THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
SEPTEMBER 2018 £3.90
PLAYING THE FIELD Country sports style
GO FISH
Wrestling eels with Mark Hix
LADY LUCK The Lucans’ next chapter PLUS
Louis de Bernières’ dream home
JODIE KIDD
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Luxury Destination for Town and Country Living
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Clockwise from top left: W. R. & Co. Cartridge Belt, Grenfell Shooter Jacket, W. R. & Co. Tweed Caps, W. R. & Co. Deeley Shotgun Slip Pair, W. R. & Co. Vaynor Shooting Socks, Alexandre Mareuil Leather Tripod Seat, Westley Richards Pair of 20 Gauge Sidelock Shotguns, W. R. & Co. Leather Notebooks, W. R. & Co. Explora Rucksack, W. R. & Co. Anson Express Cartridge Bag, W. R. & Co. Sutherland Bag, Edward Green Galway Rosewood Country Boot, Sol & Luna Hand Stitched Leather Covered Thermos, W. R. & Co. Wool Travel Blanket, W. R. & Co. Rope Dog Lead, W. R. & Co. Walking Sticks.
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C ON T E N T S SEPTEMBER 2018
Columns 20 22
THE GOOD LIFE Alice B-B finds a new Friday date night venue THE RURBANIST Conrad Shawcross
Up Front 25 26 28 30 32
HIGHLAND FLING Scottish pride CREATURE COMFORTS Animal magic HOT ON THE SCENT Fragrance update LUCIA LOVES Tiffany & Co. MY STYLE Lucas Hugh founder, Anjhe Mules 34 THE GOLD DIGGER Jewellery news 36 BRIGHT YOUNG THING Eline Powell 38 BEAUTY TEST The Couture Brow 39 BODY & SOUL Hormone health 40 WELL GROOMED Men’s style news
The Guide 45 50 54
56 58 60
THE DIARY What to do this month ARTS AGENDA Five great podcasts GOOD READS Richard Hopton recommends four books examining man’s relationship with nature THE OLYMPIAN Sebastian Coe on an athletic legend SEEDER’S DIGEST Groovy gadgets CONVERSATIONS AT SCARFES BAR Matthew Bell meets Fever-Tree’s co-founder Tim Warrillow
ON THE FIELD 64 65 66 68 84
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TWEEDY BIRD Women’s country style DRIVEN CHAPS Men’s country style THE SPORTING TIMES News from the world of country sports BRACE UP! Get your kit list up to scratch with Netia Walker’s guide GONE FISHIN’ Rosalyn Wikeley has a laugh and catches a Conger eel to boot with Mark Hix and Oliver Rampley BEING A SPORT Clare Balding may be the darling of sporting television, but it’s her wife Alice and her dog Archie that keep her on an even keel, says Jeremy Taylor A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY Kate Fensterstock heads to Argentina to hook the elusive golden dorado WHAT’S IN A NAME? Fie Lucan hopes her husband’s family name will have more luck in the future with the launch of their clothing brand House of Lucan
6 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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HANDMADE IN ENGLAND E T T I N G E R .CO.U K +44 (0)20 8877 1616
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C ON T E N T S SEPTEMBER 2018
Fashion & Features 70 80
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MISTRESS OF THE MANOR Fashion’s quite at home on the estate CALLED TO THE BAR Supermodel Jodie Kidd has gone back to her country girl roots to save her local pub VICTORIA’S SECRET As cashmere brand Brora celebrates 25 years in the business, Lucy Cleland catches up with its founder Victoria Stapleton
The Insider 99 100 102 104 105
ORANGE SQUEEZE Head to Heal’s new store in Westfield White City TALLY-HO! Sporting comforts DESIGN NOTES News, views and inspiration by Carole Annett COUNTRY HOUSE STYLE Inspiration for your hunting lodge DESIGN Q&A Neisha Crosland
Food & Travel 107 GEORGIA ON MY MIND Expect
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a warm welcome from this exceedingly hospitable nation, says Gilly Pickup THE HOTEL WIZARD Treehouses THE WEEKENDER Saint Tropez A DOG’S LIFE Hound-friendly hotels GASTRO GOSSIP Multicultural afternoon teas BIRDS OF A FEATHER Richard Corrigan’s glorious grouse FORK & FIELD Surf and turf is on the menu for Clementina Jackson
On The Move
63
ON THE COVER Jodie Kidd wears dress by Ghost London, coat by Daks and gloves by Dents. Photography by Dan Kennedy. Fashion direction by Nicole Smallwood. Make-up by Nathalie Eleni, using MZ Skin and Sisley makeup. Hair by Ben Cook, using Hair by Sam McKnight
119 120 122 123
PROPERTY OF THE MONTH LET’S MOVE TO... Bath MY HOUSE Author Louis de Bernières FIVE OF THE BEST Sporting estates
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EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS HIGH SOCIETY STOCKISTS
Regulars
8 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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53 JERMYN STREET, LONDON | 118 HIGH STREET, ETON | 970 LEXINGTON AVENUE, NEW YORK
WWW.NEWANDLINGWOOD.COM
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EDITOR’S LETTER
EDITOR’S PICKS
SNEAK PREVIEW Olivia Coleman as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown
WATCH If it’s raining, you could always binge watch Netflix’s Amazing Interiors BUY Chloé’s trench is the coat I’d like to wear for outdoor fun (neta-porter)
WALK Check out our online guide to the UK’s best walks that end at pubs
W
hen I was a child, half growing up in the New Forest, I loved to go colt-hunting; rounding up the New Forest ponies on horseback. It was – and remains to this day – one of the most thrilling things I have ever done. It brought me into contact with unbridled rawness, unmanicured nature and people I would never normally have had the opportunity to meet. There was not a riding hat or a pair of jodphurs in sight (obviously health and safety wouldn’t allow this nowadays). I remember when one of the grisly old foresters, Jack Moore, a former blacksmith, died: he was out on his horse and he had a heart attack and that was that. We all knew what a great way to go that would have been for him. Being outside in glorious countryside, putting away your phone and doing things that get your adrenaline pumping are all absolutely vital to our sense of self and wellbeing. Which is why country sports are such an integral part of the fabric of our country: they bring people of all walks of life together, they allow you to appreciate, understand and, moreover, respect the crucial relationship between man
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and nature; whether that’s catching a fish for supper (as Rosalyn Wikeley did with Mark Hix on page 84), bagging a pheasant or a grouse (Fie Lucan didn’t pick up a gun until she was 23, but then she got hooked and ended up competing for Team GB, p92), or even walking the dog (one of Clare Balding’s favourite pastimes, p86). Plus, they allow you to wear some really cool gear – find out what’s new in the country sports style world from page 63. If the headlines about the UK’s high streets are depressing, here’s a retail story that should uplift you: Brora is a wonderful British cashmere brand that values its craftspeople and supply chain as much as its customers. I talked to its founder and owner, Victoria Stapleton, as it celebrates a profitable 25 years in the business (p95). As this gloriously sweltering summer turns to golden autumn, make it your mission to spend more time in the great outdoors. That’s my aim this month. @countryandtown /countryandtownhousemagazine /countryandtownhouse
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CONTRIBUTORS
MARK HIX
Favourite county? Dorset, which is where I grew up and I moved back a while ago. Over the years I’ve seen it grow and develop; it’s an interesting and exciting part of the country to be involved with. What’s your ‘country’ uniform? I don’t do uniforms! Perfect country day? Out on the boat or riverbank fishing and then preparing lunch from the catch. Sporting achievement you’re most proud? When I was 13 I won the senior scratch match play competition and beat the best senior players in the club; winning on the 22nd hole.
NETIA WALKER
MADE IN ENGLAND | SINCE 1879
Luna
in Dark Brown & Tan Cavalry Calf A Women’s Brogue Derby Made in England using the finest Cavalry Calf CROCKETTANDJONES.COM
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Favourite county? Wiltshire. It offers a bit of everything: wonderful countryside (both hilly and flat), buzzy towns like Marlborough, and it is perfectly placed to get north and south with ease. What’s your ‘country’ uniform? I am generally found hiding beneath the hood of my South West Ten Parka channelling my inner eskimo. Perfect country day? A fry up followed by the whole family having a day’s hunting with The Beaufort Hounds. Sporting achievement you’re most proud of? I was a keen runner when I was at school and made it to the finals of the 800m at the County Championships. Nowadays, every time I jump a decent hedge I buzz for hours and grin like a Cheshire cat.
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CONTRIBUTORS
DAN KENNEDY
Favourite county? Norfolk. It’s where I grew up and I love heading back there in the summer for a bit of glamping or wild beach time with friends. What’s your ‘country’ uniform? I’m definitely a city boy when it comes to my wardrobe, although I do have a pair of Hunters (worn once at Wilderness). Do they count? Perfect country day? Waking to the sound of the birds, a forest run, pottering through a new village, lunch on the water, watching the sunset, local beer, fireside chats. Sporting achievement you’re most proud of and why? Completing the Amsterdam Marathon. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but crossing the finish line was a once-in-a-lifetime feeling.
NATHALIE ELENI
Favourite county? Wiltshire. My sister, Annamaria, and her family live in Box and I love visiting them. I’ve been going for years and it feels so familiar. What’s your ‘country’ uniform? I’m such a city girl that I’m always dressed inappropriately for country life. Perfect country day? A summer spa day overlooking beautiful country views. Sporting achievement you’re most proud of? Getting myself back into fitness after my second baby – it takes motivation to add that to a never-ending ‘to do’ list.
27/07/2018 12:58
Where style meets strength
The new Purdey Trigger Plate Over-and-Under shotgun is made entirely in Purdey’s London workshop. Tested with more than 150,000 cartridges, it is designed to meet the demands of the modern sporting world.
57- 58 SOUTH AUDLEY STREET LONDON W1K 2ED + 4 4 (0) 20 7499 1801 PURDEY.COM
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CO U NTRYA N DTOW N H O U S E .CO.U K
EDITOR Lucy Cleland
Creators of exceptional leather luggage and bags, with artisanal craftsmanship invested in every stitch. www.tusting.co.uk +44 (0)1234 712266
EDITOR-AT-LARGE Alice B-B ASSOCIATE EDITOR Charlotte Metcalf FASHION DIRECTOR Lucy Bond FASHION EDITOR Nicole Smallwood LUXURY EDITOR Lucia van der Post INTERIORS EDITOR Carole Annett JEWELLERY EDITOR Annabel Davidson RETAIL EDITOR Rosalyn Wikeley BEAUTY EDITOR Nathalie Eleni PROPERTY EDITOR Anna Tyzack FEATURES ASSISTANT & SUB EDITOR Chloe Smith ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Maya Monro-Somerville PROPERTY MARKETING MANAGER Gemma Cowley SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Felicity Reid JUNIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Ellie Rix ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Olivia Milligan CREATIVE DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Parm Bhamra JUNIOR PRODUCTION DESIGNER Samuel Thomas ONLINE EDITOR Rebecca Cox DIGITAL ASSISTANT Clementina Jackson JUNIOR ONLINE WRITER Bella Lewis TECHNICAL MANAGER Hannah Johnson TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Mark Pearson DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY Wil Harris CREDIT CONTROLLER Penny Burles SALES & OFFICE MANAGER Daisy Orr-Ewing ACCOUNTS CONTROLLER Jane Todd FINANCE DIRECTOR Jill Newey PUBLISHER Julia Carrick MANAGING DIRECTOR Jeremy Isaac CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stephen Bayley, Simon de Burton, Fiona Duncan, Daisy Finer, Lydia Gard, Avril Groom, Richard Hopton, Emma Love, Mary Lussiana, Anna Pasternak, Caroline Phillips, Marcus Scriven THE EDITOR editorial@countryandtownhouse.co.uk FASHION fashion@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ADVERTISING advertising@countryandtownhouse.co.uk PROPERTY ADVERTISING property@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ACCOUNTS accounts@countryandtownhouse.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS subscribe@countryandtownhouse.co.uk
Factory Open Day Meet the family, tour the working factory, enjoy our pop-up tea rooms and see our full range of bags. Bank Holiday Monday, August 27th 10am to 4pm
COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE is a monthly magazine distributed to AB homes in Barnes, Battersea, Bayswater, Belgravia, Brook Green, Chelsea, Chiswick, Clapham, Coombe, Fulham, Holland Park, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Marylebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Pimlico, South Kensington, Wandsworth and Wimbledon, as well as being available from leading country and London estate agents. It is also on sale at selected WHSmith, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s stores and independent newsagents nationwide. It has an estimated readership of 150,000. It is available on subscription in the UK for £29.99 per annum. To subscribe online, iPad, iPhone and android all for only £24.99 visit: exacteditions.com/read/countrytownhouse. For subscription enquiries, please call 020 7384 9011 or email subscribe@countryandtownhouse. co.uk. It is published by Country & Town House Ltd, Studio 2, Chelsea Gate Studios, 115 Harwood Road, London SW6 4QL (tel: 020 7384 9011). Registered number 576850 England and Wales. Printed in the UK by William Gibbons and Sons Ltd, West Midlands. Paper supplied by Gerald Judd. Distribution by Letterbox. Copyright © 2018 Country & Town House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Materials are accepted on the understanding that no liability is incurred for safe custody. The publisher cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. Whilst every care is taken to ensure information is correct at time of going to press, it is subject to change, and C&TH Ltd. takes no responsibility for omissions or errors.
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Country Excellence in London The Beretta Gallery is situated in the heart of London, on the corner of historic St James’ Street. With Beretta products arranged over three floors, there’s plenty to entice you in; from hand-built sidelock shotguns through to the exquisite range of Beretta ladies and gents clothing. The second floor houses the Beretta gunroom, the largest in London. Introducing the new Beretta SL3 which draws inspiration from the finest SO10 sidelock shotguns, combining many features of these exquisite guns with a new, elegant and
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Tel: +44 207 408 4411 or visit www.beretta.london
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supremely reliable, boxlock action.
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COLUMN
THE GOOD LIFE Alice B-B on perfect parties and Friday night dates
TOP TROTTERS Stack those heels at sezane.com
OVERNIGHT SENSATION Baby smooth face with skinceuticals.co.uk
THIS MONTH I’LL BE
1
DATE NIGHT Café Wolseley at bicestervillage.com
2 3
LIKE IT’S 1999 Tom Freud, party supremo. atomevents.com
WICKER MAN Cane it at fosterandgane.com
PORTRAIT BY JANE MCLEISH-KELSEY
I
’M NOT MARRIED. Never had a wedding, nor a socking great party. But if I did throw a knees-up… damn it would be fun. Mostly because of the friend who’d help me organise it. Tom Freud is a party maestro; a puckish chap with a Viz-style chuckle who has spent not just 10,000 hours, but 10,000 days dreaming up dazzling ideas for a crowd who’ve seen and done a lot. When Jeremy Clarkson or Jony Ive want a shindig, Freud’s the man they bell. Because everything Tom does starts from a place of mischievous fun: ‘Let’s have a fair with a dodgem drivethrough – for mini-burgers and shots of Patron tequila?’ or ‘How about a dance floor with walls made of flowers and a mirrored floor?’ or ‘Let’s have a hook-aduck game where prizes aren’t crappy aftershave, but magic lessons with Dynamo or a bottle of Dom Perignon’. All of these ideas actually happened. ‘I like to takes guests on a journey
that’s completely unexpected,’ says Tom. But the greatest example is probably at his own wedding; having exchanged vows, Tom left the church in a walking handstand as his beauteous wife Lizzie danced to a brass band playing Sexual Healing. Yup. Freud’s the man. AS IF I NEEDED ANOTHER EXCUSE TO VISIT BICESTER VILLAGE! But here it is… Café Wolseley. The little sister of a favourite London restaurant has flung open its doors in the midst of Oxfordshire’s rolling hills and Bicester’s white picket-fenced shops. I shot down the minute it opened (just 46 minutes by train, straight into the Village), and happily found the same art deco elegance, deliciously detailed food and immaculate service as in London. I scoffed a tarte flambée with onions and bacon, a chicory and blue cheese salad and it took all my might to resist a croque monsieur and banana split. But all semblance of resistance shot out the gilt-edged window when it came to the new Wolseley In St Tropez, shop; I filled my bag with caddies checking out of hot chocolate, shortbread and the dreamy new Guerlain Spa salted caramel Florentines (ahem, at La Résidence presents for friends...). And as de la Pinède Café Wolseley is open until 9pm, residencepinede. com it’s the new Friday night date spot; on the drive down from London Seeing Orlando to the Magic Cottage. Lucky Bloom in his Oxfordshire, lucky me! play Killer Joe. TASTE IS BEFUDDLING. trafalgar entertainment.com Take rattan, for example. One minute, ‘Rattan Furniture’ is Wearing stylist Bay securely stored in my mental Garnett’s filing cabinet, marked thrift-inspired ‘Granny’s Sun Room – do not collections. mihjeans.com open’. The next minute – the lid’s popped open and I’m considering where a rattan chaise longue is going to feature in my life. I can picture it; reclined with a G&T and a racy novel, maybe a Vogue cigarette and a Chinese silk gown. My taste has done a 180. Granny would approve.
