textile designer Sarah Campbell, whose eye for spirited pattern and glorious colour has earned her an international following, has collaborated with fabric studio Pukka Print to produce a collection of hand-block-printed linens, including (from left) Rashers (on table), Piano, Abacus, Fortune Teller and Kaleidoscope, £180 per m (www.pukkaprintlinen.com)

Interiors

Two’s company

A joyful collection of contemporary woven, tufted and felted wool rugs, as well as cushions and upholstered furniture, have been produced as part of a collaboration between Roger Oates Design and A Rum Fellow, including the Mila Terracotta flatweave rug, £2,266 (01531 632718; www.rogeroates.com)

Up the wall

Interior-design supremo Nina Campbell has joined forces with Fired Earth to produce a range of tiles designed to elevate any space, including Rivage Indigo and Ivory glazed wall tiles, £75.20 per sq m (01295 587100; www.firedearth.com)

Even light

The Leila triple pendant on a rod in Antique Brass, from £2,214, is designed to cast an even light across a table or kitchen island top, Hector Finch (020–7731 8886; www.hectorfinch.com)

Layered look

Button Back Chesterfield sofa in Lichen wool, from £2,495; Caned coffee table, £745; Blue Rose Ragini rug, from £925; Cushions, from £68 each; Woollen throws, from £94 each; Large Carved lamp bases, £245 each, with 16in Indian Red Sacha framed lampshades, £98 each; all Susie Watson Designs (0344 980 8185; www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk)

Animal magic

Inspired by English Delftware, each Blue and White tin-glazed earthenware plate is handmade and hand painted by artists near Oxford for Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Six designs are available, each featuring an animal set within a landscape, and cost £294 each. ‘More amusing and playful than the traditional floral patterns, three of these plates hung on the wall each side of a mirror over a fireplace could look terrific,’ says Roger Jones, decorator and head of the antiques department (020–7518 8571; www.sibylcolefax.com)

Interiors

Top pots

Tuscan Pots offers a range of olive jars, pots, wall plaques and statues made from a unique clay found only around the town of Impruneta by the River Arno, near Florence in Italy—an area known for centuries for the superb quality and strength of its terracotta. (From left) Anfora Snello, £1,800, Statua di Hebe, £11,000, on a Quadratto Liscio base, £2,800, and Panello di San Giovannino, £950 (07891 986862; www.tuscanpots.co.uk)

Keep it simple Combining a brushedbrass base with an oak-coloured acacia veneer top, the Kingsley coffee table, £1,975, is a sleek choice, from Vaughan (020–7349 4600; www.vaughan designs.com)

Romantic discovery

Ripples in the Dunes is a silk and wool hand-knotted rug, from £880 per sq m, by Veedon Fleece. The design was discovered in a suitcase in an attic in Liverpool (01483 575758; www.veedonfleece.com)

Pick of the crop Ottomans and footstools

Eloise ottoman, in Emma Teal printed linen, £1,100, Neptune (01793 934011;

in V&A Brompton Ikat Chilli cotton-linen mix, £1,454, Sofas & Stuff (0808 178 3211; www.sofasandstuff.com)

Classic elegance

The Clarendon table lamp, £720, is handmade in polished unlacquered brass, shown here with a Gathered Cream Silk shade, £432, from the new lighting collection at Julia Boston Antiques (020–7610 6783; www.juliaboston.com)

linen, £499, Tetrad (01772 792936; www.tetrad.co.uk)

Interiors

Pick of the crop Cordless table lamps

Hanover Nickel tall cordless lamp, £255, Neptune (01793 934011; www.neptune.com)

Panoramic view

This panoramic chinoiserie wallpaper is reproduced from an original 18th-century design, commissioned for the Chinese drawing room of an English country house. Eight drops, from £269.31 per drop, make one full lateral repeat of the design; each 141cm-wide (55in) drop is available in a choice of three lengths, from Zardi & Zardi (01452 814777; www.zardiandzardi.co.uk)

Phileas cordless lamp, £120, with 14cm (5½in) Tall Tapered shade in Golden Piave, £31, Pooky (020–7351 3003; www.pooky.com)

Mini Grisewood wireless lamp and shade, £185, OKA (0333 004 2042; www.oka.com)

Antique inspiration

Risby Vine, from the new fabric collection by Guy Goodfellow, is inspired by an antique crewel embroidery, its arching leaves and scrolling flowers generously scaled and printed on 100% linen; it costs £180 per m (020–7352 9002; www.guygoodfellow collection.com)

Pattern play

Inspired by ancient ikat designs of Central Asia, Bibi linen-cotton mix features a striking motif in bold colours. It costs £55 per m from Warner House (0330 055 2995; www.warner-house.com)

Interiors

Going hyperlocal

For 20 years, the Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Company has forged its frames from British iron and steel. Now, it’s going a step further with a new range of mattresses made from wool supplied by the herd of Aberfield sheep that graze on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. It all began when Amanda Oldfield (above), the company’s co-founder, came across the local flock on the Sandringham estate and asked if she could buy the entire output to use in a new range of mattresses that are being launched later this month. Named the Sandringham Wool Collection, the mattresses benefit from the many

As you please

The Deverill modular sofa can be configured to suit your room, thanks to size, chaise, corner and storage options. The two-seater sofa shown here in House Collection Cotton Sea Mist costs £1,210, from Willow & Hall (020–8939 3800; www.willow andhall.co.uk)

wonders of wool that have been highlighted by the Campaign For Wool since it was launched in 2010 by The King when he was Prince of Wales —it’s sustainable, breathable, flame retardant, hypoallergenic, multiclimatic, the works. The mattresses are handmade by another small, family-run enterprise in Yorkshire, significantly reducing their carbon footprint. Making in the UK, from local materials, has been a major focus for the Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Company since it was founded in 2003. All the beds are produced at its Norfolk premises, using steel and iron also sourced in Britain (01485 542516; www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk)

Bright touch

Wicklewood’s collection of decorative accessories are designed to lift even the gloomiest corner, as this Somerset Pink and Green square cushion, £120, suggests (020–7460 6493; www.wicklewood.com)

In person

Winchester Books Festival offers an opportunity to spend a morning with Emma Sims-Hilditch, creative founder of Neptune and Sims Hilditch interior-design studio, and COUNTRY LIFE’s Executive and Interiors Editor Giles Kime as they discuss their book The Evolution of Home (Rizzoli, £40), which they co-wrote. Emma and Giles will examine the way that the concept of ‘home’ has changed over the years and how this has been reflected in interior design, illustrating their talk with images of Sims Hilditch’s interiors inspired by timeless English design. The event will take place on April 21, 10.30am–12.30pm, at Neptune, Chapel Lane, Winchester, Hampshire. Coffee and cake will be served and the ticket price of £50 includes a copy of the book, a Neptune candle and goodie bag. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.winchester booksfestival.com

A place for everything

Why storage is more important than space

STORAGE has always been a rare commodity in newly built houses. Even at the most luxurious end of the market, a house might be a vision of shiny kitchens, fancy German plumbing and sweeping staircases, but the fact that potential purchasers would have nowhere to hang a thong—let alone a suit—is conveniently glossed over in the glossiest of brochures. As every developer knows, the problem is fitted storage is expensive and will happily chomp its way through that most jealously guarded column in a spreadsheet—the profit margin.

In a crowded world where space is an increasingly rare commodity, even the most hard-nosed developers recognise that storage has a magical capacity to transform even the pokiest space, from a bedroom where catswinging would be strongly discouraged to the shallowest alcove on a landing. Although the investment required can be significant, history relates that a smaller, less-expensive property with ample storage can often be more desirable than a larger one with nowhere to secrete your worldly possessions. Of course, there’s the option of freestanding storage— and, in many contexts, it can work brilliantly,

particularly in big rooms—but, in the right hands, fitted joinery has the capacity to fit the most awkward space like a glove.

When considering fitted storage, the past offers a rich seam of inspiration, from Robert Adam’s libraries at Kenwood and Osterley in London to the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens that was extensively documented in these pages.

When considering fitted storage, the past offers rich inspiration

Images of his work at Castle Drogo, Devon, Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, and Folly Farm, Berkshire, demonstrate his forensic attention to detail both within and without. Among the many distinctive features of Marsh Court in Hampshire is that it boasts possibly the most elegant log store known to man.

Innovation that is facilitating the rapid evolution of storage includes the digital accuracy of computer-aided design and CNC machines that cut wood with pin-point accuracy—as is the rise of interior architecture as a discipline

distinct from architecture and interior design. Even if we aren’t all in the position to benefit from the magical powers of an interior architect, there’s no doubt that their creeping influence is improving the way spaces are designed and how storage can seamlessly be accommodated. A pared-back approach has shown storage doesn’t have to be embellished with broken pediments, heavy moulding and fluted columns —although it can be glorious when it is.

