The man who bought stonehenge

Discover how the UK’s country houses defied the odds to survive as historic monuments and cultural centres

When COUNTRY LIFE’s Henry Avray Tipping spotted a 17th-century four poster languishing in a Herefordshire attic in 1911, he set off a chain of events that saw the bed leave its ancestral home and land at The Met in New York

Somehow, it isn’t hard to imagine the scene of battle here, even on a sultry July morning when only the distant growl of a motorbike interrupts the crooning of collared doves. Perhaps it is the quiet.

Marble Hill, Richmond-upon-Thames, Greater London In the care of English Heritage

This year marks the 625th anniversary of The Canterbury Tales author – and “father of English literature” – Geoffrey Chaucer’s death. He penned this classic, about a merry band of medieval pilgrims te

It is one of the wealthiest counties in England, with no signs of an exodus of money, say agents. Here are three exceptional country houses for sale in a fashionable area