LUXURY & NECESSITY
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Gentleman wears Tweed Norfolk Jacket and Tweed Trousers
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INTERVIEW What are Saturday afternoons made for?
THE RURBANIST
Sailing, walking and building treehouses.
What’s your favourite game to play? I can’t
Sculptor Conrad Shawcross on building treehouses and the importance of STEAM subjects Where do you go to escape the city? The Seven Sisters in East Sussex. It’s under two hours from east London and we try to go twice a month. We love walking along the cliffs and taking in the views of the Channel.
pick just one, so I would have to say flying trapeze and sailing, for the exhilaration.
What would you change about yourself? I wish I had webbed feet and two more thumbs.
What three items would you save from your burning house?
an old horse stable I converted over several years.
What has been the most memorable night out you’ve had in London? Being from London I have had many memorable nights here. The trouble is all the best nights are difficult to recall. Last play/concert/film you saw? When I’m on the treadmill I have been watching GLOW on Netflix, which is fictional but based on a real female wrestling show from the 1980s. It’s hilarious.
Which book would you take and song would you listen to on your desert island? The book I am currently reading – Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time. I would happily take any of his books – he is an excellent writer and thinker. In terms of songs, I would listen to an old classic – Insomnia by Faithless.
Conrad Shawcross, Paradigm (2016)
What would you do as mayor for the day? I would make STEAM (science,
As many of my sketch books as I could carry, and the model for my new sculpture at Chelsea Barracks.
What would really improve your life? More exercise. I have been biking everywhere as much as possible lately – it is so easy to cycle around London and I love the efficiency of combining transport and exercise into one activity. But the flying trapeze is my favourite kind of exercise and somewhow I would like to incorporate it more into my daily life.
technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), as opposed to STEM, compulsory in schools. A combination of disciplines has been very important to my own creative process and I want other children, including my own, to have the same freedom of crossdisciplinary thought aswell.
Who’s coming round for dinner and what are you cooking? My best dish
What brings out the worst in you?
the West Midlands, designed by Basil Spence in the 1950s. It is a stunning modernist building, uniting the remains of the former cathedral (bombed by the Germans during World War II) with the new.
Lack of sleep.
Where do you go when you don’t want anyone to get hold of you? There’s a secret chamber in the studio I disappear into that no one knows is there.
Post Brexit Britain… Sum it up in a sentence... I think we may end up going from being called the United Kingdom to something like Lesser Albion.
is a venison stew but the weather is a bit hot for that right now. For security reasons I can’t say who’s coming though.
Where was the last place you ‘discovered’? Coventry Cathedral in
Conrad Shawcross will be creating the first sculpture at the 12.8-acre Chelsea Barracks development. chelseabarracks.com
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; © CONRAD SHAWCROSS. COURTESY THE ARTIST (PHOTO: MARC WILMOT)
Where’s home to you? Clapton in Hackney, in
22 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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THE ITALIAN TOURIST BOARD FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND WINE RACING WEEKEND
F R I DAY 7 T H & S AT U R DAY 8 T H S E P T E M B E R Tickets from £18pp | Children under 18 go FREE Featuring celebrity chefs Raymond Blanc and James Tanner Fine Dining packages available ascot.co.uk
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U P F RON T ST YLE · B E AUT Y · J E WELLERY · PARTIES
HIGHLAND FLING While the world’s finest names in fashion – Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel et al – head to Johnstons of Elgin for the highest quality wool for their wares, the brand itself has been honing its inimitable craft since 1797. Proud? Too right. See their A/W’18 collection for evidence. johnstonsofelgin.com
September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 25
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UP FRONT area.nyc STYLE
CREATURE COMFORTS
Toga Cardigan, £415. matchesfashion.com
We all love a bit of animal magic come autumn Plümo Trousers, £149. plumo.com
Altuzarra Casablanca merino wool-blend sweater, £625. net-a-porter.com Stella McCartney Midi skirt, £545. harveynichols.com
P.A.R.O.S.H. Sweater, £318 farfetch.com
ELIZABETH GAGE Kingfisher pin, £21,600. elizabeth-gage.com
COUNTRY
TOWN
Pringle of Scotland Sleeveless jumper, £750. pringlescotland.com Patrick Mavros Lion ring, £700. patrickmavros.com
Alanui Cashmere cardigan, £2,830. net-a-porter.com
Magda Butrym Dress, £1,150. magdabutrym.com
William & Son Lion motif scarf, £295. williamandson.com
Cath Kidston Wild Horses overnight bag, £42. cathkidston.com
Penelope Chilvers Jungle Boot, £199. penelopechilvers.com
Aspinal of London Lion mini trunk clutch, £595. aspinaloflondon.com
Gucci King Charles Spaniel denim jacket, £4,780. brownsfashion.com
Aquazzura Alma bootie, £800. aquazzura.com
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Main mage: C1567S000 Sterling Silver Bumble Bee Cufflinks C1578S13 Green Wellington Boot Cufflinks.
COUNTRY STYLE CAPTURE A PIECE OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS WITH OUR SELECTION OF LUXURY, HANDCRAFTED CUFFLINKS AND ACCESSORIES.
www.deakinandfrancis.co.uk CUFFLINKS, JEWELLERY & FINE ACCESSORIES
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UP FRONT
PERFUME
Australian fragrance house, Map of the Heart and its heady Gold Heart scent, has found its way to the UK. £150. harrods.com
HOT ON THE SCENT Rosalyn Wikeley tracks down this year’s freshest fragrances, along with a few beloved numbers
Miller Harris’ new Powdered Veil scent is a modern, glam twist on what your granny might wear. £75. millerharris.com
Honeysuckle & Davana is a gorgeous new scent from Jo Malone that dreams of summer but with enough depth to wear in the evening. From £45. jomalone.com
Floris’ 1927 citrus floral fragrance whisks you back to the roaring ’20s when frivolity and hedonism reigned. £140. florislondon.com
Diptyque’s L’Eau de Trente-Quatre is a complex, distinctive fragrance that means business. £105. libertylondon.com
Empower yourself with Fortitude, Boadicea the Victorious’ ode to the centenary of votes for women. £260. selfridges.com
Parisian perfume house Ex Nihilo’s new scent Cuir Celeste is a smooth, sexy weapon in a bottle. £210. harveynichols.com
One of Czech & Speake’s most evocative fragrances, Neroli, is loved by both men and women with its fresh, zesty kick. From £100. czechandspeake.com
Clive Christian’s Noble Art Deco in vanilla orchid is an exotic, floral potion nodding to an age of opulence and excess. £350. harrods.com
Eau De Soleil Blanc is an addictive floral amber fragrance by Tom Ford, inspired by remote private islands. From £115. selfridges.com
Penhaligon’s Hidden London Collection includes a deliciously sultry fragrance Marylebone Wood with dry smoky sandalwood. £137. penhaligons.com
CAN’T MAKE UP YOUR MIND?
Sniph helps shoppers curate their own personal scent by sending a different fragrance each month from around the world, without having to commit to full-sized bottles. The service is now also available in store at Harvey Nichols. sniph.co.uk 28 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Artcurial Town Country 1 Sept 2018:Artcurial Town Country 1 Sept 2018 26/07/2018 11:26 Page1
ARTCURIAL
A French half of 19th century pair of Saint-Maximin stone sphinges surmonted by children 148 x 163 x 65 cm Estimate: € 120 000 - 160 000 / £ 110 000 - 140 000
ARCHITECTURE & GARDEN STATUARY From Origines
Auction: Monday 24th September 2:30pm & 8pm
Artcurial.indd 1
7 Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées 75008 Paris
Online catalogue: www.artcurial.com Contact: Alexandre Barbaise abarbaise@artcurial.com +33 (0)1 42 99 20 37
26/07/2018 10:36
UP FRONT LUXURY
LUCIA LOVES
LIFE’S LITTLE LUXURIES
Can brands get more iconic than Tiffany? asks Lucia van der Post
A
s brand names go there are few more golden than that of Tiffany. Who wouldn’t recognise one of those delicious duck-egg blue boxes? Who has never heard of Breakfast at Tiffany’s? And its iconic building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan is recognised the world over. It made a niche for itself very early on, way back in the late 19th century in New York, when it acquired not only a great cache of rare diamonds and gemstones which it turned into its own fine pieces of jewellery, but also because it bought the French Crown jewels in 1887. The famous Tiffany ring setting, featuring a multi-pronged raised claw which allowed much more of the diamond to be seen, was devised by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1886 and it is still today the most popular engagement ring setting in the world. Tiffany has always put design at the heart of its offering, collaborating with the much-revered Jean Schlumberger in the 1950s, whose wild and FROM TOP: Everyday Objects paper cup, £540; Charles Lewis Tiffany; Paper Flowers firefly cluster ring, £16,200; Art of the wild bracelet, POA; the distinctive blue box; the flagship store on Fifth Avenue
whimsical designs are credited with putting Tiffany at the forefront of jewellery houses during his reign. Since then it has produced lines by Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso and, more latterly, by Francesca Amfitheatrof (who famously used the symbol of the letter T in a complete collection of austerely elegant pieces). Its latest collection, Paper Flowers, is a deliciously pretty line which uses platinum and gemstones, designed by Tiffany’s chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff. In its delicacy and sheer charm it should have a big appeal. Krakoff took as his starting point a graphic flower motif, made from layers of petals and while he mostly uses white diamonds there are flashes of colour from yellow diamonds, from Tanzanite (with which Tiffany is famously associated) and sapphires. All in all it is typically Tiffany – light-hearted, designed to be worn nonchalantly, insouciantly and confidently yet precious all the way through. There is also fragrance, china and giftware while at either end of the price scale there are more affordable silver objects that make great presents and, at the very top, most exclusive end, there is the annual Blue Book collection of one-of-a-kind spectacularly beautiful pieces still made by artisans working on the top floor of the New York store – a perfect blending of long-established workmanship coupled with utterly modern, ever evolving design. Very Tiffany. tiffany.co.uk
SUMMER SORTED Looking for last minute holiday gear? Hansine is the brainchild of Hansine Johnston whose small collection of luxe bohemian kaftans, cover-ups and tea dresses are all made from fine silks or cottons. Her mohair cropped cardigan is a perfect cover-up for cooler evenings. hansine.co
CLEAR VISION Izipizi does simple, beautifully designed reading glasses – get them in any amplification up to 3+. Infinitely better looking than the usual high street fare – these cost about £30 a pair either online or from the The Conran Shop. theconranshop.com
NORDIC HOUSE Keep the tangles out of your long necklaces by storing them in Nordic House’s austerely simple plain white ceramic ‘donut’. A mere £15 but it could just save hours and hours of untangling the knots and chains. nordichouse.co.uk
30 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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UP FRONT
Finishing touches... I like to dress up a look with diamonds by Jessica McCormack or a Lee Savage clutch.
MY STYLE
ANJHE MULES
The co-founder of premium activewear label Lucas Hugh loves the monochrome look Event dressing: For the opening of our first store in Chelsea I wore Lucas Hugh Flux leggings with a sleeveless blazer, paired with minimal Givenchy flat sandals. To finish the look, I wore a statement necklace and a colourful lip. Style crush: When working at Alexander McQueen as a young designer, I really appreciated 1 McQueen’s interest in combining technical garments with ready-to-wear.
Everyday uniform: I have an early start with the children, followed by a workout, then a full day in and out of the office. It is important that my daily uniform can keep up with me and make me feel comfortable and confident. I typically wear an oversized blouse from Jil Sander paired with our Performance leggings and trainers.
4 5
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Secret labels: For beauty, I have been recently introduced to Dr Roebuck’s No Worries hydrating face moisturiser which I am really enjoying.
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Power dressing: Quite honestly, I feel most confident in Lucas Hugh because I designed the brand for the purpose of providing women with topquality garments that consider both performance and style. Holiday essentials: As much as I can, I try to pack carry-on, focusing on multi-use clothing and layering – I have been loving the LH Carbon crop sweatshirt for plane rides and cool summer 14 nights. Growing up in the southern hemisphere, I have learned to be diligent about using sunscreen and always travel with Clarins sunscreen.
Best online retailers:
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Wardrobe failsafes: Well-cut dress shirts are a staple in my wardrobe. For a night out, I love a Saint Laurent tuxedo jacket and trousers paired with a bold Illamasqua or Nars lipstick.
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Lounge lizard:
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On a Sunday, I start my day off in cotton pyjamas. Once the children are dressed, I will switch to long shorts and a classic cotton T-shirt for a family walk through Hyde Park.
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I appreciate great customer service, strong packaging and next-day delivery. For ready-to-wear I enjoy Neta-Porter and as a business owner Amazon Prime has become a staple service. Trend to try: As a designer I try to avoid styling trends. I am however curious to try some new spa treatments including a cryofacial. Style cheats: Tailored shirts are so versatile, breathable and transitional. And lipstick for a night out.
1 Lucas Hugh Flux leggings, £190 (lucashugh.com). 2 Givenchy Chain leather sandals, £645 (givenchy.com). 3 Lee Savage Concave clutch, $1,495 (leesavage. squarespace.com). 4 Jessica McCormack Cable Car earrings, £16,000 (jessicamccormack.com). 5 Jil Sander Poplin top, £963 (jilsander.com). 6 Adidas NMD_R1 trainer, £109.95 (adidas.co.uk). 7 Desmond & Dempsey cotton pyjamas, £130 (net-a-porter.com). 8 Dr Roebuck’s No Worries moisturiser, £30 (spacenk.com). 9 Thom Browne cotton shirt, £570 (matchesfashion.com). 10 Illamasqua lipstick, £20 (illamasqua.com). 11 Arket Fluid dress, £89 (arket.com). 12 Saint Laurent Giacca jacket, £1,965 (farfetch.com). 13 Clarins Sunscreen For Face Wrinkle Control Cream, £21.50 (selfridges.com). 14 Lucas Hugh Carbon sweatshirt, £155.