The Country Life edit Fitted storage

Artichoke (01934 745270; www.artichoke-ltd.com)

Distinctive Country Furniture (01935 825800; www.distinctivecountryfurniture.co.uk)

Neville Johnson (020–7499 5145; www.nevillejohnson.co.uk)

Stuart Interiors (01935 826659; www.stuartinteriors.com)

Strachan (0800 212 6137; www.strachan.co.uk)

Sip back and relax

FOR many people, the only experience of vermouth used to come in the form of an ancient bottle hidden at the back of the drinks cabinet. It would sit—mysterious and sometimes menacing—next to the holiday ouzo and Harvey’s Bristol Cream. Which is all wrong; because, in fact, vermouth should be kept refrigerated and consumed within two weeks, not left to gather dust for 20 years.

Drunk properly, it has much to offer: the beauty of vermouth is that it can be enjoyed both as a stand-alone drink or as a key aromatic ingredient in cocktails. It is superb as a pairing for food or as a digestif. For bartenders and cocktail aficionados, it has long been a crucial ingredient for drinks such as the negroni, at once sweet, bold and bitter and so popular that it has a dedicated week in the calendar. Now, however, vermouth is enjoying a wider revival. Although there once were only a handful of commercial producers across the world, there are now dozens in almost every wine-making nation, including in the UK.

from France; and rojo ‘vermut’ from Spain. The sweet or rosso was the first commercially produced vermouth. Made by Benedetto Carpano in Turin in 1786, it consisted of a Moscato base wine combined with 30 botanicals and was adored and adopted by the Duke of Savoy. Carpano named it ‘wermut’, the German word for wormwood—perhaps a cunning nod to the Duke’s closeness with the Holy Roman Empire.

Italy’s aperitivo ritual is often attributed to the emerging café culture of 18th-century Turin, led by the popularity of Carpano’s first commercial vermouth. A pre-dinner vermouth di Torino, which now has a protected designation of origin, or an aperitivo —such as the Americano or negroni cocktail—are still commonly drunk in the city. Amazingly, the Carpano brand remains very much alive, too: the jewel in its crown is Antica Formula, one of the world’s most sought-after artisan vermouths.

In a nod to the vermouths of Torino, Joseph Noilly, a French maker of absinthe and liqueurs, developed a dry style in 1813. His recipe featured camomile, bitter orange peel, nutmeg, yellow gentian, coriander and cloves. Little did he know that his vermouth would become the key ingredient in the most famous cocktail of all time: the martini. Noilly Prat is widely available and is excellent sipped straight over ice, as well as mixed in a martini.

Martini, stirred, not shaken

For many people, this recipe will read as a ‘wet’ martini, but it’s the one I go back to time and time again. Being a vermouth fan, I actually want to taste it in my martini and this ratio allows those wonderful aromatics to shine. Replacing the gin with vodka is an interesting alternative and another way to celebrate the ingredients in your chosen vermouth

Ingredients

60ml Sipsmith London dry gin

15ml Noilly Prat

Strip of lemon peel

Ice cubes

Method

Combine the London dry and Noilly Prat in a chilled mixing glass, add ice cubes and stir. The liquid should be a little diluted to mellow the alcohol—try tasting it after 10 seconds of stirring. If you like it a little more diluted, keep stirring. Strain into a Nick & Nora glass or coupé, squeeze the lemon peel over the surface of the drink, zest side down to release the oils, then drop it into the drink

Vermouth is a fortified wine and falls into a category known as ‘aromatised wines’ or wine-based aperitifs. Simply put, it is made with a base wine, infused with lots of botanicals, including herbs, roots, barks and spices, sweetened with caramel or mistelle (an unfermented grape juice with added alcohol to cease fermentation). To be a true vermouth, however, it should contain wormwood or one of the 400 possible members of the Artemisia species, which provides one part of the satisfying bitterness.

Different parts of the world have their own styles: there’s rosso (sweet), from Italy; dry

The Spanish style of ‘vermut’ also emerged in the 19th century, first in Barcelona, before making its way to the city of Reus in Catalonia. The Spanish, in general, opt for sweet rojo vermut and this is the dominant style produced in the country. It is often much darker in colour and, for the most part, less complex, as far as spices are concerned, than its Italian equivalent. I would go as far as to say that the traditional vermouths produced in Spain are more rustic, although no less delicious.

Yet, it was with the Italian diaspora of the late 19th and early 20th century, when more than four million people emigrated to the US, that vermouth took over the world—and the cocktail bar. With a thirst for the flavours of their homeland, these immigrants helped shape a palate for these bitter and herbaceous wines. They devoured vermouth, which

found its way into almost every classic cocktail, from the Manhattan to the matinez and the martini. Indeed, the latter, which is arguably the world’s most famous cocktail, was named after a brand of sweet vermouth available at the time, Martini & Rossi. Although, by the early 1900s, the French dry style would replace Italian sweet vermouth in the martini recipe, as Old Tom gin gave way to London dry gin. Incidentally, there have long been heated debates over the proper way to make a martini (including on the COUNTRY L IFE Letters pages). I am afraid that I have little patience for the much-vaunted tales of Hollywood actors, or even Winston Churchill, asking for their gin to be touched only by the sun-rays travelling through vermouth bottles or for the abomination of rinsing a glass with vermouth before throwing it away. The true beauty of the martini lies in the interweaving of the herbs, roots and

Once relegated to the back of the drinks cabinet, vermouth is enjoying a fresh revival and not only as a traditional cocktail ingredient, says

Regardless of how it is made, the martini is not a patch on the negroni, the finest of vermouth cocktails

Twist on a classic: vermouth & tonic

Move over G&T, the V&T has arrived Ingredients

50ml Regal Rogue Daring Dry or Noilly Prat

Fever-Tree elderflower tonic water, to top

Dash of Angostura bitters

Rosemary sprig

Slice of grapefruit

Ice cubes

Method

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes, measure in the vermouth, add the bitters and top up with the tonic. Stir and garnish with the rosemary and grapefruit

spices that go into both gin and vermouth. Most recipes call for as little as 5ml of vermouth (about a scant teaspoon), but this— in my opinion—is too little. To benefit from the terrific range of flavours you need about 15ml (a scant tablespoon).

Regardless of how it’s made, however, the martini is not a patch on the negroni, the finest of all vermouth cocktails. Bar lore has it that it was first served in 1919 at Florence’s Café Casoni, when an Italian count, Camillo Negroni, asked for a boozier version of an Americano, forgoing soda for gin. The negroni is firmly established as an excellent aperitivo, a word derived from the Latin aperire, meaning ‘to open’. Interestingly, when our taste buds perceive bitterness, our body quickly reacts by initiating a response that involves increased salivation and greater stomach acid production, in readiness for a potential poison, hence the feeling of increased appetite. Although, have one negroni too many and hunger can miraculously disappear.

What’s next for vermouth? According to some of the best bartenders in the business, it’s set to remain a very popular drink, although it is now enjoyed in different ways. Brian Silva of Rules Bar reports that ‘peo ple are drinking lighter drinks and adding a splash of vermouth to tonic as an accent’. This trend for lower-alcohol cocktails and drinks is something that Richard Tring, bartender and owner of the vermouth brand Aperitivo! Co in Bristol, has also noticed—he puts it down to a period of ‘selfeducation during lockdown’ and to an overall

‘reduction in people’s drinking habits’. Indre Poskaityte, head bartender of Sessions Arts Club in London, has also noticed a deepening connection between eating and vermouth and regularly finds guests ‘choosing a Cocchi vermouth di Torino as a digestif over the more traditional choice of, say, a whisky’.

As for Felix Ray, bar manager of Curado Bar and Vermut in Cardiff— which has more than 20 Spanish vermouths on its drinks menu— he’s celebrating the Spanish tradition of ‘hora del vermut ’, or ‘vermouth hour’, by serving large numbers of ‘reversed’ cocktails, drinks in which the spirit quantity is reduced, in favour of an increase in ingredients such as vermouth.

It’s time to throw away those old dusty bottles and rediscover the joys of this fortified wine.

Negroni, the right way

There is much debate over the ratios for a proper negroni. For me, vermouth has to shine through, so I like to drop the Campari to 15ml, as I can find it overpowers the other ingredients

Ingredients

35ml Sipsmith London dry gin

25ml Punt e Mes

15ml Campari

Half an orange wheel

Ice cubes

Method

Combine the gin, Punt e Mes and Campari in a chilled mixing glass, add ice cubes and stir until chilled. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with a slice of orange

Property market Penny

Going, going, Gothic

A former school and a former nursery have been transformed into two spacious and fascinating Gothic homes

IT’S exactly four years since Grade II*listed Stouts Hill at Uley, near Dursley, Gloucestershire, was last sold on the open market. Since then, the handsome, Cotswold-stone country house, a rare example of very early Georgian Gothic architecture, which sits in a picturesque hidden valley on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, has been impressively converted back to its original status as a grand family home, having been a prep school from 1935–79, and a countryhouse timeshare from 1983–2019.

