Country Life

Published by TI Media Limited Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.

Miss Felicity Rowbotham • Felicity is a ceramicist and oil painter who has created original works for the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Selfridges, Soho House and many private collectors. She is the daughter of Mark Rowbotham and Sherree Valentine-Daines of Mickleham, Surrey.

It is a time for love and laughter • Easter’s traditions tend to be more esoteric than those of Christmas, but never has one of them–that of encouraging peals of deep, uninhibited laughter in church–been more important, says the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Stuff & nonsense

Letters to the Editor

Learn to say Yes

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Maj-Gen Sarah Johansen

Country-house treasures

Creative Gothic • On the centenary of its first consecration, John Goodall looks at the evolution of a church by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott that illustrates the architect’s journey from antiquarianism to abstraction

The Revd George Engleheart and the daffodil

Hat’s the spirit! • Brimming with the promise of brighter days and frivolous fun, the Easter bonnet is one of our most colourful and intriguing traditions, finds Deborah Nicholls-Lee

Never a frown with Burford Browns • Britain’s smartest eggs have become a household name, but what of the hens who lay them? Arthur Parkinson salutes the preferred breed of royalty and duchesses

The Editor’s Easter quiz • Test your knowledge on all things spring-like with our eggs-tremely exacting seasonal test

Stout hearted • After decades in the doldrums, Guinness is enjoying a serious renaissance, with stouts old and new snapping at its heels. David Ellis conjures some black magic

Luxury In season

Pinky promise • From candy floss to high-octane fuchsia, pink is always fun, suggests Amie Elizabeth White

Making small talk • A renewed interest in opulent dolls’ houses is allowing artisans to indulge their wilder miniature flights of fancy, discovers Gavin Plumley

The designer’s room • The layout of this French château kitchen was influenced by English country-house style

Swing low • Amelia Thorpe selects the most eye-catching glass pendant lights

Property news

Capital finds • Swish London homes with a modern feel for relatively reasonable prices are hard to come by, but this quintet offers comfort, convenience and flair for discerning buyers who like to be where the action is

London Life • Your indispensable guide to the capital

Need to know

Lock it, unlock it • Spring has brought the flowers out in bloom, Will Hosie finds–and the property market out of the slumber

The lungs of the city • As spring unlocks the beauty of London’s garden squares, Jack Watkins speaks to the devotees who work to keep those patches alive

Pretty little things • The cottage-garden charm of the double primrose continues to hold us in its thrall. Charles Quest-Ritson looks into its origins and history

Have a beanfeast

Asparagus

The Greek Job

The stuff of legends • Pliny spun a good yarn about Zeuxis and Vasari blamed a murder on Andrea del Castagno, but...