32 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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FROM SEPTEMBER, WE WILL BE POPPING UP AT
39 Duke of York Square, London SW3 4LY
Really Wild.indd 1
www.reallywildclothing.com +44 (0)1491 352 600
26/07/2018 17:12
UP FRONT
JEWELLERY
THE GOLD DIGGER
Atelier Nallik dark sapphire 18k gold necklace, £1,065
SIMPLY SPARKLING Sun at Selfridges To celebrate its new opening at Selfridges, Messika has created this extraordinary oneof-a-kind Sun Kiss ring featuring an extraordinary 12.03ct yellow diamond (Selfridges yellow, of course) and a 5.13ct white diamond. selfridges.com
The latest jewellery news and trends. By Annabel Davidson
JAGGED EDGE
When you see the world’s most perfectly cut and polished gemstones on an almost daily basis, it’s easy to forget that they didn’t start out like that. In fact, not only are they a far cry from their original form, they are also very often treated in some way to enhance their colour or clarity. Enter Atelier Nallik, a jewellery brand by Jean Linda Balke which takes minerals in their rawest state and turns them into precious jewels to be worn and treasured. Hunks of uncut, untreated stones are simply wrapped in metal like folded foil, and strung from chains – whether it’s a jagged shard of pale pink rose quartz, a chunk of opalescent labradorite, or a mesmerizing block of black zoisite inflected with vibrant red ruby seams. nallik.com
BE SEDUCED
Raf Simons’ first runway collection for Calvin Klein was inspired by Americana, and it’s this vibe that runs through the new jewellery collection Calvin Klein Seductive. Think bright, summery hues of turquoise and coral, with multiple, layered parts and a Wild West vibe. calvinklein.co.uk
Calvin Klein Seductive earrings, £100
TA K E T H R E E
HIGH JEWELLERY RINGS STUFF OF FANTASY The rubies in Van Cleef & Arpels’ ring represent the drugged glass of wine in Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses. POA. vancleefarpels.com
FLOWER POWER Chanel’s Fleur de Laque ring is inspired by the flowers seen on many of Coco Chanel’s beloved Chinese screen. POA. chanel.com
LACE UP The huge 5.7 carat central diamond in Dior’s Dentelle Organza diamond ring is surrounded by a froth of pink sapphires and diamonds to dreamy effect. POA. dior.com
Heavenly jewels Nadine Aysoy’s new Celeste collection pitches luminous white jade discs against vibrant colour – either pink sapphire, green tsavorite or yellow beryl. Reminiscent of both Chinese lucky coins and Roman artefacts, they’re beautifully set as pendants, rings, and earrings. nadineaysoy.com
Cut the ribbon Mikimoto’s new Jeux de Rubans (Joy of Ribbons) collection is a whimsical take on unfurling ribbons – these earrings in yellow gold and diamonds with a gleaming cultured pearl are joyously reminiscent of tumbling silk. mikimoto. co.uk
34 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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UP FRONT BEAUT Y
BEAUTY TEST The Couture Brow with Suzanne Martin Suzanne Martin has patented her brow tecnique
FIVE OF THE BEST
GLOW GETTERS As chosen by Nathalie Eleni 1 Foreo UFO mini Smart Mask Treatment This is the latest launch from the makers of the world’s first smart mask treatment. It combines the same high-tech skin benefits and Korean masking, but now in a smaller and more portable (and purse-friendly) size. Apply one of the mini sheet masks to the device for collagen stimulating, bacteriabusting and circulation boosting among many other skin health benefits. £159. selfridges.com 2 If your skin needs some corrective TLC, Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation should be in your make-up bag. A high coverage, long-wear foundation that impressively conceals blemishes, rosacea, dark circles and scars, it is great for skin emergencies. £15. boots.com 3 Plump out fine lines with Beautybio Science GloPRO® home microneedling tool. It’s a dermalicious beauty gadget that is super easy to use and will kick skin into regeneration mode and help lock in skincare for maximum glow factor. £249. harrods.com 4 If you’re thinking of jetting off for some last minute sun, don’t undo all your good work by letting UVA rays take their toll on your collagen production. SHISEIDO Expert Sun Ageing Protection Lotion SPF30 smooths onto skin effortlessly without becoming sticky to create an invisible barrier against UV rays and harmful free radicals. £34. lookfantastic.com
‘O
ooh, you’re my perfect kind of client,’ says Suzanne Martin, in her treatment room deep within the gloriously expansive Lanesborough Spa, ‘because you really don’t have any eyebrows!’ Point taken, my eyebrows are as bushy as a Siamese cat’s, but I was here for Suzanne to fix all that with her patented technique. This is not micro-blading, which she claims is done in cookie-cutter style so that everyone ends up with the same shape, this is a bespoke treatment defined by each client’s face to give them, Suzanne promises, ‘the perfect shape’. Because, as we all know, eyebrows are integral to framing the face, lifting the eyes and defining the
Instagram sensation Erika Santos with her new Suzanne Martin ‘Couture’ brows
5 Deborah Mitchell Bee Peel uses organic coconut and raw cane sugar to resurface and even out skin. A great home care product to refresh your skin to keep it happy and healthy between salon visits. £109. heavenskincare.com
structure. The treatment itself can feel mildly uncomfortable but once the dye has been applied with various needles penetrating just below the skin to the required shape, and the skin has rejuvenated (after about three days), a defined arch is all yours. It takes two treatments (about a month apart) for you to have your final brows – the first lays the foundation, the second embellishes – but the result is flatteringly natural and will last for up to a year. (Lucy Cleland). From £1,400 per initial treatment. lanesboroughclubandspa.com
36 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Reset the clock.
Get time on your side with Dr Sebagh’s iconic, glow-restoring serums. Serum Repair
Supreme Maintenance Youth Serum
Dr Sebagh’s award-winning, cult serum with 60% hyaluronic acid intensively hydrates and plumps the skin for instantly glowing results. Perfect for day or night, or as a pre-party radiance boost.
A highly powerful super-serum, Dr Sebagh Supreme Maintenance Youth Serum plumps, hydrates and protects skin whilst boosting its natural glow. Oil-free, for all skin types, this potent concentration of ingredients, including Resveratrol, Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and three anti-ageing peptides, helps kick-start collagen production and visibly reduces fine lines and wrinkles.
Rose de Vie Serum More than just a pretty bottle. This powerful, silky, organic rose oilbased serum is an essential treatment to restore the skin’s natural barrier and vitality. Calming, soothing and antioxidant-rich, it reduces redness and protects and smoothes dry, mature or sensitive skin.
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Used alone or mixed to create your perfect, personalised blend, find Dr Sebagh serums in-store and at drsebagh.com
26/07/2018 18:08
UP FRONT BEAUT Y
BRIGHT YOUNG THING Nathalie Eleni tells us how to get Eline Powell’s flawless face
Tell us about your character in Siren? I play Ryn, a mermaid who comes on land for the first time to find her sister. She can transform into a human body but the transition is very painful. She is a top level predator in the ocean but is highly intelligent and is therefore quite curious about human culture.
What do you love about playing your character? I love that everything is new to her. She can’t speak any human language so she has to learn alongside many other things. It’s been fascinating to really zoom out and see the world around you for the first time.
How did you train for the role? All the mermaids get trained in free diving and scuba diving. It’s a wonderful skill to learn and learning to swim with a monofin is exhilarating. You can finally swim with speed and grace. Siren is now available to watch in the UK on the SyFy UK channel
Make up: Nathalie Eleni Hair: Chloe Sandoz Photographer: Ruan van der Sande (ruanvandersande.com)
GET THE LOOK 1 For the most luminous, sheer skin apply TRINNY London BFF (£35). Conceal any areas that need more attention with TRINNY London Just A Touch (£28) and watch imperfections disappear. trinnylondon.com 2 Create soft, glorious skin lights with Huda Beauty 3D Highlight Palette in Pink Sands Edition. Dust shade ‘IBIZA’ over cheekbones, on the centre of your eyelids (over your eye shadow) and lips to recreate Eline’s rose gold glow. £40. cultbeauty.co.uk 3 Smudge Shiseido Paperlight Cream Eye Colour in Sango Coral over eyelids. It can also be used blended over the apples of your cheeks for the prettiest, perkiest peach. £22. johnlewis.com 4 For impressive lash enhancement apply Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes Volume 2 Mascara. £25. harrods.com 38 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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UP FRONT
HEALTH HOT LIST
WELLNESS
BODY & SOUL Helping your hormones. By Camilla Hewitt
HOW TO KEEP HORMONES HAPPY
Katie Pande, Pukka’s in-house herbalist, recommends three herbs that are fantastic for supporting the delicate hormone balance in women 1 Shatavari: A renowned tonic for the female reproductive system, Shatavari helps bring hormones back into balance, regulate the menstrual cycle (where still present) and reduce perimenopausal and menopause symptoms, such as low mood and forgetfulness. 2 Rose: A cooling and calming herb, rose soothes the severity of hot flushes in menopause. Rosewater can be made into a refreshing spray for the skin to reduce inflammation and stop sweating. 3 Turmeric: A master detoxifier, turmeric helps the liver process excessive hormone levels, while its antispasmodic action can also relieve menstrual cramps.
A RECIPE FOR WELLNESS
Frozen dark chocolatedipped bananas with salted coconut, cacao nib, bee pollen and rose toppings
Glacce Energise from the inside with Crystal Elixir water bottles
Exfolimate Gently lifts lingering skin cells to unveil younger, fresher skin
Purearth water kefir Designed to give your tummy some much needed TLC
pukkaherbs.com ESCAPE THE OFFICE
ESCAPE THE CITY
Face Yoga For Your Busy Life app Danielle Collins leads you through a series of face exercises for healthier looking skin
Curb your ice cream cravings with this simple summer treat... METHOD Simply cut bananas in half, insert a popsicle stick, dip into melted dark chocolate, sprinkle over your chosen toppings, and place in the freezer overnight. You can also freeze the bananas first and then coat them in the melted chocolate as this will help the chocolate set faster creating a thicker coating. gatherandfeast.com
Triyoga Alongside yoga and pilates classes, Triyoga offers a host of complementary treatments to help you be your healthiest self. From acupuncture to Ayurvedic massage, a hand-picked team of practitioners offer the highest quality treatments. With six locations across London and an efficient online booking system, Triyoga is sanctuary away from the noise and bustle of city life. triyoga.co.uk
The Scarlet, Cornwall When life is getting on top of you, retreat to the comfort and calm of the north Cornish coast where you’ll find The Scarlet hotel. Recharge your batteries in the clifftop hot tubs, the natural reed-bed swimming pool and the Ayurvedicinspired spa. The Scarlet offers threenight yoga breaks and wellbeing escapes designed to get your mind and body back on track. scarlethotel.co.uk
Hello Day Seasonal wellbeing supplements that help anticipate and prevent symptoms
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UP FRONT SUIT YOURSELF British tailoring firm Edit Suits Co is causing a quiet revolution in made-to-measure tailoring thanks to their founders’ tech and ecommerce expertise. Order online and your vital statistics will be sent off in seconds to be precision laser-cut. Feel the future! Suits from £389. editsuits.com
MEN’S STYLE
WELL GROOMED Fix up, look sharp, says Matt Thomas
LABICHE, C’EST CHIC!
We are loving fun French brand Maison Labiche, which has its tongue firmly in its Left Bank cheek when it comes to witty sloganeering. Go on, brand yourself ‘avant-garde’, ‘nouvelle vague’ or simply ‘the dude’! Worker jacket, £160. maisonlabiche. com
REACH FOR THE SKIES Globetrotter has paid tribute to the RAF in its centenary year with a shiny and robust collection of luggage designed to accompany pilots on mission flights and training. Mini utility case, £1,140. globe-trotter.com RUN WITH THE PACK Backpacks are rapidly overtaking the attaché and briefcase as the cooler, more convenient choice for city commuters. This version from Alfie Douglas is a smart and streamlined option. Zero backpack, £380. alfiedouglas.com
DANCING SHOES
TRANSPARENT THREADS Not only is Private White V.C. still producing luxury apparel from the same Manchester family that the current CEO’s great grandfather founded, having been awarded the Victoria Cross after WWI, but they are now operating an unparalleled transparency policy to ‘show their workings’ and the fair prices they offer to their customers. Cashmere topcoat, £650. privatewhitevc.com
Clergerie brings more than just a touch of disco glamour to its all new collection of footwear, under the creative direction of David Tourniaire-Beauciel. Expect studs, biker boots, wedged heels and spangly silver calfskin. Cyrus calfskin silver shoe, £525. clergerieparis.com
CARBON COPY
Prada intrepidly interprets the scent of carbon in this new, fresh Luna Rossa fragrance, with a mineral and ambery fougère where bergamot and pepper mix with soil tincture and patchouli. £50.50 for 100ml. selfridges.com
40 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Experience the very best in contemporary country clothing. Visit our website today:
www.houseofbruar.com
To order our latest mail order catalogue please ring 01796 483 236. The House of Bruar by Blair Atholl, Perthshire, PH18 5TW.
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UP FRONT HRH The Qeen and Laurent Feniou
Tinie Tempah
FINERY ON THE FIELD
Guests, including the Queen, Edward Enninful and Tinie Tempah, watched Michael Bickford’s La Indiana and Andrey Borodin’s Park Place tear up the turf for the Cartier Queen’s Cup at Windsor Great Park. La Indiana came out on top at the tournament – known as the jewel in the polo calendar and hosted by Laurent Feniou, managing director of Cartier – and was awarded the trophy by the Queen herself.
Jenna Coleman
Clara Paget
Edward Enninful Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Astrid Muñoz
Harley Viera-Newton Martha Hunt and Lily Collins
SOCIAL SCENE
Lady Mary Charteris
HIGH SOCIETY
AMAZING APRÈS
People, parties, places Amy Smilovic and Caroline Issa
Alexia Niedzielski and Jo Ellison
Indre Šerpytyte and Candice Lake
A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY
Laura Jackson and Hedvig Opshaug
New York womenswear brand, Tibi, turned 21 with a dinner held at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts hosted by Tibi’s founder Amy Smilovic and British Vogue’s Sarah Harris. Friends and fans of the label, including Caroline Issa and Jessie Ware, were in attendance and enjoyed Negronis and champagne followed by a menu created by Rochelle Canteen among flowers by Tuk Tuk Flower Studio.
Royal Ascot ended with a bang at the Huntsman closing party in Car Park 1 at The Rosebery, a vintage Routemaster bus turned bar with a DJ blasting music Georgia Rothman and from the top Louisa Wentworth Stanley Daisy Knatchbull deck that could and Lord March be heard across the racecourse. Once the sun had gone down, guests including Georgia Toffolo and Alice Manners piled into taxis back to London and headed to Albert’s Madeleine Bunbury and Harry Beckett to continue the party.
Carlo Carello and Sam Sangster
Jessie Ware
Adelaide Bolitho and Hugo Davies Lord Porchester and Alexander Warren
42 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Furniture makers - Redefining bespoke
Chelsea · Notting Hill · Wiltshire
enq@mccarronandco.com
www.mccarronandco.com
HANDMADE IN ENGLAND
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RAYMOND GUBBAY presents
BOX OFFICE
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS AT THE
ROYAL ALBERT HALL
020 7838 3109 royalalberthall.com
BOOK ONLINE
SEATS AVAILABLE FROM raymondgubbay.co.uk
(24hrs/bkg fees apply)
0844 847 2319
Saturday 22 September 2018 at 7.30pm
Sunday 7 October 2018 at 3.00pm
Saturday 27 October 2018 at 7.30pm
Beethoven’s Ninth
The Planets
Carmina Burana
An unmissable all-Beethoven concert culminates with the monumental ‘Choral Symphony’ with its climactic ‘Ode to Joy’.
Holst’s evocative and powerful planetary masterwork crowns an afternoon of sublime music.
Returns by popular demand. Witness Orff’s choral extravaganza performed by over 400 voices.
