The way we were

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

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

Home to a marquess and an RAF air crew – and believed to be the birthplace of a Queen – this red-brick Jacobean mansion contains stories spanning centuries

JANICE TALKINGTON AND PAUL BATES FELL IN LOVE WITH A COMPACT COTTAGE OVERLOOKING THE VILLAGE GREEN

2 0 2 5 b e s t o f br it i s h 2 0 2 5

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