Now for sale through Savills in Cirencester (01285 627550) at a guide price of £6 million, Stouts Hill stands in 20 acres of gardens and grounds, which include a lake and a tennis

court, and offers more than 13,700sq ft of elegant accommodation on two main floors, including an impressive entrance hall, three formal reception rooms, a sitting room, study, library, kitchen/breakfast room and eight bedroom suites. It comes with five two-bedroom cottages that provide a rental income of some £70,000 a year, as well as a large party barn.

Writing in C OUNTRY L IFE (July 5, 1973), country-house expert James Lees-Milne, who worked for the National Trust from 1936–73, traces the early history of Stouts Hill. Although the architect is not officially recorded, the date it was built is confirmed on a hopper head as 1743, with the initials

‘T. G.’ indicating Timothy Gyde as the man who built it, having inherited the property and ‘a comfortable fortune’ from his father, also Thomas Gyde, that same year.

The Gydes were prosperous clothiers who, for several generations, had married into well-to-do, but not patrician, local families. Two generations of Gyde daughters married Clutterbucks of nearby Frampton in the first half of the 18th century and the close resemblance of Stouts Hill to the neo-Gothic garden house built for Richard Clutterbuck at Frampton Court suggests that both houses were almost certainly designed by William Halfpenny. A former carpenter and author of several pattern books, Halfpenny

took over the practice of the Bristol architect John Strahan, the builder of Frampton Court, on the latter’s death in 1740, and is known to have designed in both the Classical and the Gothic styles.

of Beaufort, Berkeleys, Ducies, etc. This man wrote to London for a mistress! His friends (not very particular in their morals) sent him down one who died—he then applied in the same quarter for another, and another was sent down, from whom descend the Gydes now to be found in the County in different inferior walks of life.’

According to family records compiled in 1830 by Mary Ann Heaven, a collateral descendant of the Gydes, Timothy Gyde was ‘a rip’, who set out to raise himself above his social station: ‘He kept the best society in the county such as the Duke and Duchess

In the end, ‘women, architecture and keeping up with the Beauforts brought about Gyde’s undoing. Even his tidy little fortune could not stand up to their demands. When, in 1780, he died intestate and insolvent, his heir at law, who was his sister’s son, William Gyde Adey, was forced to sell everything that remained,’ Lees-Milne reveals, adding:

‘Stouts Hill was already on the market when, one fine morning in 1776, the Rev and Mrs William Lloyd Baker were posting to Bath in their carriage and pair. Having presumably climbed Frocester hill they were soon spanking along the flat stretch of road on the ridge of the Cotswolds close to Nympsfield village. On their right was the Berkeley Vale and that still incomparable view of the Severn estuary.

‘They were suddenly struck by the sun flashing upon the window panes of a modern house in a combe below them. To their delight they found it was for sale, and promptly set about purchasing it. The transaction, owing to mortgages and the extremely

Handsome Stouts Hill is a rare example of very early Georgian Gothic architecture

Property market

embarrassed finances of its owner, proved long drawn out, and it was not until the mid 1780s that the Lloyd Bakers were able to move in.’

The Revd William Lloyd Baker lived at Stouts Hill until his death, aged 79, in 1830. Thereafter, the house was let to a daughter and her husband, Col Benjamin Chapman Browne, whose family remained until the early part of the 20th century. It was then let by Olive Lloyd Baker to the Hardinge Preparatory School, which transferred there in 1935. Renamed Stouts Hill School, it later ranked the actors Stephen Fry, Rik Mayall and Capt Mark Phillips among its pupils, before closing its doors in 1979.

Still in Gothic mode, Andrew Cronan of Strutt & Parker in Bath (01225 685801) quotes a guide price of £2.65m for handsome, Grade II-listed Keyford House in the hamlet of Little Keyford, on the edge of the popular market town of Frome, Somerset, surrounded by rolling countryside and the Mendip Hills AONB, with distant views towards the Longleat, Bradley and Stourhead estates. Frome offers a choice of schools, including two good secondary schools, the independent Springmead prep school and the Beckington Church of England School, rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

According to its Historic England listing, Keyford House and conservatory were built in the 1830s in the Greek Revival style of Bath

Imposing Keyford House is set in 2¾ acres of immaculate gardens and grounds in Frome, Somerset. £2.65m. Right: A large reception hall greets visitors, with a sweeping staircase leading to a galleried firstfloor landing

stone around an earlier 18th-century house. The present house offers more than 7,500sq ft of elegant accommodation, including a large reception hall, three principal reception rooms, an orangery, kitchen, 10 bedrooms and three bathrooms. Traditional features include high ceilings to all levels, wood flooring, original fireplaces and triple-sash windows.

During their 20-year tenure, the present owners, who plan to downsize to a smaller house in the county, have greatly improved the main house, which previously housed a nursery on the first floor accessed by an outside staircase. Mr Cronan, who handled the sale at that time, recalls being deeply

unpopular with the local ‘yummy mummies’ who found themselves faced with the problem of finding alternative nursery accommodation. Approached along a gravel driveway, Keyford House stands in 2¾ acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds, with plenty of parking and turning space. Charming ornamental gardens include immaculate lawns, a parterre garden with box hedging and a central pergola, a walled vegetable garden and an array of mature specimen trees, established shrubs and hedgerows. Outbuildings include a double garage with lapsed planning consent for conversion to a one-bedroom cottage.

Properties of the week

On the border

Northumberland, £1.795 million

Situated on the south side of the River Pont, the hamlet of Hawkwell and its neighbour Stamfordham provide the perfect place for country-village life, with a cosy pub, church, doctor’s surgery and village hall. For those looking to take advantage, Hawkwell Grange provides the ideal home, offering five bedrooms and 11 acres of elegant country-house living. Originally built in 1921, the property is a vision in dressed stone and has been lovingly cared for by the family that has lived there for the past 40 years. As well as the main house, there is also a separate twobedroom bungalow with its own acre of private gardens. Outside, Hawkwell Grange is surrounded on almost all sides by mature trees, giving exceptional privacy, and the manicured gardens are a particular highlight. Further amenities include stables, direct access to the village cricket pitch, a tennis court and two large paddocks. Sanderson Young (0191–223 3500)

Northumberland, £2 million

Although originally dating from the 17th century, much of what you see at Apperley Farm near the village of Stocksfield was, in fact, the handiwork of John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, who enlarged and remodelled the property in the 1930s. Lord Gort was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the time and later commander of the British Expeditionary Forces in France and during the evacuation at Dunkirk. According to Historic England, he ‘re-used old material and architectural features from Newcastle and elsewhere’ at his home. The result is a handsome and imposing stone-built property with some 5,000sq ft of accommodation in a quiet and peaceful part of Northumberland. Inside, the house is appointed to an impeccable standard, with six bedrooms across its four floors, including a principal bedroom suite that occupies the entire top floor. Outside, Apperley Farm is ideal for those of an equestrian persuasion, with a stable block, several paddocks and a floodlit arena within its 12 acres. The gardens surrounding the Grade II-listed house are immaculate and set to lawn with mature shrubs and beds, and the grounds also include a 250-tree apple orchard and a biomass boiler. Strutt & Parker (07342 063621)

Cumbria, £1.2 million

On the northern edge of the Lake District National Park lies the village of Boltongate, one of the jewels of which is the elegant Grade II-listed Boltongate Old Rectory. The fivebedroom property sits above the River Ellen and is formed around a 14th-century pele tower, with later additions in 1570 and 1889 creating the exterior that can be seen today. Inside, this history of additions and modernisation is reflected, with different rooms seemingly echoing the period in which they were built. However, due to the property currently serving as a bed-and-breakfast, the majority of the interiors are tastefully modern and finished to an extremely high standard, making the Old Rectory an ideal family home. Outside, the 3¼ acres of gardens slope away to the south, allowing for unrivalled views of the Lake District, and feature a variety of trees, lawns, shrubs, ponds and a summerhouse, ideal for entertaining guests. Fine & Country (01228 583109)

It’s great up north, as these properties in Northumberland and Cumbria comfortably prove

Properties of the week

Northumberland, £1.3 million

From the first-floor conservatory of the Manor House in Cresswell, there is nothing between you and the sea. Stepping through the large bi-fold doors and out onto the balcony, the sounds and smells of the North Sea would be enough to calm the heart of even the most anxious of us.