Piano Concerto No.5 ‘Emperor’ Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’
Verdi - The Force of Destiny Overture Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 Holst - The Planets
Wagner - Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin Saint-Saëns - Symphony No.3 ‘Organ’ Orff - Carmina Burana
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Crouch End Festival Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Bach Choir Damian Iorio conductor Joseph Moog piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra English Concert Chorus Highgate Choral Society Goldsmiths Choral Union Southend Boys’ Choir Andrew Greenwood conductor Mary Bevan soprano Robert Murray tenor James Cleverton baritone
David Parry conductor Ivana Gavrić piano Lucy Crowe soprano Patricia Bardon mezzo-soprano Ilker Arcayürek tenor Neal Davies bass
THE ULTIMATE, UNMISSABLE CHRISTMAS PARTY RAYMOND GUBBAY presents
Toe-tapping tunes and seasonal songs including Jingle Bell Rock • Sleigh Ride • Last Christmas Merry Christmas Everyone • The Christmas Song Winter Wonderland • Merry Christmas Everybody Santa Claus is Coming To Town and many more…
WITH SPECIAL GUEST KIMBERLEY WALSH AND GUEST SINGERS KERRY ELLIS & TIM HOWAR JOHN RIGBY CONDUCTOR THE JINGLE BELLES® LONDON CONCERT ORCHESTRA tickets: mychristmaslondon.co.uk
24hrs/bkg fees apply
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Sun 16 Dec at 3pm, Sun 23 Dec at 3pm & 7.30pm London Palladium Mon 17 Dec at 7.30pm
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C&TH
THE GU IDE A R T · C U LT U R E · B O O K S · P E O P L E
BACK TO SCHOOL HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest music and philosophy festival, will pitch its tent in London for a weekend of debate among the world’s leading thinkers, along with a mix of talks, music and comedy on Hampstead Heath. Steven Pinker, Deborah Levy and Homi Bhabha will start those wheels turning. 22-23 September. howthelightgetsin.org
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THE GUIDE
EVENTS
COUNTRY LIFE
Jools Holland
Eat, drink and make merry, says Bella Lewis Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
MUSIC
TASTING NOTES
Jools Holland joins Krug Encounters – Tracks on Tracks, a series with music, food and Krug Champagne at its heart. Hop aboard a luxury train at Victoria en route to the English countryside. Three stops along the way will feature hop-on-hop-off performances curated by Jools as well as food by Luke Robinson. 31 August. krug.com
ART
CHATSWORTH CHATTER
Art Out Loud at Chatsworth promises a weekend steeped in both the iconic beauty of Chatsworth and iconic artists’ insight. Speakers include artists Linder Sterling, Idris Khan, and 2017 Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid. Art historian Dan Cruickshank and RIBA 2017 Stirling Prize winner Alex de Rijke will also join. 21-23 September. chatsworth.org
THEARTRE
LAUGH YOUR AUS OFF
Austentatious, the much-hyped improv play that performs a different ‘lost’ Jane Austen novel based on audience suggestion, will tour the UK this autumn. The popular group, with sellout Edinburgh Fringe runs, will begin at the Brighton Dome and conclude at The Rep in Birmingham. 23 Sept to 2 Nov. mickperrin.com
AC TIO N
TASTE ASCOT
The show has not yet closed – for one last reminder of all things good about summer, Ascot will hold its Festival of Food and Wine. Those struggling to quit summer will enjoy a number of competitive flat races and more than 40 culinary stalls for perusal and purchases. 7-8 Sept. ascot.co.uk
L I T E R AT U R E
BOOK IT
Festival of Food & Wine Racing Weekend, Ascot
The Cliveden Literary Festival 2018 evokes the spirit of great writers who have frequented the country house over the last three centuries. This year’s themes, such as Russia and espionage, female monarchs and literary adaptations, will be illuminated by speakers ranging from the likes of Armando Iannucci to Priti Patel. 29-30 September. clivedenliteraryfestival.org
46 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Gavin Gardiner Limited ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Auctioneers of Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns, Rifles and Accessories
Sporting Guns at the Gleneagles Hotel Auction: 27th August 2018
Malcolm Appleby The "Phoenix Gun", completed 2012 Estimate upon request
For over 50 years Record Prices for Sporting Guns have been achieved at the Gleneagles sale. Held two weeks in to the Grouse shooting season, the unique location and atmosphere of The Gleneagles Hotel has seen this sale achieve a status like no other. Almost 200 lots of Fine Sporting Guns and Rifles included in this sale. Catalogue: £17 by post
Exhibition in Sussex: Wednesday 15th August to Friday 17th August by appointment only Exhibition at Gleneagles: Saturday 25th August Sunday 26th August Monday 27th August
10am to 5pm 10am to 5pm 10am to 2pm
Auction at 5pm
Tel 01798 875300 www. gavingardiner.com
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JJ. Purdey
& Sons.
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THE GUIDE
EVENTS
TOWN LIFE Pinter season and all about design
Dadodans, Kokers
DAN C E
VIRTUOSO
The 40th anniversary of London’s international dance festival, Dance Umbrella at the Old Vic, features Big Dance Theatre’s new romp through the diaries of Samuel Pepys. Other highlights include Sasha Milavic Davies’ ‘everything that rises must dance’ – a celebration of female movement created by over 200 London women. 26 Sept to 21 Oct. danceumbrella.co.uk
FA I R
NOT A BAD START START Art Fair will return to the Saatchi Gallery for its fifth edition, providing a platform for emerging artists and young galleries worldwide. Exhibitor presentations and curated projects will feature some of the newest, most exciting contemporary art from over 50 artists and 25 countries. 13-16 Sept. startartfair.com
DESIGN
Amid the bustle of the London Design Festival, designers will come together at Decorex to share specially curated products. Don’t miss the Sunday panel on kitchen design with C&TH’s very own Carole Annett (16-19 September. decorex.com). Also unmissable are some of the 120 showrooms and over 600 luxury brands showcased at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour’s Focus/18. 19-21 Sept. dcch.co.uk
ART
VIRTUOSO
This year, for Fortnum & Mason’s annual artistic collaboration, art collector Frank Cohen lends a body of work by British landscape artist, John Virtue. Fortnum’s X Frank 2018 (FXF18) will exhibit the 70 largescale, monochromatic works across the floors of the luxury London store in Piccadilly. 10 Sept to 20 Oct. fortnumandmason.com
T H E AT R E
A PINCH OF PINTER
John Virtue, Landscape No.174 (1990-1992)
A roll call of great names, including Keith Allen, Martin Freeman and Celia Imrie, will tread the boards in Pinter at the Pinter, a season where all 20 one-act plays by the 20thcentury playwright will run together for the very first time, and at the Harold Pinter Theatre. 6 Sept to 23 Feb. pinteratthepinter.com
PHOTOS: EVE DE HAAN; STUDIO VAN PELT; ALBION BARN
CAPITAL DESIGNS
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Pioneer of the modern kitchen open to life – for 125 years Poggenpohl has 19 points of sale throughout the UK & Ireland ¡ uk@poggenpohl.com For your nearest Poggenpohl Studio please go to www.poggenpohl.com/find-a-studio 125years.poggenpohl.com
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ARTS
ARTS AGENDA Exhibitions with a big presence. By Chloe Smith 1
Adrian Houston, Jasper Conran New Wardour Castle Beech (2016)
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ADRIAN HOUSTON, A PORTRAIT OF THE TREE
The Titanic in dry dock (c. 1911)
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa (1998)
FIVE M I N UTE S WITH
LINERS: 2OCEAN SPEED AND STYLE
KATE GOODWIN
Symbolic of 20th-century modernity, ocean liners heralded the golden age of travel. This exhibition at the new Scottish outpost of The V&A examines ships such as the Titanic and the Queen Mary and their influence on popular culture. 15 Sept to 24 Feb 2019. vam.ac.uk
Renzo Piano is one of the world’s leading architects whose buildings have enriched cities and places across the globe. Although best known for designing the Shard in London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris, this exhibition will showcase 16 of his projects.
PIANO, THE ART 3 RENZO OF MAKING BUILDINGS
I am excited to see what the exhibition will look like in our new Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries, recently refurbished as part of the RA’s 250th anniversary redevelopment.
Head of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts
V&A Dundee
Royal Academy, W1
Light, interplay of tradition and invention are all trademarks of Piano’s work and can be seen in rarely-seen before drawings, models and full-scale maquettes. The first close-up exhibition of the architect’s work in 30 years, it’s not one to miss. 15 Sept to 20 Jan 2019. royalacademy.org.uk
3
A highlight of the show will be the central gallery, with photographs by Gianni Berengo Gardin and a film by Thomas Riedelsheimer. The centrepiece is a sculptural installation, The Island at the Royal Academy, brings together 100 of Piano’s projects.
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PHOTOS: WHITE CUBE (BEN WESTOBY)
After realising that many of our trees are at risk from global warming and disease, Adrian Houston set out to give trees a voice. He asked people such as Richard Branson, Goldie Hawn and Jasper Conran what their favourite tree was before photographing it. 17-28 Sept. theunitldn.com
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; © SERGIO GRAZIA; © ADCK - CENTRE CULTUREL TJIBAOU/RPBW; © RUTH SCHOCKEN KATZ
Unit London, W1
THE GUIDE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Reviews, previews and performances
FIVE O F TH E B E ST
PODCASTS THE START This podcast from The Guardian focuses on a piece of art, from inception to looking at it retrospectively, as told by the great artists themselves. Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei and Peaches have all featured.
LOVE STORIES Hear Bryony Gordon, Vanessa Kirby and Emma Freud speak candidly to Dolly Alderton about love and everything in between. Mat Collishaw, GASCONADES (Beastmode) (2018)
PR E VI E W
CHRISTIAN MARCLAY: THE CLOCK
R E VI E W
MAT COLLISHAW Castle Howard, York
PHOTOS: WHITE CUBE (BEN WESTOBY)
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; © SERGIO GRAZIA; © ADCK - CENTRE CULTUREL TJIBAOU/RPBW; © RUTH SCHOCKEN KATZ
Tate Modern, SE1
Famed for the multiple use of media, here Mat Collishaw has teamed up with an evolutionary psychologist to create a 3D zoetrope, The Centrifugal Soul, which produces a hypnotic illusion of motion with birds of paradise performing mating dances. The bird theme continues with prints of birds tethered to perches – a nod to Carel Fabritius’ The Goldfinch – against a graffiti background. The juxtaposition of Castle Howard’s historical setting with these mesmerising works highlight Collishaw’s cutting-edge style. Until 2 September. castlehoward.co.uk
The product of years of painstaking research and production, Marclay pored through films to find scenes that show clocks. The results have been edited to produce a 24hour installation of these clocks as they flow in real time, taking the viewer also through myriad film genres. Once a month the gallery will remain open overnight for the full 24-hour installation will be shown, but for those who enjoy their sleep too much, the work will shown (for free) during the day. 14 Sept to 20 Jan 2019. tate.org.uk
WHAT’S ON The best of travel and culture from the Country & Town House team. Each episode features a location or event which the hosts discuss. Informative and fun (if we may say so ourselves).
BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT If you’re hooked on Netflix’s The Staircase, you’ll love the in-depth analysis and discussion of the case in this podcast.
Christian Marclay, The Clock (2010)
CALIPHATE Follow Rukmini Callimachi, a New York Times journalist, on her journey to understand ISIS. Callimachi explores their recruitment and life on the inside through on-theground reporting.
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INSPIRATIONAL FURNITURE LONDON | 555 Kings Road | Chelsea | London | SW6 2EB | 020 7610 6626 NEWCASTLE | Tyne Tunnel Trade Park | North Shields | NE29 7UT | 0191 257 6112
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THE GUIDE CHASING THE GHOST Peter Marren
BOOKS
GOOD READS Richard Hopton reviews four books about man and nature
BUZZ: THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF BEES Thor Hanson
There are more than 20,000 species of bee on the planet, inhabiting every continent bar Antarctica. Man’s relationship with the bee goes back to prehistory. ‘No other group of insects has grown so close to us, none is more essential, and none is more revered.’ For millennia, honey was man’s best source of sweetness and its wax invaluable for lighting, writing and sealing. Buzz is an engaging mix of science, history, anecdote and geeky good humour. Hanson, an American biologist, wears his learning lightly, getting the science across without being dull or pedantic. Bees developed as a strain of vegetarian wasp. Wasps kill and eat other creatures but bees adapted to feed only on pollen from flowers. From this they fed themselves and their young and made honey for the winter. In the process they took on the vital function of pollination. Flowers, in order to propagate, began to make themselves alluring to bees by adopting colour and scent. It is evolution’s virtuous circle in action. And, of course, it is pollination that makes bees so important to us. ‘It’s often said,’ writes Hanson, ‘that every third bite of food in the human diet relies upon bees.’ It is why the recent decline in bee populations – known scientifically as Colony Collapse Disorder – matters greatly. Hanson lists 150 crops, many of them staples, which require pollination by bees. To illustrate his point he conducted a scientific experiment: deconstructing a Big Mac, separating the elements derived from sources which require pollination from those which do not. He concludes that ‘we could still eat in a world deprived [of bees], but eating would be extremely dull (and not very nutritious).’ As a cautionary tale of what can happen when bee populations collapse, Hanson tells the story of the Maoxian Valley apple orchards in China. The swift decline in bee numbers in the valley – caused by pesticides and loss of habitat – wiped out the orchards leading to the mass felling of the trees. Bees do matter. Icon, £20
Peter Marren set out to locate the 50 species of British wild flower – there are more than 1,400 in all – which had eluded him in a lifetime’s botanising. His quest, recorded here, takes him from England’s south coast to Scotland’s northernmost shores. It is a charming, somewhat eccentric book, part botanical adventure, part rumination on man and nature with a dash of anecdote and autobiography thrown in. At its heart are wild flowers which, Marren writes, offer ‘a kind of inner calm, a feeling of oneness with nature’. Square Peg, £16.99
TILL THE COWS COME HOME Philip Walling
‘It is impossible to overstate the services rendered by the ox to the human race.’ So says Philip Walling at the beginning of his book about man’s relationship with bovines. Cattle have been domesticated for 10,500 years and there are now more than a billion of them on the planet. Walling, a farmer-turnedbarrister, explores this relationship and investigates some of the better-known breeds – such as the longhorn cattle of America’s Wild West and Spain’s fighting bulls. The book is also a hymn to the benefits of humane husbandry and proper land management, practices often at odds with ecological ideology. Atlantic Books, £14.99
THE WEATHER DETECTIVE Peter Wohlleben
Peter Wohlleben is a German forester, a man with deep connections to the natural world, and his book is a treasure trove of fascinating information about the environment, a primer for the scientifically illiterate but curious gardener: for example, the formation and ring-ageing of hailstones or the reasons why you should not overwater your garden in a heatwave. He also offers easily digestible summaries of wider matters such as global warming and soil damage. A book to browse and then think to yourself, ‘Oh, so that’s why’. Rider, £12.99
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C&TH ONLINE
DO
THE PODCAST
Have a last summer fling with the final unmissable events of the season, from Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival to Smoked & Uncut and Festival No.6.
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LISTEN
The What’s On Podcast brings you ten thing to do in the next ten days. With interviews, hot new openings and insider tips – plus a regular luxury goody bag competition – you’ll never be short of ideas. Just click the podcast tab on the C&TH website to subscribe.
THIS MONTH
by COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE
GO
Discover a different side to London with our insider’s guides and ‘best of’ round ups. This month, we bring you the best champagne bars, hidden spots to work in the capital, the hottest new members’ clubs and the most delectable afternoon teas.
EAT Game season is here! Visit our food section for recipes, hotspots, menu highlights and a guide to shooting. You can also learn how to ‘eat the season’ with our round up of the most delicious seasonal fruit and veg in the UK this month.
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THE GUIDE
SPORTS
As Sebastian Coe flies to the Czech Republic for this month’s IAAF Continental Cup, he will keenly feel the loss of the world’s greatest female athlete, Irena Szewinska
F
orty years ago I broke a cluster of world records, one of which fell on the day I was due to graduate. When I did finally make it to the ceremony that honoured my rather fitful academic commitment, my history tutor remarked, I think playfully but perhaps not, that I was the only student he’d ever taught who regularly handed in essays on British Airways headed note paper. As I scribble this month’s column some 30,000 feet above Europe it would appear not much has changed in the ensuing years. I was on my way back from Warsaw, having represented athletics at the funeral of one of the most lustrous and decorated athletes in the history of our sport. Irena Szewinska, arguably the finest female athlete of all time, has left us all too early. Sport comes alive not in the committee room nor on the balance sheet nor even in the record books, although, having said that, Szewinska is the only athlete in history, male or female, to have held the world record in the 100m, 200m and the one lap. Between 1964 and 1980 she competed in five Olympic Games, amassed seven medals, three of which were gold. She was grace and elegance personified on and off the track and inspired more than a generation of athletes, me included. As a teenager I watched her win at Crystal Palace and then spend over an hour signing autographs; I learnt a lot that day and not just because I became the proud owner of one of them.
ABOVE: Competing at the 2010 Continental Cup in Croatia BELOW: Irena Szewinska winning the 400m at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal
During the London Olympic years, I escorted her on to the Olympic Park in its early construction phase. She was a member of the IOC’s coordination commission. Behind the safety fence the work continued while I explained how our venues were progressing. Mid-flow the work ceased and a group of construction workers walked towards us, we held out our hands and smiled as they ignored each one of us apart from Irena. She was their national hero and they couldn’t believe they had the chance to talk to her in our little corner of London. Sadly, she will not be with us for the highlight of the athletic season this month in Ostrava in the Czech Republic, only a short journey from her beloved Poland. The IAAF Continental Cup is the successor to the World Cup, the inaugural trophy. Szewinska of course won the 400m in Dusseldorf. As The World Cup was about national teams, so the Continental Cup this year is an intercontinental championship. The team standings are now determined by the combined forces of both genders. Ostrava will also witness some innovation; a mixed 4 x 400m relay will make its debut before the World Championships in Doha next year. Ostrava is a city that is using sport to transition from the staple industrial base that is now sadly a thing of the past. But it’s a city that understands athletics and has already sold out for the two-day competition. I shall be there but I will miss Szewinska and her presence in our sport.
PHOTOS: REX FEATURES
THE OLYMPIAN
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BRING THE BEST OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE INTO YOUR HOME
A beautiful collection of homewares and fabrics shop online socountry.co.uk
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THE GUIDE
GARDENING
SEEDER’S DIGEST
GADGETS Make your life easier
Take inspiration from the gardener of Versailles, says Chloe Smith THE WONDERFUL GARDEN COMPANY Bulb planter, £110.25. thewonderful garden company.co.uk
GARDEN OF THE MONTH
WEST DEAN GARDENS West Sussex
After the gardens were destroyed by the Great Storm of 1987 they were restored by Jim Buckland and Sarah Wain to their current glory. The spectacular 100m Edwardian pergola, designed by Harold Peto, is well worth a stroll through, as is the awardwinning perennial sunken garden. westdean.org.uk
GARDEN ANSWERS Gardening app. gardenanswers.com
PETERSHAM NURSERIES Propagation kit, £11.95. petershamnurseries.com
INSPIRED BY
THE GARDENER OF VERSAILLES
THE CONRAN SHOP Opinel gardening set, £65. conranshop.co.uk TREND
OFF THE WALL
Vertical gardens are all about utilising space for planting. For those living in a city they have the added bonus of giving the illusion that you’re living in an actual jungle rather than a concrete one, and they can be rather dramatic in the countryside too.
THIS MONTH Harvest Raspberries and strawberries and freeze to enjoy in winter.
Retire Your wooden garden furniture for winter, oil before putting away.
Plant Spring flowering bulbs such as bluebells, Russian snowdrops and daffodils.
The Worm that Turned Fruit picker, £16.95. worm.co.uk
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
Alain Baraton, gardener at the Palace of Versailles since 1982, delves into the connection that gardeners have with the soil they work with, as well as the history and secrets that this world-famous garden has been privy to. Warning: garden envy is a by-product. Rizzoli Ex Libris, £25.80
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THE GUIDE
C O N V E R S AT I O N S AT S C A R F E S B A R
TIM WARRILLOW The tale of Fever-Tree is one of David versus Goliath proportions. Matthew Bell meets its very clever co-founder Portrait by ALEXANDRA DAO
T
it’s just about the most fertile place in the world. Someone said im Warrillow is the man who put the fizz back into you could put a pencil in the ground there and it would grow.’ your gin and tonic. In 2005, he founded Fever-Tree All that survives in Bukavu, the local town, is the brewery (because with fellow entrepreneur Charles Rolls, with the aim even warlords like a drink) and the quinine factory, which makes of resurrecting quality tonic water. Now, as of January pharmaceutical-grade quinine to sell to drugs companies. Tim this year, sales have overtaken Schweppes. It’s an extraordinary immediately placed a large order, and continues to buy his quinine tale of David taking on Goliath – a small English start-up daring there, the only drinks company in the world to do so. to focus on quality, and in doing so knocking CocaThe launch of Fever-Tree was cleverly timed to coincide Cola (who own Schweppes) off the top spot. with the growing appetite for high quality spirits. Another ‘Do you remember what a gin and tonic used to piece of good fortune was its championing by El Bulli’s be?’ he asks me. ‘If you ordered one in a pub it came Ferran Adrià. That happened quite by chance: a journalist in a mean slim-line glass with a slice of lemon and a was interviewing the late pop artist Sir Richard Hamilton melting ice cube.’ These days you’ll be offered a choice at his house in Spain; Hamilton had discovered Feverof gins, possibly a slice of cucumber or lime, and it Tree during a shopping trip to Waitrose. On finding the will come in a huge balloon glass packed with ice. And Town or journalist was going on to see Adrià, he gave him a bottle to crucially, the tonic will be bitter, not saccharine sweet. country? Born give to him, knowing he was a keen G&T drinker. The first Strangely, the idea to resurrect quality tonic water came and bred a that Tim knew of all this was a call from Adrià’s sommelier to Warrillow and Rolls at the same time. Rolls, 61, had had townie but starting to one evening, asking for a meeting. ‘He said, “At last, some success re-launching Plymouth Gin, and realised the appreciate someone is taking an interest in this product. Not only is mixers market looked neglected. Warrillow, then in his the joys of the it good enough to drink, but it’s good enough to use as an late 20s, was an entrepreneur looking for a project. They countryside. ingredient.” So he made a tonic water granita at El Bulli.’ started looking into the history of tonic, to see where it Pub lunch or The Fever-Tree story will be studied in business schools had come from and why it was so neglected. Michelin stars? for years to come. Reading the figures makes you wish Their research took them to the British Library, where A good long pub lunch is you had thought of it yourself. Since floating on the stock they learned that quinine, the essential ingredient, comes very hard market in 2014, they have posted 12 consecutive profit from the bark of the fever tree. ‘The reason tonic water to beat. upgrades, valuing the company at £3.1bn. In March, Rolls was invented was as a way of getting a dose of quinine into Cosy knits or sold a stake for £82.5m, having sold shares worth £73m last British troops stationed in colonies all round the world, in sharp suits? year, and now takes a lesser role. Warrillow, 43, has sold 1820,’ Tim explains. ‘It was the only way of curing you from I am afraid no sharp suits to shares worth £29m and is overseeing the expansion of the malaria.’ It was in fact a group of Jesuit priests in Peru who speak of, my company into 60 countries, and developing other mixers. first discovered quinine’s antimalarial properties. ‘They wardrobe is and Warrillow could just sit back drinking G&Ts, but used to make tea with the bark of the fever tree. People has always been he enjoys the work. Especially now that the Schweppes noticed they were dying off less than everyone else.’ in desperate need of help. Goliath has finally woken up to the threat. In the last In its purest form, quinine is incredibly bitter. ‘So the two years they have spent a fortune on repackaging and army would add sugar, water and whatever local herbs they Glass of wine or cup of green rebranding, including sponsoring the Jonathan Ross could find, to literally help the medicine go down. The tea? Gin and show. ‘What’s exciting for us is that just two years ago, troops always had a ration of gin, so they added gin to their tonic. we had under 10 per cent of market share, while they tonic, which they would have first thing in the morning.’ Dog or cat? had over 50 per cent. Now, despite them throwing the In search of the best quinine in the world, Warrillow Neither. Four kitchen sink at it, we are now nudging 40 per cent, and discovered an old plantation on the border of Rwanda young children create enough they’re close to 30 per cent.’ with eastern Congo, one of the most dangerous chaos of their The Fever-Tree offices are in a converted school in parts of Africa. Undeterred, he set off and, after two own. Hammersmith, and at the weekends, Warrillow escapes plane journeys and a nine-hour drive, he arrived at Seaside or to his farmhouse in the New Forest with his wife and young the Congolese border. ‘Rwanda is beautiful and now rolling hills? children. His advice to any entrepreneur is to do your relatively stable. But getting to the eastern Congo, Seaside research, but also listen to your instinct. ‘There were so all hell breaks loose. Everyone is armed and you don’t and, more specifically, many nay-sayers in the early days,’ he recalls. ‘It’s fortunate know who’s official and who’s not. It made Rwanda look Lymington. we did our best not to listen to them.’ like the South of France. It’s incredibly sad, given that
IN BRIEF
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Co-founder of FeverTree, Tim Warrillow, is glad he didn’t listen to the naysaysers
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ON THE FIELD CO U N T RY S P O RTS S P EC I A L
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pages dedicated to tweed, birds, fish, guns, dogs, horses, breeches, cashmere and more
Leather boots, £315, parka, £395, roll neck, £135, silk scarf, £135, all Really Wild Clothing (reallywildclothing.com)
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Lisou Manon silk shirt, £285. lisou.co.uk
Loeffler Randall Gemma boot, £400. loefflerrandall.com
Guinea London Knightsbridge tweed coat, £435. guinealondon.com
TWEEDY BIRD
SKIIM Jo shearling biker, £2,590. skiim-london.com
Get your rural wardrobe in check
Troy London Stole, £235. troylondon.com
Hunter Wellesley rubber riding boot, £175. hunterboots.com Holland Cooper Brompton jacket, £349. hollandcooper.com
Celtic & Co Midi Celt kilt £115. celticandco.com
Fairfax & Favor Windsor bag, £365. fairfaxandfavor.com
Holland & Holland Cashmere gilet, £690. hollandandholland.co.uk
Stuart Weitzman Renata boot, £980. stuartweitzman.com
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Barbour Endsleigh Highland check shirt, £59.95. barbour.com
Purdey Technical tweed field coat, £895; tattersall shirt, £95; technical tweed breeks, £395; tie, £110; cap, £90; leather shooting gloves, £230; guncover, £575. purdey.com Mackintosh Bonded cotton coat, £1,195. mackintosh.com
Montblanc 1858 Geosphere watch, £4,500. montblanc.com
DRIVEN CHAPS Look like you mean business
Begg & Co Arran stack navy scarf, £260. beggandco.com Farlows Breeks, £295. farlows.co.uk Oliver Brown Gilet, £195. oliverbrown.org.uk
Crockett & Jones Chiltern boot, £355. crocketand jones.com
William & Son Brough Superdry jacket, £750. williamandson.com
Pringle of Scotland Fairisle cardigan (made in Scotland), £595. pringlescotland.com
Peachy Belts Leather belt with pheasant buckle, £129. peachybelts.co.uk Alain Paine Richmond felt hat, £49.95. alainpaine.co.uk
Trickers Burford boot, £425. trickers.com
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FROM ABOVE: Englefield estate hosts corporate team building days for companies like Facebook and Bupa
THE SPORTING TIMES Country estates see growing demand for corporate days out
G
in early June, and in late June, Bupa hosted Challenge 2018, oogle ‘corporate days out’ and you get a return a team building event for their clients and business partners, of 659,000,000 hits. Whether it’s a raft-building involving different activities around the estate – everything challenge, an adrenaline-filled high ropes from mountain biking and laser clay shooting to a mental activity or a team go-cart driving race, the and physical obstacle course. idea is that employees will depart with a sense He continues: ‘Last year Facebook brought 12,000 of their of accomplishment and return to the office staff and families for their annual summer staff party, which motivated and engaged. If the theory is right was themed as an enchanted garden. We offer a bespoke service, it should boost morale and, in turn, improve productivity. pride ourselves on delivering the highest standards of service The growing trend for corporate days out is to head out of the and pay close attention to the little things.’ city to a countryside estate. Many corporate events businesses Space to accommodate large groups of people and Englefield’s have grown to meet that demand over the last 20 years. Alicia location so close to London, make it a particularly appealing choice. Currie, marketing manager of team building company Off Limits, The lure of the estate plays a big part for the corporate giants too. says: ‘Using countryside estates is definitely a growing part of our It is a famous filming location for Neflix drama The business. It is a great team day out. We work with a Crown and big movies like The King’s Speech, and huge number of country estates, many of which have further notoriety came when Pippa Middleton and so much to offer – from clay pigeon shooting to 4x4 James Matthews married there last year. off-road driving. Being outdoors can be inspirational. Capitalising on its place in the spotlight, The space, the beauty and the clean air is attractive. Englefield branched out even further this summer Often, the house can be a stunning venue for catering when it transformed itself into a unique music too, so you get the best of both worlds.’ concert venue for the first time, hosting Madness Englefield House, outside the quaint village of and Sir Tom Jones in July. With a community Theale near Reading, is one of the many country of farms and woodlands covering 14,000 acres, estates to have picked up on the demand. Events Englefield is a prime example of an estate perfectly manager Peter Carson explains: ‘There is definitely set up to offer corporate days. Pippa Middleton more and more interest in corporate hospitality. married James The house and grounds at Englefield were used as the Matthews at Englefield englefieldestate.co.uk venue for a large Aston Martin auction and concourse
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NEW ESTATE ON THE BLOCK
GO GIRLS
ARE YOU GAME?
James Purdey & Sons teamed up with Boisdale Restaurants and Taste of Game to found The Eat Game Awards which celebrates the champions of wild game meat in Britain. From 12 August to 30 September the public can vote for the winners before the results are announced at the awards dinner on 9 October. eatgameawards.co.uk
Orvis is leading the charge for gender equality on the river bank with its 50/50 On the Water campaign. To this end, they have invested in women-specific gear development and tailored learning and adventure experiences for women, and committed to more options for families and children to participate in the sport. orvis.co.uk
After a multi-millionpound makeover, Tulchan estate in the Cairngorms has reopened. The 22,000-acre estate will welcome guests in September to enjoy the best of shooting, fishing and outdoor pursuits that Scotland has to offer. Nicholas Haslam has maintained many of the original features of the lodge while injecting warmth and sumptuousness. tulchan.com
LEARN FROM THE BEST James Purdey has purchased Royal Berkshire Shooting Group which will continue its current range of services with the addition of selected Purdey products. James Horne, chairman of James Purdey, says of the acquisition: ‘We are delighted to welcome the RBSG team and combine these two outstanding brands.’ purdey.com; rbss.co.uk
A SHOT ABOVE THE REST
A new Rigby rifle ranged is to be unveiled at West London Shooting School this autumn after a year of development. The range boasts five firing points for the 100m (which can be used simultaneously) and two firing points from 200m including a running boar – the only running target within the M25. shootingschool.co.uk September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 67
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BRACE UP!
Get the right kit and give yourself a sporting chance of looking like you were born with a 12-bore in your cabinet, says NETIA WALKER
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or a sporting newcomer it is rather daunting – having committed to taking a gun in a syndicate, a subscription with a pack of hounds or a rod on a stretch of river – knowing what kit immediately makes you look like an old hand. Luckily, help is at hand with this in-the-know list...
1 SARTORIAL SELECTION
If you want to avoid looking like Miss Trunchbull on the shooting field, you’ll need to look to Bella Hoskyns’ beautifully tailored, English-made tweed collection – clothes that will immediately set you apart from the others. bellahoskyns.com
2 MINIMAL MAKE-UP
Being plastered in make-up isn’t a good sporting look, a sweep of mascara to make you wide-eyed is an exception to the
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1 rule. Try Bobbi Brown’s No Smudge Mascara, once it is on it stays on, not even the greatest rain storm will budge it. £22.50. bobbibrown.co.uk
3 INSECT INVASION
Midges often try to ruin a good day on the hill. Ensure that you are one step ahead to ward them off with Avon’s Skin So Soft Dry Oil Spray. Don’t worry about looking precious, this little beauty will be found in the pockets of even the burliest of stalkers. £2.50. avon.uk.com
4 PRESENT PERFECT
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Don’t forget a present for your host if you are staying with them for a weekend of sport. Taking something made locally to you is always a winner. Try the Cotswold Candle Co., whose hand-poured, scented candles and room fragrances will guarantee you another invitation. cotswoldcandle.co
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5 WALK TALL
If you have undertaken a day’s beating, it is imperative that you stay upright as you beat through tough terrain (especially if you have been tucking into the hip flask!). The Wild Stick Maker’s bespoke sticks are not only works of art, but will also keep you on your feet. He takes private commissions too, send him a photograph of your dog and it will reappear on the top of the walking stick. From £130. 07854 527381
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Davies is the first port of call for many a seasoned hunter (daviesridingboots. co.uk). The Boot Man should also be on your list as he can refurbish any leather boot and sells second-hand boots that he will have meticulously reconditioned (07901 944205).