A fully detached four-bedroom home, the Manor House has been sensitively restored and modernised by the current owners for the past 20 years, with the intricate period details of the main house, such as exposed beams, wooden panelling and open fireplaces, juxtaposed beautifully with the contemporary extension that now houses the kitchen/breakfast room and dining room. As well as the endless sea views, the gardens are lawned and terraced right up to the sea, offering a wonderful spot for entertaining, with paved-stone areas and a pizza oven. Lastly, some £1,200 a year is generated as income via a solar PVA system, which not only provides electricity for the house, but also hot water. Sanderson Young (0191–223 3500)

Cumbria, £2 million

Within the Lake District National Park and only a few miles west of Cumbria’s former capital Penrith, The Greaves is an attractive lifestyle opportunity consisting of two separate homes and some 25 acres of land in one of the most picturesque parts of the nation. The two properties within The Greaves consist of Bluebell House, a new-build, four-bedroom home designed in a contemporary Lakeland style, and The Farmhouse, itself a traditional Lakeland farmhouse, which offers five further bedrooms. The property also features 20 acres of high-quality farmland, currently split into five paddocks and used for livestock grazing. Greaves Beck winds gracefully through the property and the bluebells that grow on its banks inspired the naming of the new property. Whether as a family home, as a holiday accommodation business, as a farm or even as all three, The Greaves offers a rare opportunity to make a new life in the northern countryside. Finest Properties (01434 622234)

THE village of East Knoyle sits on a slope of greensand above the Blackmore Vale near Shaftesbury. Its villagers are proud of its most famous inhabitant, Sir Christopher Wren, whose father was the rector of the parish when the future architect of St Paul’s was born in 1632. Attached to the Georgian façade of the elegant rectory that we see today is an older building and it is there that Christopher lived as a child, although a fire shortly before his birth that destroyed part of the building meant he was actually born in a nearby cottage. When he was eight, his father, by then Dean of Windsor, moved his family to join him in Berkshire.

The rectory was sold off by the Salisbury Diocese in 1935 and, in due course, became known as Knoyle Place. In 1992, it was bought by Comte and Comtesse Hervé Le Bault de La Morinière and, together, they developed a magnificent garden until Hervé died prematurely last December. The de La Morinières have always given credit, however, to their predecessors, notably Sir Guy Fison, who owned the house until 1964, and Sir John Eden (later Lord Eden of Winton), who was MP for West Bournemouth and a nephew of Sir Anthony Eden. Eden was a keen dendrologist and many of the finer trees in the garden, especially in the woodland, date from his ownership. It was he who planted the immensely tall double cherry (Prunus avium ‘Plena’) on the edge of the woodland garden, whereas the Fisons planted the stately row of magnolias and many of the rhododendrons on the hillside behind the house.

The soil is greensand, with patches of clay. The property has about 9½ acres, evenly divided between cultivated gardens near the house and ancient woodland behind. It faces south and east and warms up quickly in spring, so that the bluebells seem always to flower a week or so earlier than elsewhere.

Gardening was an enthusiasm that the de La Morinières shared. Hervé was originally French, but lived in this country for 40 years. He was a man of remarkable sensibilities, but also a most knowledgeable plantsman.

The terrace at Knoyle Place, with a mix of alliums, including ‘Gladiator’, as well as lavender, Iris ‘Jane Phillips’, Lupin ‘Polar Princess’ and Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’

A walk around the woodland at Knoyle with Hervé was an education

Sense and sensibilities

Knoyle Place, East Knoyle, Wiltshire

The home of the Comtesse de La Morinière

The more you look, says Charles Quest-Ritson, the more there is to admire in this magnificent garden, which has been subtly and beautifully enhanced in recent decades

Photographs by Mimi Connolly

He had that unusual ability to foresee and project the effect of designs and plantings and he could always answer the question that most gardeners ask about a possible addition or alteration: ‘Will it belong?’ His interest in gardening dated back to his childhood in his grandparents’ estate in the Perche, where he developed his love of potagers and cutting gardens full of flowers. He also remembered the millions of cyclamen that carpeted the woods and avenues in autumn at La Haye, the de La Morinière ancestral estate in the Vendée. A walk around the woodland at Knoyle with Hervé was an education in botanical understanding, horticultural excellence and aesthetic awareness. Gardens are always changing: old trees die, ashes need to be felled, gales open up areas for replanting. Hervé seized these misfortunes

as opportunities, so that the plantings have always been constantly improved.

Comtesse de La Morinière is English and was brought up at The Salutation, the beautiful house and garden designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens at Sandwich, Kent, in 1911–12. She has a fine eye for form and colour and is responsible for the subtle colour combinations in the extensive herbaceous borders. The Comtesse makes the annual choice of

tulips and is a knowledgeable rosarian, with a fine collection of old-fashioned roses and modern classics bred by the late David Austin. One of her most successful compositions, near the house, is a white-and-purple border planted with alliums, astrantias, hardy geraniums, rue, lupins (including ‘Polar Princess’, a particular favourite), peonies, pale-blue Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ and white foxgloves; structure is given by such shrubs as the old Hybrid Musk rose ‘Penelope’. The alliums include ‘Gladiator’, ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘Round ‘n’ Purple’ and ‘Purple Rain’, which work well together in the mixed planting.

A statue of a dwarf, with a sphinx on his helmet, guards the turning circle in front of the house; he is thought to be Sir Jeffrey Hudson, the favourite of Queen Henrietta Maria. The nearby ‘French’ garden is charming

The steep woodland is a waterfall of early-flowering bluebells in spring

—an enclosure on the lowest terrace of the woodland garden, edged by lush yew hedges. It was planted with herbaceous borders in the Edens’ time, but the de La Morinières replaced them with elegant ribbons of low box hedging, interspersed with slightly taller cubes and pyramids, also of box. At the centre is a fine fountain that came from Talisman, Ken Bolan’s antique repository in nearby Gillingham. Two handsome urns are planted with seasonal bedding and bulbs, as eight slender, elegant cones, faced with mesh to deter greedy deer, support vigorous roses, such as ‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘New Dawn’. The design and proportions are satisfying at every season, as is the succession of colour from the restrained planting. As with so many good gardens, the more you look, the more you notice and admire.

The steep woodland is a waterfall of bluebells in spring and the south-facing slope means they flower very early in the season. The de La Morinières have added extensive plantings of rhododendrons, maples, camellias, azaleas and many other small trees and shrubs. There are four paths through the woodland, running from end to end at different levels. The paperbark maple Acer griseum is a particular feature, especially noted for its elegant leaves, its autumn colour and its red-orange trunk and branches. Heptacodium miconioides is also a great success, now an 8ft bush and destined to double its size. On the edge of the woodland, the specimen trees include a variegated tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Aureomarginatum’, planted by Sir John Eden, as well as splendid dogwoods and a vigorous Ginkgo

biloba added by the de La Morinières. Ferns, also among their favourites, are planted throughout the woodland. Wild foxgloves extend the season of interest well into June.

Two of the great successes at Knoyle Place are the cutting garden and the potager, both of which call to mind the gardens that Hervé and his twin brother so loved in their French childhood. The cutting garden, hidden within a stepped hedge of yew and beech, has a most striking central walk, lined on either side with a dense border of the old Portland rose known as ‘Jacques Cartier’. It is one of the best old roses for cutting, impervious to rain, and it flowers again and again all the way through to late autumn. Old roses dominate the cutting garden for much of the year, but the planting is informal and they are mixed with dahlias, peonies and irises

to create not only a wonderful resource for flowers to cut for the house, but also a rich and dense composition in its own right.

Lupinus ‘Bishop’s Tipple’ and Papaver orientale ‘Patty’s Plum’ are particularly handsome just before the roses start to flower.

The cutting garden adjoins the beautiful and immaculate potager, now maintained on a share-cropping basis with a friendly neighbour. The beds are raised up and held in place by strips of woven hazel. A particular favourite of the de La Morinières is the softleaved lettuce ‘Clarion’, which carries an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.

The garden enjoys magnificent views for many miles across the Blackmore Vale towards Win Green on the edge of Cranborne Chase, but Hervé and Lizie decided that the house did not sit well on a sloping lawn that ran down to the public road below. In 2017, they concluded that the answer was to level it up, so that the main façade had a proper base line. They asked the up-and-coming designer Daniel Combes, who lives nearby, to undertake the work—and gave him all credit for the success of his improvements.

The new flat lawn underpins the relationship between the house and garden. It is enclosed by a tall screen of espaliered crab apples (Malus ‘Evereste’), the effect of which is very striking, both when flowering in April and when bearing fruit and leaf-colour

front door to one side of the house, should be replaced by a more structured feature. Mr Combes’s solution was to place a substantial urn, 8ft high, as a focal point at the far end and to create a formal garden of lavender-filled parterres, with a long reflecting pool in between. This entire garden is lined on either side by multi-trunked Persian ironwood trees, Parrotia persica, the foliage of which brings a welcome blast of colour in autumn, some weeks before other trees start to turn in the garden and woodland.

in October and November—and the planting does, indeed, screen the house from the public road. Mr Combes was also the originator of the beautiful pale herbaceous plantings that surround parts of the new lawn.

At the same time, the de La Morinières decided that the old croquet lawn, facing the

The gardening at Knoyle Place is a battle against pests. Deer are a major nuisance— muntjac and roe—and new plantings must be protected against them. Rabbits and grey squirrels also do damage, but are tolerated. Normally, the garden is open for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), but not this year, because the date that the de La Morinières originally chose would now conflict with celebrations for The King’s coronation. Look out for Knoyle in the Yellow Book of the NGS in 2024. It is worth a long journey to visit— beautifully maintained and with so much from which to learn.

The cutting garden adjoins the beautiful and immaculate potager, maintained on a share-cropping basis with a neighbour

Heavenly hepaticas

JOHN MASSEY is a happy man. His beaming face is familiar to plant lovers all over Britain and beyond. Plants have been the great love of his life—finding them, growing them, selecting them and selling the best. In 1967, when he was 18, his father bought a small, rundown nursery for him in Shropshire. Today, Ashwood Nurseries is one of our most famous plant centres. It is difficult to come away without spending a lot of money—and feeling very pleased to have done so.

Plant lovers have crazes and, sometimes, these passions develop into lasting relationships. Mr Massey has had a series of infatuations, including cyclamen, auriculas, hellebores, hydrangeas and hepaticas. Not content merely to make a collection of plants that fascinate him, he has gone on to breed new varieties, selecting potential parents, transferring pollen to pistils, sowing the seeds, assessing the seedlings and introducing the best. All have brought him fame, renown and soaring sales.

I first met Mr Massey at the RHS Westminster show on February 17, 1998, when he put on an exhibit of hepaticas. Hepaticas are rather like our common wood anemones, but the two easiest species to grow— H. transsilvanica and H. nobilis (both European natives) —are usually intense blue in colour. Mr Massey’s colours ranged from midnight blue to pink and

The wonder of hepaticas, such as Hepatica nobilis (above), is celebrated in a new book by master nurseryman John Massey

white. Some were fully double, others camellia shaped. I fell for a white one with crimson anthers. Plant lovers had never seen anything like them. Why did we not know about them? The exhibit electrified the judges and received a Gold medal.

Mr Massey came back to Westminster in 1999 with yet more hepaticas and won another Gold medal. What would he show us in 2000, we wondered? At the first show of the year, in January, the star attraction was a display of his double-flowered hellebore hybrids. Then, on February 15, 2000, the exhibit of hepaticas was not from his own nursery, but from Japanese enthusiasts whom he had persuaded to bring a vast display of hepaticas from

Horticultural aide-mémoire Sow hardy annuals

Hardy annuals are out of fashion, but they are a lovely seasonal filler in any garden. Cultivate a bed to a seedbed tilth. Mix together colourgrouped annuals, such as clarkia, godetia ( pictured) and candytuft, and combine them thoroughly with some silver sand in a shallow container, for example, a plant-pot saucer. Sow like grass seed, crouching low with your back to the breeze and sprinkling evenly as you work your way backwards. Review the scene and oversow any gaps. Lay brushwood across the bed to deter the opposition, pray for rain and you can anticipate a summer visual delight. SCD

Japan, all in distinctive pots. We realised then that generations of Japanese nurserymen and plant lovers had discovered, selected and bred unusual forms of their native Hepatica japonica

he has seen and photographed, both in the wild and in cultivation. And he is equally as intrigued by the variations that hepaticas show in their foliage—handsome leaf patterns and contrasts of colour.

Mr Massey has travelled everywhere that hepaticas grow naturally, from the Pyrenees to New England and an island 75 miles off the coast of Korea called Ulleungdo, of which most of us have never heard. Wherever he travels in search of plants, he enlists the help and knowledge of local wildflower experts and, being both sociable and personable, he gets on famously with everyone he meets.

He has now published a massive celebration of the genus, My World of Hepaticas (available exclusively from Ashwood Nurseries, £45). It is a personal account of his discoveries, his pleasure in getting to know the species and the people he has met and befriended along the way. There seems to be no end to the number of attractive varieties that

The variability of hepatica flowers and leaves makes them an excellent subject for horticultural development. Mr Massey’s book gives a comprehensive account of hybridisation in Germany, Scandinavia and Japan—and now by himself. So many nurserymen hide their handiwork that Mr Massey’s openness is refreshing— and typical of the man. Roughly half the book is devoted to hybrids. All are illustrated, too. He describes the crosses he has made and the results of his experiments. Ponder this botanical conundrum: ‘Most hepatica species will cross with each other. Although these crosses seem to work both ways… the resulting progeny can be completely different… for example, H. maxima crossed with H. nobilis produces H. x schlyteri. Now, if H. maxima is the mother, the leaves are usually plain green and the progeny 99% sterile. On the other hand, if H. nobilis is the mother, the leaves are mainly marbled and the seedlings are almost all fertile…’ How do you explain it? Mr Massey leaves the question for future researchers to answer.

You could buy My World of Hepaticas merely for its astonishing photographs. Some pages have row after row of hepatica flowers in close-up, reminiscent of old Polyfotos in full colour. And one falls in love with every one of them. It is hard to imagine that this book could ever be bettered as a monograph—a monumental account that is also a delight to read and pore over.

Visit www.ashwoodnurseries.com

Charles Quest-Ritson wrote the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses

Next week Self-seeders

John Massey has had a series of infatuations

Kitchen garden cook Radishes

More ways with Radishes

Speedy steak, radish and aioli tacos

Fry seasoned bavette steak and add to warmed tacos, together with a dollop of aioli, thin slices of peppery radish and avocado, rocket, chopped spring onions and a handful of chopped coriander. Serve immediately.

Radish and radicchio risotto with walnuts

Method

Gently fry the chopped onion in a splash of heated olive oil in a large, heavybased frying pan and, when softened, add the grated garlic and halved radishes. Mix for a couple of minutes and then pour in the risotto rice. Stir to coat the grains and add the white wine. Heat to reduce by half and then add the hot stock in three stages, waiting for it to absorb before adding the next. When the stock has been fully absorbed, stir through

the finely sliced radicchio and grated Parmesan, and add a knob of butter. Cover with a lid and leave to rest for five minutes.

Cut the remaining radishes into matchsticks, saving any leafy tops, and toss in a simple vinaigrette.

Remove the lid from the risotto and divide between plates. Top with a spoonful of the fresh radishes, radish tops (if you have them), a few walnuts and a scattering of Parmesan shavings.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, grated 150g radishes, halved (plus more needed below)

300g risotto rice

200ml white wine

1.2L chicken stock

1 radicchio, finely sliced 50g Parmesan, grated for the risotto, plus more to shave over

150g radishes

50g toasted walnuts

A simple side of radishes

Simply place radishes and new potatoes in a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic cloves in their skins. Shake the tray to coat everything, season well and roast for 40 minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins, mix well and serve.

Radishes are peppery little firecrackers that spice things up and add the prettiest pink

A plum job

Once the mainstay of Cumbria’s Lyth and Winster valleys, damson orchards declined steeply after the Second World War. Tessa Waugh meets the farmers working hard to revive the fruit’s fortunes

ALITTLE way from the tourist honeypots of Cumbria’s Lake District is an area filled with snowy blossoms in spring and dusky, purple fruit in autumn. The Lyth and Winster valleys, near Kendal, are a bucolic mosaic of stone walls and small, rolling fields. On a glorious September day, apple trees groan with unpicked fruit, but it is the smaller, purple jewels hanging on wispy branches that are the real stars of this region. Damsons have been grown in Westmorland since the 1700s, benefiting from the nutritious limestone soil and the mild microclimate of Morecambe Bay. Each farm has its own orchard and fruit trees flourish in gardens and hedgerows. Despite this natural bounty, the damsons have long been in decline. ‘Many young people have never heard of them,’ observes Mark Basey-Fisher, chairman of the Westmorland Damson Association (WDA), which was established in 1996 to preserve the orchards. The harvest was early last year, after the dry summer, but, when I visit, there are still a few unpicked fruits on the higher branches at Witherslack, where association members collect and freeze the damsons. ‘They are essentially small plums, smaller and tastier than the ones that grow further south,’ he explains, handing me an example. The damson is not much bigger than a large acorn, but the flavour is intense, sweet, then sharp; a fine-dining fruit, in a different league to its spongier, soft-textured cousin.

on the farm.’ Mr Trotter’s connection with the fruits is bittersweet. Damsons are notoriously difficult to pick and there have been many accidents in the process. ‘My father died in 1960 falling out of a damson tree,’ he reveals.

The WDA is in discussion with grocery chain Booths about selling fresh damsons.

Damsons came to Britain with the Romans and, up until the 1950s, they were a crucial part of the Westmorland economy. In springtime, the blossom drew day-trippers in charabancs out of Lancashire to witness the display. In early autumn, city people came again, taking time off work to help with the harvest. Every year, the harvest was gathered in Kendal on Damson Saturday and transported by rail to jam factories in Lancashire. This large local effort dwindled with the outbreak of the Second World War and, since then, many of the orchards have suffered. At 83 years of age, Hartley Trotter is a link with the halcyon days. ‘Many farmers would pay their rent out of the money earned from the damsons,’ he recalls. ‘My father sold his to jam makers in Manchester. One record year, he earned £750 for 12 tons and went straight into Kendal and bought a tractor, a trailer, a plough and two other pieces of machinery. Before that, we had relied on horses

Adam Walker lives in the Lyth Valley, close to where he grew up, and remembers his parents taking three weeks off work each year to harvest the damsons from their four orchards. In those days, they would gather between two and three tons and sell them directly to a wholesaler, as well as running a damson stand by the side of the road. Mr Walker evidently takes great pleasure in the orchards, which are a haven for wildlife, but, he says, ‘unlike my parents, I wouldn’t take time off work [as an engineer] to pick damsons. It simply isn’t worth my while’. Adam’s mother, Pat Walker, describes the profusion of violets, bluebells and primroses that grow underneath the trees in springtime and the rare butterflies they attract. ‘John is over there,’ she says, signalling to the spot where her husband is buried overlooking the valley. There is still a lot of fruit on the trees, although prime picking time has passed. Harvests are unpredictable, explains Mrs Walker: ‘Even on one farm there are big variations in yield. You might get lots of fruit on some of your trees, but the ones higher up might suffer from frost.’