9 ON THE HUNT
One of the most difficult pieces of horsey fashion to nail are breeches. The old pre-war, Savile Row well-cut ones are like hen’s teeth, raid your grandparents’ attics and you may unearth treasures. Otherwise try The Hunting Shop, a one-stop shop for all the hunting kit you could ever need – traditional breeches, hunting jackets, gloves – and best of all, they cater for every budget and even sell second-hand clothing. thehuntingshop.co.uk
6 EAR CANDY
10 GET HOOKED
Prevent ringing ears after a day’s shooting with Auritech shooting earplugs. They are easy to use and less clunky than others making them a perfect fit for a pocket. £19.95. auritech.co.uk
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7 DRINKS TIME
One of the best ways to strike up conversations in a sporting situation is to offer your hip flask. Hunting people, especially, will swarm around you like bees to a honey pot. Make sure that it’s filled with something delicious like Chase Elderflower Liqueur which is guaranteed to make the hedges look smaller. £22. ocado.com
Stand with extra confidence on the river as you fish for autumn salmon. The Red Frances is a secret weapon and a bestseller from top fly seller The Helmsdale Company. The salmon love the colours red and orange, who knew they were so in tune with autumnal fashion? helmsdalecompany.com
8 BESPOKE BOOTS
One of the greatest luxuries is having your own pair of made-to-measure hunting boots which prevents the pre-hunting Cinderella-like tussle as you furiously try to squeeze yourself into boots.
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Shimmering grey lamĂŠ pleated evening gown, Ralph and Russo. Black leather lace up boots with silver fastenings, MarshaMa x Staccato
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Mistress of the MANOR It’s not all heavy yarns and tweeds in the countryside Fashion director LUCY BOND Photography LOUISE SAMUELSEN
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Gold sequined ribbon dress, Temperley Dixon (right) wears Banbury shirt and Ptarmigan tweed Plus 2s, cap and socks by Schรถffel, quarter zip with tartan lining by Barbour, Chasseur leather lined boot by Le Chameau and Croots Malton leather cartridge belt from William Evans Tom (left) wears Ptarmigan tweed Plus 2s, silk tie, Cambridge check shirt and Snipe shooting coat, all Schoffel
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Red tulle dress, Alexis Mabille. Red velvet rose shoes, Charlotte Olympia
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Black dress with oversized sleeves, Malan Breton. Silver crystal stretch polo neck, Ermanno Scervino
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Pink organza silk dress with black love hearts, Valentino. Red felt triple bow pillbox hat, Rachel Trevor-Morgan
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Black feather dress, Malan Breton. Green and gold floral headdress, Rachel Trevor-Morgan
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Lilac lace and tulle dress with cape, Bora Aksu
TEAM Make Up: Charlotte Reid @ One Represents using Marc Jacobs Beauty Hair: Choccy @ One Represents using Hair by Sam McKnight Models: Nadine at Elite, Dixon McDonald and Tom Payne Photographer’s assistant: Sam Jackson Stylist’s assistant: Anne Lauritzen LOCATION With thanks to Englefield House in West Berkshire. Email peter.carson@englefield.co.uk; englefieldestate.co.uk STOCKISTS: PAGE 118
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CALLED TO THE BAR Jodie Kidd tells KITTY BUCHANAN-GREGORY how she transformed a West Sussex watering hole into an award-winning foodie destination
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Fashion director NICOLE SMALLWOOD Photography DAN KENNEDY have a very excited and politely apologetic Jodie Kidd on the end of a phone; the day that we were due to have our interview she won a big award for her new pub and was quite rightly celebrating with a very large bottle of rosé. A few weeks later we are at her beautiful Sussex house for the cover shoot and I’m greeted with a huge hug from her and a nuzzle from Monty, her rescued racehorse and cover co-star. Jodie is famous for a variety of glamorous antics – the fashion, the polo, the parties, competing in hard-core sports events and driving cars really, really fast. But what do supermodels do when they grow up? You might have expected her next career to be jumping out of a plane or launching a perfume, but she’s surprised many by adding ‘landlady’ to her list of job titles. The anomaly of a supermodel running a gastropub makes more sense once you know she was a finalist on Celebrity Masterchef in 2014, impressing John Torode and Greg Wallace on TV’s toughest cookery show with her tenacity in the kitchen. The passion for cooking stayed with her and in 2017 she bought The Half Moon country pub in Kirdford, West Sussex. This wasn’t just any pub; a country girl at heart, Jodie grew up nearby and even held her 21st birthday there, so when The Half Moon came up for sale, she and two friends, Chris Lee and Dan Elson, stepped in and bought it. ‘Any pub is the heart of the community,’ she says. ‘It’s where locals go to meet and gossip, have a birthday meal, gather for Sunday lunch with the family and share good times with friends. I had so many happy memories here, and the village was worried it was going to be turned into a second home, so that’s when I knew I wanted to buy it and keep it as a working pub.’ A head or heart decision? ‘Both. An emotional decision at first but once we agreed the plans for the pub, it made total sense.’ She and her team worked on renovations for seven months. ‘I did everything,’ Jodie says, ‘one of the first things was to build and plant a vegetable garden for the kitchen. I worked out what we wanted on the menu, what we needed to plant, the height of the beds and between my mother and I, we’re both out there everyday watering the plants.’ The Half Moon has now been restored as a quintessential country pub – subtle equestrian and country sports touches in the interior design, open fires in winter, and a large garden for Pimms and summer parties. It’s in a winning
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Jodie photographed at her Sussex home, wearing dress by Ghost TEAM Make-up: Nathalie Eleni, using MZ Skin & Sisley make-up Hair: Ben Cook at Frank Agency & Lockonego salon using Hair by Sam McKnight Photographer’s assistant: Anthony Yates STOCKISTS: PAGE 118
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location too; 15 minutes from Cowdray Park for the polo, 25 minutes from Goodwood for the horseracing and the Revival, and close enough to London that you can be ordering your gin and tonic cured trout starter within one and a half hours of leaving Chelsea. Possibly one if Jodie is driving. The proximity to Goodwood and Jodie’s well-known love of cars means the pub has often got an enviable parking lot: ‘For the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pagani Zonda did an event with us which was amazing,’ says Jodie, her eyes lighting up at the memory. ‘We had £50m worth of metal parked outside and hosted a dinner for their top owners. The next morning they came back to collect a bespoke hamper we created for them and left together to drive back to Goodwood. It was a fabulous day.’ The food is a really important aspect of the pub: ‘I’m a great believer in keeping it as local as possible and, apart from the wine, nothing comes further than 25 miles away. The meat
is from local farms and estates; we’ve found an amazing guy who left the city to produce Trenchmore Farm Wagyu beef and cider – he feeds his cows the leftover apples from the cider. It is this passion and attention to detail that has already gained the pub a muchcoveted AA Rosette award. The menu is something she and the chefs spend a lot of time reviewing to ensure the dishes are balanced for all their customers. ‘I still wanted to serve good, decent pub food,’ says Jodie. ‘One of our most popular events is the monthly Quiz and Curry night which is great fun!’ Running a rural pub sounds idyllic but hard work, so how has life changed over the last year? ‘It’s changed hugely!’ Jodie laughs. ‘The pub means everything to me so I’ve put everything else on back burner. I’ve scaled back my TV work and I’m at the pub every day – my main job these days is being a head gardener and bar lady!’ With typical gusto Jodie is now taking on a role as a spokesperson for the industry. ‘I love this business but more and more pubs are closing due to beer tax, so the heart of rural communities is being plucked out. I’m working with Britain’s Beer Alliance trying to get the chancellor to drop beer tax and realise the impact it’s having.’ Jodie has clearly put much of her abundant energy and effort into making her own pub work, and its future as the heart of the village is assured. ‘My biggest achievement is seeing people in the pub with big smiles on their faces leaving feeling happy and full. Making others happy makes me happy,’ she says with that trademark grin. We’ll drink to that. 01403 820223; halfmoonkirdford.co.uk
Jodie and her two friends saved The Half Moon pub in Kirdford from potentially becoming a second home
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COMPETITION
Pictured in Purdey’s Long Room. Photographer: Astrid Templier
THE GREAT GLORIOUS TWELFTH GETAWAY
Win a prize worth £1,500 from four of Britain’s best country brands: Purdey, Johnstons of Elgin, Fairfax & Favor and Wingfield Digby
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lorious Twelfth: one of the most anticipated dates in the sporting calendar. Why? Because it marks the start of endless weekends filled with shoot parties, impeccable hospitality and the finest of outdoor fashion – with the UK leading the way in all three. Celebration is naturally in order; and what better way to do so than with an exclusive countryside competition from four Great British brands, each renowned for their country sport credentials, craftsmanship prowess and unrivalled British heritage? How one conducts oneself both on, and off, the field is integral to shooting etiquette. Manners may well maketh a man; but so too does topical conversation and relevant anecdotes. Be sure to dazzle fellow guns with the following facts… Fairfax & Favor, the now iconic Norfolkbased brand, whose boots grace the feet of Clare Balding, Lady Violet Manners and many Made in Chelsea stars, started life as a bouncy castle company.
The family-run Wingfield Digby is the only luxury brand worldwide to handcraft real game bird feathers (from pheasant to guinea fowl) into all designs, resulting in fun yet formal home accessories. Established gunmakers James Purdey & Sons, awarded the Royal Warrant by every British monarch since Queen Victoria, tans all of their unique leathers at Britain’s last remaining traditional oak bark tannery. Similarly, fellow Royal Warrant holder Johnstons of Elgin is the only manufacturer in Scotland able to perform every stage of transforming raw natural fibres into luxury fabrics. All four brands define both themselves, and their clientele, as discerning sporting travellers – ready to showcase British design on a global level.
WIN, WIN, WIN A Great Glorious Twelfth Getaway prize – worth over £1,500! This amazing prize provides everything a guest requires following the cherished shoot invitation: what to pack (a Purdey leather washbag, £395), what to wear (award-winning Fairfax & Favor boots, £395, Johnstons of Elgin cashmere, £379) and how to thank your host (a pair of Wingfield Digby photo frames, trays and limited edition table centre, each handcrafted from real pheasant feathers, £375). TO ENTER Visit countryandtown house.co.uk/competition and follow instructions.
All products in the competition can be purchased online: purdey.com; fairfaxandfavor.com; johnstonsofelgin.com; wingfielddigby.co.uk
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GONE FISHIN’
ROSALYN WIKELEY joins chef Mark Hix and his business partner Oliver Rampley on an angling adventure off the Dorset Coast
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on’t worry, you’ll catch a fish,’ says chef Mark Hix. I relax my furrowed brow and grin but his words are misplaced. It’s more the Hix Fix cocktail promised before 9am that concerns me as we bob along Dorset’s Lyme Regis Harbour. He’s joking – at least for the time being. Hix and his business partner Oliver Rampley are easing me into the early morning fishing trip, along with their witty camaraderie and shared enthusiasm for adventure; attributes that led them to found their joint venture Altana Europe. Providing tailor-made trips around fishing, bird watching and conservation management, Altana Europe was founded in 2013 and is the Italian translation for a high seat for the observation of wildlife. A ‘high seat’ because Rampley’s knowledge and experience make for an erudite interaction with wildlife in its natural habitat; ‘Italian’ because the vast majority of their operations and expertise are found in Tuscany where Rampley’s blue-blooded contacts guarantee him and his clients access to the most splendid private estates in the region. These unique Italian experiences have rolled out into Andalusia for bird and Ibex Lynx watching, to the Black Forest for boar hunting and soon to Canada’s Yellow Knife for watching wolves hunting caribou from a helicopter.
For now, our angling adventure begins in Lyme Regis, where Hix has opened one of his many restaurants, Hix Oyster & Fish House, and hotel Hix Town House. Bringing the culinary might to Altana, Hix has little time for small talk. His manner is calm and direct (at times preoccupied), an asset, one imagines, useful for keeping nine restaurants spinning between London and Dorset. His talent and reputation, serving as a chef from Scott’s to Le Caprice, are worn lightly, as is his seminal role in developing British cuisine. I quickly learn that Hix prefers hanging out with local fisherman than Dorset grandees. As the morning sun dances on the dark marina water, the battle plan unfolds. We’re headed for a shipwreck, hopefully teeming with fish and located using secret coordinates: ‘The fishermen don’t give these away easily,’ shouts Rampley, as the boat engine revs up. The technicalities involved are astounding, as is the local nous of Nigel, one of the fishermen highly attuned to the coast and a valued member of today’s team. ‘The pressure’s not great,’ Rampley grimaces as we cast yet another rod into the depths, praying for an unwitting sea bass or mackerel to bite, ‘high pressure is bad for fishing.’ We edge the boat forward, backwards, sideways, but no luck. Hix’s breakfast hamper with warm cheesy croissants and fresh orange juice takes the edge off an initial defeat.
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HIX HUSS CURRY
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Mark Hix doing what he loves; fishing reels; Roz and Oliver holding the catch of the day; as the sun comes up; fresh oysters at Hix’s Oyster & Fish restaurant
My brief is simple. Once Rampley has hooked on the bait, I cast and wait for an ‘enquiry’. When convinced it’s biting, I pull up assertively and swiftly reel in the line. Brandishing leopard print sandals and spindly sparrow arms, I may scream novice but I’m soon hooked to the giddy prospect of pulling in supper. I cast again, transfixed on the line dropping into the promising depths. Something. ‘Now pull, reel.’ Yelps of delight follow a mackerel and dog fish on board. ‘Not quite what we’re after,’ chuckles Rampley, ‘but we’re on the right track.’ Hix and Rampley’s passion for fishing, for locally sourced food and for decoding the natural environment around them is infectious. I change rods, attributing the morning’s slim pickings to the tools and Rampley tweaks my posture. Distracted by the silky waves and entertaining conversation, I hardly notice the bouncing in my hands. ‘Oooh... this looks good,’ insists Nigel in a thick West Country drawl. A comic scene ensues as I reel in a monstrous conger eel that writhes and flips about the boat, wrestling with Rampley
into a box. Hix applauds: ‘Conger curry it is.’ The team reels in golden bream, more mackerel, more unwanted dogfish and we chug home with our winnings. Back in the harbour, Hix shows me how to fillet the fish on board and we dissect the day over a bottle of fine rosé. The pair then carry the fish and one massive conger eel along the Cobb to Hix’s Oyster & Fish restaurant where the kitchen is briefed. It doesn’t get fresher than this. With all Altana Europe trips, the joy of a catch or kill rolls into the joy of eating and a naked awareness of food’s journey onto your plate. We begin with golden bream broth with chilli and ginger, followed by posh fish and chips with mushy peas. The plates are simple yet bursting with flavour. Ray cheeks with chorizo and wild garlic next and, finally, the glory dish: spicy conger eel curry, a source of endless jesting. Perhaps therein lies the secret ingredient, over and above the wisdom, skill and dizzying accolades of Altana Europe’s patrons: their friendship, which is both inclusive and entertaining. My arms may ache from fishing but it’s my sides that are suffering from roaring with laughter since 8am. +39 39 26 95 87 32. altanaeurope.com
The highlight of our trip was Roz catching a big old Conger eel which you can use for all sorts of dishes including curry. It’s a bit bony but has a fantastic flavour; however, unless you know someone who can catch it for you, you are unlikely to get your hands on one. Instead, I like to use firm fish for curry like monkfish, huss or even ling if you can get hold of it. Keeping it on the bone also helps with fish like this nor do you have to worry about little bones as they just have one bone running through the centre of the fish. INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4–6) » 1.5kg huss, cut into 3cm thick chunks » Salt and pepper » 60g ghee or vegetable oil » 3 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped » 5 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed » 1 tbsp root ginger, scraped and grated » 3 small, medium-strength chillies, finely chopped » 1 tsp cumin seeds » ½ tsp fenugreek seeds » 1 tsp cumin powder » 1 tsp freshly grated turmeric or 1 tsp powder » 1 pinch saffron strands » 1 tsp curry powder » A good pinch curry leaves » ½ tsp paprika » 1 tsp fennel seeds » 1 tsp mustard seeds » 2 tsps tomato purée » Half a lemon » 1.3l fish stock (a good cube will do) » 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves METHOD Season the pieces of fish. Heat half of the ghee in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and fry the fish on a high heat until lightly coloured. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Add the rest of the ghee to the pan and fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the rest of the spices and continue cooking for a couple of minutes with a lid on to release the flavour, stirring every so often. Add the tomato purée, lemon and stock, bring to the boil, season and simmer for 45 minutes. Take a cup full of the sauce from the pan and blend in a liquidiser until smooth and pour it back into the sauce. Add the pieces of fish and simmer for 15 minutes then add the coriander and simmer for a further 5 minutes, season again if necessary. Serve with basmati rice.