Those such as the Walkers have been integral to keeping the damson orchards alive in this area. Theirs are among 14 active orchards in the charitable co-operative that supplies fruit to the WDA. The association sells some of the fruit in the three-week picking period and freezes the rest. It will then find buyers for the fruit— roughly 700kg last year (about 1,540lb). Mr Basey-Fisher notes: ‘This is considerably less than pre-pandemic, as some of the larger jam makers have not returned.’ Many customers are people buying damson for their own use, as well as companies such as Wild & Fruitful and Cowmire Hall, which produce damson gin and Christmas puddings for Fortnum & Mason.

Alongside providing a market for the fruit, the WDA offers advice on planting and caring for the trees. It sells suckers or seedlings to anyone wishing to establish an orchard or plant a single tree. Members harvest the suckers from existing orchards and the money goes towards development and regeneration. Education is also a key part of the association’s remit, highlighting the many uses for this versatile fruit and its importance within the area. Its annual Damson Day, which will take place this Saturday, April 15, provides another outlet for spreading the word.

Despite witnessing huge changes in his lifetime, Mr Trotter is optimistic about the future. ‘The salvation for the damsons has been freezers,’ he enthuses. ‘We need to communicate with the general public about the huge benefits of these fruits. That way they will be here for years to come.’

Westmorland Damson Association (www. lythdamsons.org.uk)

Damson delights

Cumbrian Damson and Gin Jam (01900 813335; www.wildandfruitful.co.uk)

Lyth Valley Damson Fruit Cheese (01697 345974; www.claireshandmade.com)

Cowmire Hall Damson Gin (01539 446891; www.windermerewine.co.uk)

Damson Gin Liqueur, Chutney and Jam (01539 822326; www.lakelandartisan. co.uk)

Damson Chutney (01539 436614; www.hawksheadrelish.com)

Westmorland damsons are available to buy in frozen form from the association (www.lythdamsons.org.uk)

The flavour of the damson is intense, sweet, then sharp; a fine-dining fruit

Dreamy spires

Foxgloves, which can be planted now, provide the perfect link between the garden and the countryside, says John Hoyland

FOXGLOVES, with their towering spires of bee-friendly flowers, are one of our most imposing wildflowers and one of the few to have jumped from the woodland edge and the verges of country lanes into our gardens. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gertrude Jekyll was enthusiastic about their use in herbaceous borders and recommended them to create a link between the order of the garden and the wildness of the countryside. Today, they are comfortably at home in cottagestyle gardens, in perennial meadows and even in minimalist modern gardens.

In the wild, the common foxglove has purple flowers with little variation, save the occasional plant with white flowers, but nurseries and plant breeders have introduced numerous cultivars that encompass a range of colours, often with speckled flowers. These cultivars are produced from seed and the colour of the flowers is not always as advertised, but ‘Sutton’s Apricot’ is reliable, with warm apricot buds that fade to pastel pink as the flower ages. The Excelsior group is another dependable strain that ranges through pale to dark pink with purple spots and with flowers that are much larger than those of the species.

Digitalis purpurea, the native foxglove, is a biennial that produces its columns of flowers in early summer, sets copious seed and then dies. The quantity and fertility

Native purple Digitalis purpurea, with roses, Crambe cordifolia, delphiniums and astrantia

They are endlessly adaptable, even flourishing in cracks in paving

of the seed explains both its success in the wild and the way the plant crops up in unexpected places; part of the allure of foxgloves is their habit of appearing in parts of the garden where you would never dream of planting them. Although their preference is for rich soil in partial shade, foxgloves seem to be endlessly adaptable, even managing to flourish in cracks in paving. These are flowers that are best adapted to relaxed, informal gardens, so, if you want to grow them as part of a carefully designed border, they need to be sown (or bought) each year and planted in the spot where you want them to flower.

The rest of the foxglove family is perennial and thus much more predictable, reappearing each year in the same place. Seedlings may appear, but the parent plant remains. Leave the seedlings to grow on or, if they are in the wrong place, pot them up, because even perennial forms are short-lived. None of the perennial species is native to Britain, with most being from Europe or Asia, where they grow on poor soil in sunny situations, but they have all adapted well to the diversity of British gardens. In general, they are undemanding plants free from pests and diseases. Digitalis are often marketed as being resistant to both deer and rabbits. As with most plants, this depends on whatever else is available for the creatures to eat and I have known both deer and rabbits to munch away on all members of the foxglove family when nothing else is within range.

Digitalis purpurea are not solitary plants and are best either planted in groups to lift the eye above the surrounding plants or threaded in ribbons through an area, repeating their vertical lines. The slim upright stems of species such as D. parviflora Jacq. and D. ferruginea create an unrivalled dramatic presence that makes them popular in minimalist urban gardens. Both these species and D. purpurea are perfect partners for airy grasses, such as deschampsia and stipa, where the fine verticals of the digitalis seem to float on a froth of grassy flowers. In informal settings, such as herbaceous borders, these same plants can create a strong framework to enclose the rounded shapes of softer perennials. All members of the family are suited to perennial meadows and have been widely used by contemporary garden designers

Facing page: Digitalis ferruginea, the rust foxglove, sometimes re-flowers in autumn. Above: Small-flowered, but enticingly beautiful: Digitalis parviflora Jacq. ‘Milk Chocolate’

in naturalistic planting schemes. When planted in a meadow, repeating the same species will help to unify the area.

Nurseries and garden centres are now obliged to alert customers to the potential risks posed by plants and the warnings on all foxglove plant labels are particularly alarming: ‘Danger: all parts of the plant are highly toxic.’ A skull and crossbones is often added for emphasis. It is astonishing that previous generations of children managed to survive contact with the plants unscathed. It is true that foxgloves are poisonous, particularly the leaves and, most potently, when the plant is setting seed, so, if you have very sensitive skin, do wash your hands after

handling plants. But it really shouldn’t need to be said that they are not to be eaten. Herbalists have been aware of the effects of digitalis for centuries, but it was not until the 1780s that the English botanist William Withering described safe ways of using it. Although newer drugs are replacing digoxin, the chemical extracted from Digitalis lanata, it is still in widespread use as a treatment for some heart conditions. Far more people have benefited from foxgloves than have ever been harmed by them, but some growers suggest that faint-hearted gardeners are wary of the genus and are reluctant to plant them. What a loss, to not be able to welcome such beauty and charm into the garden!

All foxgloves are suited to perennial meadows; repeating the same species will unify the area

Foxy favourites

Digitalis parviflora Jacq.

A native of the Mediterranean, this is a species that thrives in sunny places. Its slender spires are tightly packed with chocolate-coloured flowers from late spring to early summer. The petals have a pale-pink veining and the lower lip is mahogany. Although perennial, it is shortlived and usually expires after three, at most four, years. It will produce seedlings, or the crown of the plant can be divided in early spring. It grows to about 2ft tall

Digitalis ferruginea

Another short-lived perennial with 3fttall flower spikes in July and August. Commonly known as the rust foxglove, its flowers are much paler than the name suggests. It grows best in full sun and, after mild summers, it will occasionally re-flower in the autumn

Digitalis lutea

In contrast with the formality of the upright members of the family, the branching stems of this species tend to arch, becoming almost willowy and bringing a relaxed, loose feel to the border. The narrow tubular flowers are a paleprimrose colour that at dusk appear to be almost white. In the wild, it prefers full sun, but it will grow in semi-shade

Digitalis x mertonensis

The combination of masses of fat flowers on a relatively short 2ft stem makes for a chunky plant. The flowers are a dusky-pink colour and will appear from June through to August, flowering most prolifically in a sunny situation. Although a hybrid, this plant comes true from seed and is best treated as a biennial: after a couple of years, it tends to produce fewer flowers before finally expiring

Digitalis purpurea f. ‘Albiflora’

It was Gertrude Jekyll who first popularised this pure-white form of the native foxglove and, although there are other white cultivars, few can match the elegance and simplicity of the original species. The buds are cream-coloured and open to sparkling white flowers. As do all forms of Digitalis purpurea, it performs best in a partly shaded site

Digitalis purpurea ‘Pam’s Choice’

Of the many cultivars of the common foxglove, this one stands out for its large, eye-catching, white flowers, which have a maroon splash of colour on the base of the lower petal. It grows to about 4ft tall and its flowers are packed along the length of the stem. Another cultivar, sold under the sing-song name of ‘Elsie Kelsey’, is identical

Above: Digitalis purpurea f. ‘Albiflora’, a pure-white form of the native foxglove, popularised by Gertrude Jekyll. Below left: Digitalis purpurea ‘Sutton’s Apricot’ comes true from seed. Below right: Digitalis lutea, with its arching stems, gives a more relaxed feel to a border

Tribute to a Soho host

The late, convivial Andrew Edmunds is recalled at the London Original Print Fair and a new artist is discovered

LAST year’s London Original Print Fair (LOPF) was one of the few that I have missed, so I was glad to find it back at its traditional late-March dates and interested to see how it would work in the different spaces of Somerset House, after 35 years at the Royal Academy. Ground-floor rooms were used in the East and West wings, together with the first floor of the South, or river, wing, allowing for 39 exhibitors. This number is extended by the parallel online platform, which includes more leading dealers, some or all of whom have exhibited in person at past fairs.

Andrew Edmunds was to many people the welcoming spirit of Soho, the genial host at his eponymous restaurant and upstairs at the Academy Club, but people visiting those establishments, which continue after his death last year, are likely to have noticed that he was also the proprietor of the equally characterful print shop next door.

Andrew knew his wines as well as any Master, but he was the world authority on 18th-century satirical prints. He was one of the founders of the LOPF, in 1985, and, although it was strange not to find him cheerfully selling

at this latest one and his gallery was online, there was a ‘loving tribute’ in a special exhibition of James Gillray prints from Andrew’s personal collection. Acquired throughout his long career, they were the best of the best, in perfect condition and with colours as fresh as the day on which they left the shop of Gillray’s landlady and publisher Mrs Hannah Humphrey.

Among them was the 10in by 14in Fashionable Contrasts, or the Duchess’s Little Shoe

yielding to the Magnitude of the Duke’s Foot (Fig 1) , for Gillray a gentle squib of 1792, made only months after the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York. The marriage was childless and unhappy, but they were not the last holders of the title to enjoy an amicable separation.

Over the years, the fair’s emphasis has, unsurprisingly, turned more to modern and contemporary work than the Old Masters and 19th century, although specialists in older work such as

Art market

Elizabeth Harvey-Lee are still active and several exhibitors, including Emanuel von Baeyer of London, sensibly mix their stock. Among the contemporary works that impressed me most were And Everything was full of Love (Fig 2) , a 42in by 57in unique red-and-white monotype by Tracey Emin with Counter Editions; a 56in by 36½in photographic archival C-type print by Emily Allchurch with GBS Fine Art (Fig 3) ; and a lithograph and screenprint by Christo (Fig 5) with Gilden’s Art Gallery. The Allchurch is a complex and witty re-creation of Joseph Gandy’s Towers of Babel watercolour in the Soane Museum, whereas the 32in by 23in Christo Wrapped Statues, numbered two from an edition of 100, was connected to an unexecuted project at the Munich Glyptothek.

Alexander Massouras (b.1981) is an artist in many media and I should have been aware of his etchings, as a number were on offer at LOPF in 2020 and several have entered major museum collections around the world. As he was new to me, I did not look out for his work this time (Fig 4) , but an exhibition will be at The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Dorset (April 29–May 27). Despite the captions, which are sometimes within his prints, Massouras seems to hint at stories rather than tell them directly. There may be political allusions, arthistorical references and/or morality tales in his images and I think that they could often rightly be described as deceptively simple. The gallery perhaps means much the same in writing: ‘Massouras’s work has taken a multitude of forms, but is consistent in its visual exploration of time and narrative.’

I visited LOPF on the first public day and business was certainly being done. Unfortunately, during my recent trip to Paris for the drawings fairs, I did not have time also to assess the Paris Print Fair, having its second outing at the Réfectoire du Couvent des Cordeliers, which is in the 6ème,

close to the Musée de Cluny. Von Baeyer was exhibiting there, too, with 19 others, including galleries from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US. Next year, I hope to make good the omission.

There have been good reports of the Asia Week New York dealers’ exhibitions and, once again, a print has caught my eye. This was an impression of Hokusai’s Large Map of China (Fig 6), the last map to be created by the aged master, who signed it ‘the old man crazy to paint aged 81’. The 16½in by 25½in sheet dated from 1840 and Hokusai died in 1849. As he had never travelled to China, it was probably based on guidebooks such as the early-19thcentury Illustrations of Famous Places in China. It was sold for ‘a mid five-figure sum’ by Sebastian Izzard of New York.

Next week First Flourish

Pick of the week

To make cranberry glass: first prepare your aqua regia by mixing nitric and hydrochloric acids to produce an initially colourless liquid that will rapidly turn yellow, orange or red. Into this, dissolve gold salts and add stannous chloride, giving you a pigment known as Purple of Cassius.

Cranberry or ruby glass was known to the Romans and later the Persians, but the secret was lost in Europe until the 17th century. Like the formula for porcelain, ruby glass was well worth re-discovering.

Johann Kunckel (1630–1703), a German apothecary, chemist, glassmaker and alchemist at the Courts of Saxony and Brandenburg before being invited to Sweden, where the king ennobled him, was the man who did so.

In 1678, working in a secure island laboratory near Berlin, he added Purple of Cassius to his formula for glass to produce a lustrous ruby colour. About 20 examples have

survived and, as mentioned here briefly two weeks ago ( Art market, March 29), a particularly lovely one was sold to the Rijksmuseum at TEFAF by the Parisian Galerie Kugel. It was a stemmed shellshaped goblet pictured ), decorated with putti and grapevines by the master engraver Gottfried Spiller (1663–1728). The price has not been disclosed.

Hear the language of the birds

Wild Air: In Search of Birdsong James

The

as James Macdonald Lockhart evidences in Wild Air, his guide to the sounds of eight keynote British birds. He likens the music of a Manx shearwater in its burrow on the Isle of Rum to ‘an underground belch’—ugly, but intriguing. Apart from the burpy shearwater, the other birds profiled are nightjar, dipper, raven, black-throated diver, lapwing and, predictably, skylark and nightingale, the two balladeers most exalted in our avian Top of the Peeps.

Year of Sitting Dangerously: My Garden Safari Simon

(Simon & Schuster, £16.99)

WE share with the birds 50 genes or more to do with sound-making, which leads to the lovely notion that early hominids perched in trees and sang like the feathered things. Even that most scientific of bods, Charles Darwin, speculated in The Descent of Man that our language commenced with singing. The brainbox philosopher Immanuel Kant, on the other hand, wondered whether the utterances of the birds are superior to human music-making— a higher, inspirational art.

Whatever the reason, be it mutual genetics, similar language structure or artistic stimulus, we are fascinated by birdsong. It does not need to be mellifluous,

Mr Macdonald Lockhart, a wise bird himself and author of the acclaimed Raptor, knows that rendering birdsong into human words can be perilously clumsy. A prime problem is our cloth ears, which ‘cannot register the speed, range and complexity of most birdsong’. Skylarks have a repertoire of more than 300 syllables, with the pauses between syllables as little as one 11th of a millisecond. (Kant, one feels, was on the right lines.) The author’s greatgrandfather, Scottish naturalist Seton Gordon, opted for eschewing the pen and reproducing birdsong on the chanter of his bagpipes, but most of us resort to phonetics. This magazine takes pride in Mr Macdonald Lockhart’s suggestion that the best phonetic interpretation of the shearwater’s aboveground call is from COUNTRY L IFE in 1950, John Warham’s er-kukkuk-coo-er, kuk-kuk-coo-er, kukkuk-coo-er... kuk-coo

A book translating birdsong into phonemes would, of course, be tedious; here, the author is desirous to put into words ‘the experience of listening to birdsong’, plus how it instils life and soul into different habitats, from dipper-dappled Welsh streams to nightjar- churr -ing heaths by Heathrow. A habitat is the immaterial sound of its birds, as much as it is the material things, the trees, the dirt, the water. He explains—sometimes heavy handedly (his information can come in slabs)—that his avian octet,

with the exception of the raven, is threatened by the usual suspects: urban development, pollution and industrial agriculture. More insidious is anthrophony, the ‘aural litter’ of humans; his poor nightjars have to battle with 747s landing and taking off.

the virus (tragically), is much greater than a knowledgeable Nature lover’s diary of a plague year.

Mr Barnes sat on a folding chair at the bottom of his garden, which, ‘by unearnable good fortune’, backs onto Norfolk marsh, and recorded each and every day what he saw and heard. He became absorbed in and by the landscape. Stillness made him invisible. He found beauty in small things, put names to creatures, such as the marmalade hoverfly, that he never knew. There are ‘big moments’, including the possible sighting of a bee-eater, but where this book really scores is the impression of wetland Nature going about its quotidian tasks: flypasts of kestrels, muntjacs munching, the heron returning home ‘carrying a stick bigger than itself, in the manner of an idiot dog’.