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BEING A SPORT Dogs, relationships and the TV shows she won’t do, JEREMY TAYLOR meets Clare Balding at Chiswick House Portrait by ALEXANDRA DAO
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ven by her own standards Clare Balding has had a busy year. The Winter Olympics preceded the Paralympics, then followed the Commonwealth Games before two weeks at the helm of The Championships at Wimbledon. The ubiquitous face of BBC sport also presented at Crufts, fronted walking series Ramblings on BBC Radio 4 and is currently halfway through writing another book – although she has frustrated her publishers by extending the deadline several times already. A self-confessed workaholic, Balding, 47, admits she sometimes finds it difficult to say no. After a cancer scare in 2009, she now turns to her wife, the former BBC newsreader Alice Arnold, for career advice. ‘I trust Alice’s judgement entirely. She worked in the media and knows the jobs I would like to do. It’s not just about the money these days – it’s about whether something will be good for me and if I’ll learn from it. ‘Some people might think I’m on the telly enough already but I really can say no,’ Balding continues. ‘I’ve turned down I’m A Celebrity, Strictly and we laughed our socks off when Channel 4 offered us both Wife Swap!’ Balding and Arnold first met while working at the BBC in 1999. Both were in same-sex relationships at the time – Arnold was dating the comedian Sandi Toksvig. The couple entered into a civil partnership in 2006 with a ceremony at Chiswick House, before returning to the west London estate in 2015 for an intimate marriage service. ‘We were very much friends at first and didn’t get together until the autumn of 2002,’ says Balding. ‘Alice
had always been “out” but I wasn’t and really struggled with it. The environment was very different back then – I felt ashamed because I was hiding something from my family and colleagues at work. ‘When I finally decided to tell people about my sexuality it was a huge relief. I was happy, comfortable and not constantly worried about being found out. It’s still difficult for young people today because you rarely get that “how wonderful” response from your family.’ Balding says she had no such problems telling her family, despite the daunting prospect of coming from an upper class background. Her father, Ian, was the Queen’s former racehorse trainer and still lives at the stables in Kingsclere, Hampshire, now run by his son, Andrew. ‘Dad’s most famous horse was Mill Reef. He won The Derby in 1971, the year I was born, and many more topflight races too. The Queen would come down to see her thoroughbreds at the yard. I once walked into the kitchen and she was sat there having breakfast.’ Balding’s first horse was a Shetland pony called Valkyrie, given to her by the Queen. She started to ride before she could walk and it was inevitable that one day she would become a jockey too. ‘Dad said Andrew and I would have to fall off 100 times before we became proper riders. So we started falling off deliberately – which was fine until I crashed to the ground and broke my collarbone.’ Occasionally the conversation at Chiswick House is interrupted by Balding’s beloved dog, Archie. The black and white Tibetan Terrier is a constant companion when she is at home. ‘Alice and I got Archie when he was seven,
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Clare and her beloved dog Archie, at Chiswick House where she and her wife Alice Archer were married in 2015
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so he already had plenty of traits, both good and bad. He goes to Alice for food and to me for walks.’ Balding was educated at Downe House in Berkshire before reading English at Newnham College, Cambridge. She was president of the Cambridge Union Society but her weekends and spare time were spent on horseback. ‘I loved riding and while Andrew went on to play polo, I was into eventing and showjumping. Then I took up flat racing and found it such an adrenaline rush I was totally hooked.’ Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey in the late 1980s and became Champion Lady Rider in 1990. She later wrote about her experiences in her 2012 autobiography, My Animals and Other Family, which became a bestseller. She joined the BBC as a trainee radio presenter in 1994 and made her TV debut at Royal Ascot the following year. In 1997 she became the corporation’s lead horse racing presenter, taking over from the late Julian Wilson.
While her parents were accepting of her sexuality, her grandmother was initially less supportive. The pair didn’t speak for six months. ‘That was difficult but we got over it. My mother and Alice became much closer after my cancer scare – it changed their relationship completely because I didn’t want to talk about it and they did. Now Mum is incredibly fond of Alice and my father absolutely adores her. We get down to the country as often as we can but there are no plans to move out of the capital. London has everything we need at the moment.’ Balding says that being diagnosed with thyroid cancer wasn’t half as difficult as the loss of Arnold’s mother in April this year. ‘That has been the worst thing we have had to live through together. Alice was incredibly close to her mum – they spoke to each other every day. She died two days after her 91st birthday, so looking back now I’m really glad that we threw a big party for her 90th in 2017. It was a moment to say all the things we wanted to say while she was still alive.’ Balding and Arnold currently share a three-storey Edwardian house in Chiswick. The couple spend as much time as they can together, considering Balding’s TV commitments and Arnold’s presenting work at Mellow Magic radio. ‘I used to be terrible at being apart from her,’ says Balding. ‘I was really homesick and missed her so much. I still do but we use FaceTime now and that helps.’ They share a passion for golf, although Alice is consistently the better player and beats Clare at tennis too. ‘At least I’m a more competent rider. We make the most of the time we have together and pack a lot in.’ The pair are planning a holiday to Mauritius in November when the iPads will be left at home. ‘We can’t wait. Apart from the fact I think Alice is very beautiful, she has a deep, inner beauty too. She has a huge social conscience and makes me think about things. ‘What I like about Alice most is my complete inability to impress her in any way. She will never let me get too big for my boots – which is just what I need.’ Clare Balding is an ambassador for Investec, specialist bank and asset manager (investec.com).
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THE RIPLEY CASTLE SHOOT In the heart of North Yorkshire
Traditional driven game shoots and grouse moors where a warm welcome and good shooting awaits you
Evening: 01765 677 343 Daytime: 01423 323 321 Mobile: 07774 271 781 Email: info@ripleycastleshoot.co.uk
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Visit our website www.ripleycastleshoot.com
25/07/2018 09:40
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
Keen angler KATE FENSTERSTOCK heads to the wilds of Argentina to deploy many different fishing techniques to try and hook the elusive golden dorado
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uietly crawling through marshland with my rod balanced on my shoulder and doing my best to stay out of sight, I was reminded of stalking chalkstream trout in the British countryside, not a technique I had anticipated when fishing for the aggressive golden dorado in the Ibera Marsh of northern Argentina. But I was in fact after that elusive river tiger, and this morning’s delicate approach to fly-fishing in the small, intricate channels of the marshland was one example of how golden dorado fishing constantly keeps fisherman on their toes, trying new techniques in varied, unapologetically wild environments. The lush landscape of the Ibera Marsh is certainly wild, located 10 hours from Buenos Aires by bus, and features nearly three million acres of untainted, natural landscape. The marsh ecosystem has without doubt one of Argentina’s most impressive biota, composed of an extensive system of wetlands. With a remarkable diversity
of plant and animal species, the Ibera Marsh constitutes a substantial part of the natural heritage of Corrientes Province. Among the most distinctive animal species in the system are caimans (small alligators), southern river otters, capybaras (the world’s largest living rodent and much more adorable than that sounds), marsh deer and armadillos. It is here that Pira Lodge, where I stayed throughout this thrilling week, is found. Ultra-traditional in style, it has been built in the Corrientes style which emphasises earthy tones and textured material such as terracotta and treated wood. The sprawling series of buildings blend in seamlessly with the raw, unkempt backdrop of the river system with its winding channels of diverse marshland, pockets of overgrown brush and leaves teeming with wildlife. For our first attempt at snaring our slippery prey, François Botha, our guide, was keen to get us into a thus far unexplored region. Our boat navigated nimbly through the roughage, but his
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work was cut out as François polled hard to get us through the toughest bits. We finally made it to our destination deep in the marshland, where the water was as smooth and transparent as cut glass. As we rafted through a channel barely wide enough to fit the boat, François asked me to get out and stand bankside. Fishing for golden dorado from the bank? My chalkstream brain switched on and my trout-stalking instincts came alive. Through that clear water, I could see the distinct flash of gold with a black stripe darting down below. In such calm water, it was hard to land the heavy streamer delicately and not spook the fish. When I placed the fly a bit too harshly, my target took one look and was off. Without a hint of dejection, François simply brought me back to the boat and off we motored on to the main channel where the sun bathed the river in a beautiful peachy tint. François advised me to get as much line out as possible, retrieving the fly long and fast in this slightly deeper, more complex water where the fish might have trouble seeing it. We were racing against time, as we were miles from the lodge and the light was fading. Just as I thought
CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: Kate Fensterstock cradles her 11lb golden dorado; Pira Lodge in the evening light; leaping golden dorado; Bird’s Eye View of the Pira Lodge dock; the swimming pool at Pira Lodge”
I would have to wait another day before meeting my first golden dorado, I felt a distinctive jerk on the line. Without a moment to spare I kept stripping mechanically, desperate to hold that line tight. ‘Wait for the jump!’ François called, as giddy with excitement as I was. In a slightly over-dramatic fashion, I bowed as I had watched anglers do with leaping tarpon, and despite my theatrical flair, the line held and I had my first golden dorado in the boat for a quick picture. Just in time too, as the sun was disappearing over the horizon. We cracked open the beer and sped back to the lodge to share the news. The best moment though came a few days later, when we headed out to fish the river system which has faster moving water and is separate from the marshland. Reflecting again on the advice from the experts, I found myself fishing this water like I would for salmon, casting as far as possible and letting the line sweep across the water and moving it slowly to let the fly sink. François was attentive and focused as he instructed my technique carefully, advising me to wait until the very last minute to strip in so the fly moved along the bankside where he was confident the fish would sit. Sure enough I was in to a number of smaller dorado, but we wanted a bigger prize. Suddenly, when I was fishing a bit deeper, letting my fly sink a bit longer, I felt a jerk on my line that was stronger than anything I’d felt before. Desperate not to lose it, I lowered my had and put all my focus into strong methodical retrieves that would set the hook. A neighbouring boat cheered me on, yelling, ‘Strip!’ over and over again in unison. I did not let my team down, and we had an 11lb dorado in the net and submerged in the water so as to protect this beautiful bar of solid gold. Golden dorado grow more and more golden in colour as they grow, and this fish was a glorious gilded hunk of flesh. The early afternoon sun sat high in the sky, and the rays caught the glinting scales perfectly, sending beams into the crystal clear water, bouncing off and creating a mirror image of dancing light. Sitting there in the water with this gorgeous fish glowing in my arms, was breathtaking. After so many encounters where I was forced to learn quickly the versatile behavement of my quarry, this was without a doubt my biggest catch yet. For booking enquiries at Pira Lodge, visit piralodge.com September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 91
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WHAT’S IN A NAME?
It’s taken a Danish heiress to shake up country sports style, but that’s just one part of Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard, aka Fie Lucan’s intriguing narrative, finds ROSALYN WIKELEY Portrait shot by GABBY LAURENT
‘T
hank God it’s not just a British problem, it’s a universal one.’ Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard Bingham (the Countess of Lucan) is referring to the drab, shapeless and itchy uniform thrown on for country pursuits. ‘We’re here to fix it, to offer shape, bold colour and flexibility that allow its owners to move and have fun in, and then to float from the field to a dinner party, effortlessly.’ Anne-Sofie, along with her husband George Bingham, brought the sartorial utopia to life as House of Lucan, a new clothing label that taps into a European history of style and tailored elegance, while ditching the customary restrictive tweed.