Birdsong ebbs and echoes through Simon Barnes’s covidlockdown memoir, The Year of Sitting Dangerously, which will be no surprise to his legion of admirers: his previous books, all scribed in trademark chatty ‘praisethe-lord’ style, include Birdwatching with Your Eyes Closed: An Introduction to Birdsong. Covid is a nightmare from which we seek to awake, so reminders may not immediately appeal, but Sitting Dangerously, although touched by

Mr Barnes, as did so many in those prison days of covid, found Nature restorative, yet the reader will be equally convinced by the need to restore her and to take more care to open their eyes and ears to British common-or-garden natural phenomena. The song of the blackbird, he writes, ‘is as close to conventional human music— a real tune—as any birdsong you will ever hear.’ It is. You don’t need to go to Africa for a safari.

He found beauty in small things, put names to creatures, such as the marmalade hoverfly

Crossword Bridge Andrew Robson

A prize of £25 in book tokens will be awarded for the first correct solution opened. Solutions must reach Crossword No 4775, Country Life, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR, by Tuesday, April 18. UK entrants only

ACROSS

1 Twenty fewer or nothing (9)

10 Decline to make globe at French department (8)

11 Elaborate spread (6)

12 Owners of animal pens (12)

14 Champion right in sporting contest (4)

15 Font rail repair is an item of pressing concern (4,4)

18 Yet he too dislodges a cuspid (a) (3,5)

19 Celebration through beng public-spirited (4)

21 Only hang on with cardinal (5,3,4)

24 Comfortable with someone who deliberately excites (2,4)

25 Pet I love goes in vehicle for holiday (8)

26 Medic poorly through exercise (5)

27 Equal with a hypotenuse perhaps (9)

DOWN

2 Fool set (4)

3 Alternatively look up vehicle inspection that is toughest (9)

4 Left store through slow passages (6)

5 Vet polished fake container and person mentioned appeared (5,2,3,5)

7 Brooded about bike (5)

8 Normal hunt around every four weeks (5,5)

9 Marvellous that left us out in making expulsion (7)

13 Tender young model (10)

16 Rankles that I resit art examination (9)

17 Executor goes round to partner of widow (7)

20 Able to repeat dance (6)

22 Stop and stand (5)

23 Stay with elderly husband (4)

WE return to the pretty Paxos, that Greek island about an hour (by boat) south of Corfu. Carol and Charlie Skinner very generously hosted the Stuart Wheeler Memorial Bridge Week, in honour of the late bridgeloving Wheeler who, with his late wife Tessa, hosted a bridge week in Tangier for 30 years.

Declarer mangled our first Paxos deal. Can you do better?

defence (after you’ve dropped the Diamond on the Spade. East overtakes the King of Diamonds with the Ace and switches to his Heart. You win dummy’s Ace and can do no better than exit with a second Heart, but West can cash the KingQueen and exit with a Diamond. One down.

The star of our second Paxos deal was Portland Club member Hugo Eddis. Plan the play in Six Spades on the Queen of Hearts lead.

SOLUTION TO 4774

ACROSS: 1, Sledgehammer; 9, Impartial; 10, Gaffe; 11, Dirge; 12, Lay reader; 14, Realism; 16, Bristol; 17, Inkspot; 18, Summits; 19, Satirical; 21, Clean; 22, Erato; 24, Decorates; 25, Presidential. DOWN: 1, Supermarket; 2, Eerie; 3, Guillemot; 4, Holly; 5, Magnesium; 6, Elf; 7, Kidderminster; 8, Heartlessness; 13, Detrimental; 15, Imperious; 16, Basilican; 20, Coded; 21, Corgi; 23, Air.

The winner of 4773 is Fiona French, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire

Dealer 1073 6 A9532 J873

West AJ A8742 Q8 AK64 K95 J953 74 Q1092

South West North East

3 (1) Pass 4 End

West leads a Spade (you cannot succeed on a Diamond lead) and you successfully finesse dummy’s Knave. You hurriedly cash the Ace of Spades and cross to the Queen of Clubs to cash the King of Spades, shedding a Diamond. So far so good.

At the table, declarer now crossed to the Ace of Hearts and led another Heart. No good. West took the King-Queen, whereupon the defence played DiamondDiamond. Declarer ruffed in dummy, but was beaten by the 4-1 Club split. One down.

Go back to trick five. Instead of a Heart to the Ace, exit with a Diamond. Assuming West wins the King (beating dummy’s bare Queen), he may exit with a second Diamond. Now, after ruffing in in dummy, you can play Ace and another Heart, for West will be endplayed to give a ruff-anddiscard, and you can dispose of your fourth Club. West does better (after winning the King of Diamonds) to switch to a high Heart. However, you can duck in dummy. If West leads another Heart, you can judge to run it to your hand to avoid a second loser. However, there is a winning

South West North East

1 Pass 4 (1) Pass

6 (2) End

1) Splinter bid, showing a raise to Four Spades with a singleton (or void) Club.

2) Appreciates fully what a fabulous hand he has facing a Club splinter—only one wasted point in Clubs and fabulous controls outside. Note also that South’s hand would be considerably worse with a Club fewer and a Heart more: length facing a splinter is crucial.

Declarer, Mr Eddis, won the Ace of Hearts and planned an elimination and throw-in, necessary to avoid a Diamond loser if he had a Spade loser. Presciently, he crossed to the Ace of Clubs at trick two, a necessary manoeuvre to avoid mistiming the elimination. He returned to his Ace of Spades (East discarding). He ruffed a second Club, cashed the King of Hearts, ruffed a third Heart, and ruffed his third Club.

At trick eight, declarer ruffed dummy’s fourth Heart. If West overruffed, he’d be endplayed, so he delayed the inevitable and discarded. However, declarer then exited with a second Spade to the hapless West. If West led a fourth Club, declarer could discard a Diamond from dummy and ruff in hand; when, in practice, West chose to exit with a Diamond, declarer could win dummy’s Queen and claim his slam.

Spectator Patrick

It’s art, but not as we know it

THOSE of you who were there will remember, I’m sure, that it was pretty spectacular. I was about 35in tall at the time and Tony Blair (72.04in, for what it’s worth) was about to lead New Labour to a landslide victory. I can’t actually remember what the production was, but I was playing the lead wolf. It must have been a matinee because I recall that, as the parents cheered, which I took as my cue to stand up on a chair and give one last howl, the Edinburgh sun came streaming through the nursery-school windows—a sort of divine spotlight.

That was the last time I trod the boards. There were plenty of opportunities in my formative years, but I spent most of my time at school chasing girls and fishing with a guy called Hamish who kept tubs of Gentlemen’s Relish and a copy of the Old Testament in his tuckbox. He wasn’t hugely cool, I suppose, but the boy could fish.

My lack of theatrical experience hit me hard when I was sitting in The Playground Theatre in west

London, across the table from the artistic director, a nice guy called Anthony who likes to end meetings with a group hug. ‘And you’ll be on stage,’ he said cheerfully. I am the first person to admit that I don’t lack confidence, but stepping out in front of 100plus people, in an adaptation of a chapter from a book of mine that was published last year, is more than a little daunting.

‘It’ll be free form,’ Anthony said with a shrug, ‘like a live installation. It’s experimental. You don’t need to worry. It’ll be like live theatre-making. Do you know what I mean?’ I did not know what he meant, but I told him, as I always do, that I thought it was a great idea. A year and a half later, we have a month until we open.

We’ve got a young American filmmaker who has done incredible stuff with 16mm, there’s a sculptor who’s creating the birds and there’s a bloke called Dom doing the sound. He knows what he’s about. He’s worked with everyone from Rufus Wainwright to

Lou Reed and his brief was simple. I merely had to head out on the same journey I went on when I wrote my chapter about lapwings to find objects he could use to make instruments.

cattle trough was easy enough, finding a shopping trolley in the Rochdale canal just sort of happened, the mill bobbins were trickier and getting hold of a crow trap (corvid predation hits lapwings hard) proved almost impossible. ‘You want one of my crow traps?’ a north Norfolk keeper asked in confusion. ‘This is prime trapping season, boy. I’d rather you went off with the wife.’

This took me from Rochdale, where lapwings roost on the roofs of old mills, to Salford and finally west Wales. I wanted to understand why we’re losing lapwings and I wanted to find out what that loss will mean to those who live alongside them.

It was good to be back on the road, this time with Jessie, my toddler spaniel, at my feet. The

I got there in the end. My friend Paul, a kickboxer and deerstalker in Bedfordshire, had an old trap in his yard. ‘So what is this thing?’ he asked, as we folded the seats down in my car to make space. I told him what Anthony had told me. ‘It’s live theatre-making, Paul. It’s going to be experimental.’ He looked at me and smiled. ‘It’s art, is it?’ he asked knowingly. ‘Well,’ I replied, ‘it’ll be the first time someone has created a percussion instrument out of a crow trap. Whether it’s art or not, we’ll have to see.’

Next week Joe Gibbs

It’ll be free form, like a live installation. It’s experimental. You don’t need to worry