But it’s not just the dreary country sportswear scene that AnneSofie (widely known to her friends as Fie) is on a mission to mend. The 40-year-old Danish heiress married into a family marred by tragedy, scandal and mystery. Her playboy father-in-law, nicknamed ‘Lucky Lucan’ for his gambling pursuits, famously disappeared in 1973 following the violent murder of the family nanny in the couple’s Belgravia home while the children were asleep upstairs. Lord Lucan’s car was discovered a few days later off the Sussex coast with traces of blood to suggest his culpability. He was never seen again. The macabre tale continued for the children; Fie’s husband George and his two sisters, Frances and Camilla, were taken away from their
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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Anne-Sofie ‘Fie’ Foghsgaard Bingham, 8th Countess of Lucan; Castlebar coat; Fie and George Bingham, now finally Lord Lucan after his father was officially declared dead in 2016; Fie models the Sligo coat and trousers; ladies’ vest with fur collar
mother, Veronica, by the authorities due to her fragile mental health, when George was in his early teens. They went to live with their aunt and the estrangement continued until their mother’s recent death. ‘She never came to our wedding,’ laments Fie, ‘we tried.’ With a spirited, vivacious energy that typifies her Scandinavian roots, Fie expresses her desire to look forward and realign the family name with positivity and their new fashion venture. ‘I think what people have to remember is that it was a very, very dark time for my husband and his family; he lost a father, he lost a mother and a nanny. I think it’s just time to move on.’ Her direct, upbeat nature is decidedly unBritish, yet perhaps the armour needed to take on such a loaded title. Besides, Fie has an impressive family history of her own. The daughter of a successful Danish industrialist, Fie was born in Copenhagen and moved to the countryside aged 10 where she spent much of her time accompanying her father on shoots between their Danish and Scottish estates: ‘It was so much fun running around and picking up the birds, and learning how to pluck them.’ She stayed on the shooting circuit for the camaraderie, the dressing up, the parties, but only, aged 23, picked up her own gun. This newfound passion quickly graduated to a professional one, competing for team GB and setting up her own bespoke shooting agency. ‘I love shooting because it gives you the most amazing opportunity to really see the UK, there’s so much spirit and sense of humour.’ It’s hard to imagine that the poised, elegant figure gracefully gliding through her ornate North London home in sky high heels
could possess muddier affinities. Prompted, the cigar-smoking Dane comes clean, she may love country pursuits but she’s most at home in the city. ‘I would turn up in high heels to an outdoorsy friends’ place to avoid climbing a mountain.’ In fact, she is the embodiment of the vacillating lifestyle House of Lucan caters for, wearing stylish pieces from moor to black tie dinner and looking effortlessly chic in both settings: ‘I’ve done it myself and I know it works,’ she quips. What sets House of Lucan apart from other country sports brands is that it’s not afraid to embrace femininity, which Fie sees as empowering. Equally, the men’s coats are ‘masculine’ in the way they are shaped and with belts or small details added. Fie again attributes this to her childhood, ‘I was a girl in a man’s world. I wanted to add genuine femininity to the clothes. After the birth of her daughter Daphe one and a half years ago, Fie underwent what she describes as ‘post-natal exhilaration’ and started the fashion company, with George (now Lord Lucan when he father was officially declared dead in 2016 after more than 40 years) overseeing the figures with his financial nous. ‘You also need someone with a little Scottish blood in them to say “noooo no no”,’ she giggles but her accent is bang on. As are the clothes. Fie’s certainly found a weak spot in the British country sports scene and has moved quickly to create both a men and women’s collection that are ergonomically sound. She swings the blue Castlebar Coat into the drawing room, demonstrating how the new wool Shetland-inspired tweed twists and turns with its pleated back, a far cry from the stiff, heavy number women are usually confronted with in a cloakroom. The orange collar and cuffs make the coat pop, the latter designed to extend over your wrists when shooting, the flexible fabric has also been nano-treated to repel moisture and dirt. A colourful scene, reminiscent of a Prussian oil painting, is now paraded through the room. ‘It’s funny you should say that as my mother was brought up in Germany.’ Old-meets new, with enormous, expandable pockets for iPhones, cartridges and a cheeky hip flask. All the functional aspects are covered, and still the clothes are soft, elegant and the very antithesis to conventional British outerwear. In fact, Fie has been modelling the lady’s vest with a fur collar throughout the interview, seamlessly blended into her sharp outfit and urban surroundings. While it may take some gumption and a few sloe gins to ease the traditional Brits into some of these European fancies, someone needed to shake it up. Let’s hope luck is on this Lucan’s side. September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 93
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PHOTOS: JOHNNY PILKINGTON
Victoria Stapleton (right), with her mother Annabel, daughter Jesse and Midge the whippet
VICTORIA’S SECRET Retail could learn a thing or two from Victoria Stapleton, the owner of cashmere brand Brora, says LUCY CLELAND
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PHOTOS: JOHNNY PILKINGTON
Y
ou only have to wake up to hear the news of yet another household name closing down sites or issuing profits warnings – Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Mothercare, even Topshop. But cashmere brand Brora’s story is one that defies the current doom mongering headlines of retail’s demise. Not only is it celebrating its 25th anniversary, but profits are up too – as they have been year on year. I catch the brand’s energetic founder, Victoria Stapleton, on the phone as she trundles up on the sleeper train to Scotland to spend a rare couple of days off fishing on the Helmsdale, just north of the village of Brora, which is, of course, where her story began. How, as it were, can she keep her head when all about her are losing theirs? ‘There are two things,’ she says decisively. ‘Firstly, we are 100 per cent privately owned. Secondly, we have a very understanding bank manager! We’ve never had a year without a profit and we are pretty sensible about what we do.’ This, she confides, may have something to do with being a woman. ‘I’m not one for things like smart cars.’ Brought up in Cumbria in a ‘very happy
household’, Victoria says, ‘There were always conversations about business. We talked about money very openly.’ It’s no wonder then that her entrepreneurial father, David, who among other ventures, owned smoked salmon company Pinneys, had the wit and wisdom to buy the 100-yearold failing tweed mill Hunters of Brora in 1990. The mill had supplied the likes of Holland & Holland and Hackett, but by that time, says Victoria, so many brands had begun to take their production abroad to bring down costs: ‘the order books were literally emptying’. David put his young daughter, who’d studied interior design at the Inchbald School of Design and then read Art History at the University of East Anglia, in charge of the retail side. The mill eventually closed, but Victoria had found her passion and Brora was born. Running a tight ship, Victoria enjoys and thrives on the business side of things as much as the creative. ‘I try and stick to budgets set by my terribly loyal Head of Finance [who’s been with her for 15 years]. I also think we have to not be at all vain. Every time a lease comes up we look at it very carefully. I closed our shop in Islington because the rent suddenly increased by 70 per cent and we felt on those figures it wasn’t going to work.’ This perhaps is the key to a business that is owned entirely by the person who founded it. The passion still runs high and it’s not just a profit and loss ledger to be groomed by accountants, but a living, breathing, evolving entity that permeates the lives of everyone involved in it, from the shop assistant to the supplier. ‘I’ve kept the business fairly small,’ says Victoria, who bought a warehouse near her Stevenage home about 10 years ago, which houses 60 staff, has a photographic studio and is where all the fulfilment is done too (each item comes with a handwritten note from the person it was packed by). ‘People assume it is a lot bigger. I didn’t want the growth, say, of Boden or The White Company, because I am very committed to my supply chain and making everything locally in Scottish mills and
PHOTOS: JOHNNY PILKINGTON
English mills. I know all the people personally at Johnston of Elgin’s mill in Hawick [the same mill also used by Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès], who have been making my cashmere since day one. Sixty-five per cent of their production is for Brora, so it’s a real responsibility.’ Not one that she bears at all lightly. ‘The key thing is the mill,’ she reiterates. ‘People don’t understand what real craftsmanship and talent we have in this country. They don’t think very deeply about their purchase; they see a price and don’t bear in mind the quality, the craftsmanship, the shipping, all those costs that go into making a product.’ Which is why she is adamant about never discounting in season. ‘We really have to hold our nerve but it can turn into a vicious circle. Discount trading is now the norm but what we cost is what we cost, take it or leave it. I can do this because we are privately owned. Sometimes we do have a bad quarter, but we move on and say it’s going to be better.’ The problems which have beset names like Marks & Spencer, she says, began when bigger margins became more important than quality. This meant using cheaper materials and then ‘you just lose you way’. ‘It’s a real shame what happened there because they
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Brora A/W’18; at work in the mill; Victoria and Jesse at home; Hill House, the family home in Hertfordshire; Brora A/W’18
were such advocates of “made in Britain”. ‘They weren’t a fashion-forward business,’ she continues, ‘but that’s what they tried to become [with the Alexa Chung collaboration]. We are not fashionforward either. We are fashion conscious – we’ve done collections with neon or slogans, for example, but I think it’s important that if you walk into Brora and find a fabulous navy blue jumper, you will always find that same fabulous jumper. The brand needs to feel familiar yet also requires subtle changes.’ Which is why you’ll find far more than just cashmere in the shops. ‘I’m so lucky I never have to go shopping,’ laughs Victoria, who tells me she’s currently wearing a Brora navy linen jumpsuit that I immediately start Googling. ‘There are so many nice things in the clothing range. Something for everyone, from your great grandmother to your cantankerous old uncle. We never tried to be über trendy. We’re what I call a 0-90 family brand.’ Victoria’s family is an integral part of the Brora set up too – and possibly its future. When Victoria married the photographer Johnny Pilkington, she inherited two daughters, Hermione (29) and Allegra (26) and the couple went on to have three more, Jesse (20), Nancy (18) and Lola (16). ‘They have all been a real influence on my life,’ says Victoria. ‘They’re very vocal about the brand and how they see the business.’ Jesse, who’s currently studying at Bristol, has taken on the social media, Hermione designs all the non-cashmere items (belts, bags, shoes, boots and jewellery) and helps to style the campaigns, and Allegra is an animator who’s done some fun animation for the website. And what plans to celebrate the 25-year anniversary? She won’t fess up other than saying with palpable excitement, ‘We have an amazing collection launching in October. It’s really cool. A magazine editor [no name yet!], who’s been a fashion director for 30 years and has always been a lover of Brora, has put the collection together with me. We went through the archives and up to the mill together and looked through every single colour we’ve ever run. There will be 25 pieces for 25 years.’ And therein ends this woolly tale for now, while they prepare for the next 25 years, which will no doubt be just as full of family, passion and the joy of craft and creation. n September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 97
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WALL & FLOOR TILES - MARBLE / PORCELAIN / ENCAUSTIC / GLAZED & DECORATED
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17/07/2018 17/07/2018 11:12 14:21
C&TH
THE INSIDER INTERIORS · LIVING · DESIGN
ORANGE SQUEEZE Who says orange is just for summer? Our favourite trend has spread its wings into the realms of interiors, and Heal’s has hit the mark with this gloriously bold, structured yet squashy armchair. A pair makes the perfect statement in a library at risk of feeling too dark. Their new shop has just opened at Westfield White City: head there for more bright and beautiful interior inspiration. heals.com
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THE INSIDER David Hunt Stag pendant, £1,152. davidhuntlighting.co.uk
TREND
TALLY-HO! After a long day in the field, come home to these sporting comforts
Fisk Life Arran chair, £3,250. fisklife.co.uk
Vaughan Feather lamp shade, £304. vaughandesigns.com
Thornback & Peel Oven gloves, £25. harrods.com
Emily Bond Geese fabric, £52 p/m. emilybond.co.uk
Sophie Allport Pheasant cushion, £48. sophieallport.com
East African Trading Company Shot box, £235. eastafricantrading.co.uk
Club Matters Partridge platter, £28. clubmatters.com
House of Bruar Leaping Salmon by Ian Greensitt, £1,750. houseofbruar.com
Wingfield Digby Feather photo frame, from £70. wingfielddigby.co.uk
Sofa.com Cecil dog bed by Fenella Smith, from £150. sofa.com
Tradescant & Son Pheasant fabric, £95 p/m. tradescantandson.com
Beardmore Door knobs, £372 each. beardmore.co.uk
100 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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And So To Bed.indd 1
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THE INSIDER
INTERIORS
DESIGN NOTES
FIRE ME UP
This fire bowl stands tall so easier for warming hands. Indian fire bowl, £135. ibbidirect.co.uk
News and inspiration from the world of interiors. By Carole Annett
WIGGLY SQUIGGLE
Remember the slinky? Patricia Urquiola took the retro toy as inspiration and created the Slinkie rug for CCTapis, £8,995 at Silvera. silveraltd.co.uk
WHEEL LADY Karen Swami was a film producer before turning her hand to ceramics – her talent and previous role ensuring a stellar following which includes Dior and Christian Liaigre. The Craie table with brushed oak top and stoneware base, is exclusive to Liaigre and costs £17,000. liaigre.com
TOP DRAWER
If you like the style of this chest, Maya Singer can design the bedroom or drawing room to match. Kensington chest of drawers, £3,450. singerdesign.co.uk
LOVE OF THE LAND The Pure Morris North collection is inspired by the travels of William Morris and his love of Iceland. Embroideries, prints and weaves reflect the dramatic landscape and misty shores, from £69. stylelibrary.com
TRIM-TASTIC Trimmings are back with a vengeance – beautifully stitched, textural and zinging with colour. La Perle trims, from £22p/m. jimthompsonfabrics.com 102 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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HUSH HUSH
FINE FABRICS Well, I’m a material girl
A pretty lighting idea which may also help soften noise – fabric covered panels of soundabsorbing foam. Finna pendant light, from £540. christopherwray.com
HISTORY IN THE MAKING H&M has launched its collaboration with classic print house GP&J Baker. This is the original Oriental bird archive design, look out for it on a dress and shirt, from £6.99. hm.com; gpjbaker.com
ALL AGLOW
This nautical inspired wall lantern can be positioned outside. Ernest wall light in antique brass and glass, £72. darlighting.co.uk
BIRD’S EYE
The hoopoe bird with an ornate copper crown stands out against a charcoal linen backdrop. Cushion by Timorous Beasties, £80. timorousbeasties.com
1 Nina Campbell, Havana Leaf in coral, £234p/m. ninacampbell.com 2 Jim Thompson, Surf’s Up in navy, £114p/m. foxlinton.com 3 Mimi Pickard, Bell in pink, £98p/m. mimipickard.com 4 Warwick Fabrics, Tulum in palm, £38p/m. warwick.co.uk 5 Osborne & Little, Breeze stripe, £63p/m. osborneandlittle.com
POW-WOW I love this zingy grass-green geometric – Teepee by Parker & Jules, from £89p/m. parkerandjules.com
SMART THINKING Brady Williams is the studio behind the interiors of many top eateries including Wright Brothers and XU London. The Buckingham bench is part of its homeware collection, £3,650 at Harrods. harrods.com September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 103
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THE INSIDER
FOCUS
COUNTRY HOUSE STYLE For a perfect weekend setting, take one impressive hallway, a grand dining room, a well-stocked wine cellar and a luxurious bedroom for when you finally call it a night
1
2
3
4
1 Jamb’s Bainbridge lantern illuminates the dark recesses of a wine cellar. Six-pillar hanging lantern with central glass cylinder in antique verdigris finish. £5,040 (jamb.co.uk). 2 Matching fabric and wallpaper gives a room added cosiness. Baville wallpaper, £76 a roll and fabric £64 p/m from Les Indiennes by Nina Campbell at Osborne & Little (osborneandlittle.com). 3 The Shooting Gallery at Haymarket hotel, set for a sumptuous dinner, interiors by Kit Kemp featuring de Gournay wallcovering and framed costume drawings for Anthony and Cleopatra by Oliver Messel (firmdalehotels.com). 4 In a manor house project, Hill House Interiors added a bespoke element to the hallway by having the owner’s family crest engraved into a hand-crafted fireplace (hillhouseinteriors.com). 104 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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THE INSIDER DESIGN Q&A
NEISHA CROSLAND
LITTLE BLACK BOOK Steal Neisha’s contacts FABRICS Neisha Crosland for Turnell & Gigon. turnellandgigon.com
The textile designer likes to keep an eye on what her interior designer sister is up to What was your most recent find? Afridi Gallery in Chelsea. Most extravagant thing you’ve bought for your home? Howe salon dining chairs and two leather-covered headers. All horse hair upholstered – I do not regret it!
lollipop lights that some hotels line their gardens or driveways with.
House warming present?
Where do you find inspiration?
Really good quality dish cloths from Purple & Fine that make polishing glasses a joy or napkins from Once Milano. Unsung design hero? James Leman and Anna Maria Garthwaite, 18th-century English textile designers known for creating vivid floral designs for hand-woven silk fabrics in Spitalfields.
Museums, books, films, architecture and travel – all the usual things. Recently a wonderful book called The Beautiful Brain by Santiago Ramon y Cajal.
What should never have seen the light of day? Those awful FROM TOP: Bamboo trellis rug for The Rug Company; Garden Collection wallpaper for Turnell & Gigon in Tango and Riley; Moorish Circles cushion; Life of a Pattern by Neisha Crosland
What’s the last piece of art you bought? A print
of a photograph from Misha Anikst’s exhibition at Afridi Gallery and my cousin’s wife’s Mrs Delany-style wild flowers painted in gouache on black paper.
Whose home would you most like to have a nose around? Michael Jackson,
CANDLES Cire Trudon. johnlewis.com
TILES Neisha Crosland for De Ferranti. deferranti.com
FURNITURE Rose Uniacke. roseuniacke.com
Liberace or Elton John’s – somebody outrageous and extravagant.
Which designers do you have your eye on? I always watch what my sister, Charlotte Crosland, does.
What do you collect? I cannot resist buying something I like if I can afford at the time and feel it will have a home in my house. Right now, I have an urge for paintings and good-looking tumblers.
How can we live more selfsufficiently? Grow your own herbs. You don’t need your own garden, a window sill will do. neishacrosland.com
PLATES Penny Morrison. pennymorrison.com
ART Afridi Gallery. shahbazafridi.com
September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 105
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C&TH
FOOD & TRAVEL E AT · D R I N K · E S C A P E
ESCAPE
GEORGIA ON MY MIND
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Steeped in tradition with a tumultuous history, Gilly Pickup visits Georgia, a former Soviet Republic, which has its own language, culture, alphabet and also claims to be the birthplace of wine
The cave monastery of David Gareja is one of the top attractions in Georgia
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I
quickly discovered that the Georgians overfeed you with both food and pleasure. It was only my second day in the country and I’d already experienced three ‘supras’ (feasts). Georgians are extremely hospitable and it would be against their cultural code not to offer guests a table overflowing with food. So, as a foreigner, I was treated to these lengthy restaurant supras by my kindly hosts, each accompanied by traditional dancing and singing. When guests sit down to a supra, the table is already groaning under the weight of countless dishes – canoe-shaped breads dripping with melted cheese and butter, fat steaming beef dumplings which you eat with your fingers, colourful salads mixed with walnuts and herbs and plenty of delicious Georgian wine to wash it all down with. Then, before the original dishes have little more than a dent in them, more arrive – in the shape of earthy soups, heady stews, kebabs, chicken cooked in milk and garlic, heavily spiced ratatouille, hot cornbread... and so it goes on – and on – enough to feed the five thousand and then some. But first things first and food aside, I should explain for those who are not quite sure, that Georgia is a country located in the Caucasus mountain range, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It is remarkably welcoming to visitors and listed as the world’s eighth safest country on the Crime Index. I had arrived in Tbilisi, the country’s thousand-year-old capital,
courtesy of Air Astana from London’s Heathrow, with no idea of what to expect in this still emerging destination. The name ‘Tbilisi’ comes from the Georgian word for ‘warm’, referring to the natural hot springs which feed the city’s sulphur baths. ‘Taking the waters’ has been part of everyday life for the locals for centuries – the water is said to cure all manner of ills; you’ll know you’re heading in the right direction when your nostrils catch the distinctive eggy smell and you see the dome-shaped bathhouse roofs. The city itself is a jumbled mix of architectural styles. Crumbling mansions sit next to Byzantine churches, synagogues and mosques, art nouveau design rubs shoulders with neo-classical buildings, all interspersed with grey Soviet-era apartment blocks. Most eye-catching of all are the balconied dwellings perching precariously on cliff tops above the Mtkvari river as they have done for centuries. Not that it’s all blast from the past stuff. There are plenty of trendy clubs, modern art galleries and a burgeoning fashion scene in town too and, rather bizarrely, recently built police stations and government buildings are constructed from steel and glass, rendering them see through, symbolic of Georgia’s aspirations for democratic transparency. Lording it over the mish mash of styles is fourth-century fortress Narikala, best reached by cable car unless you feel like
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PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; GILLY PICKUP
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Bird’s eye view of Tbilisi; Christian basilica church in the ancient cave town of Uplistsikhe; Joseph Stalin was born in Gori; an example of Georgian topiary; khachapuri is a traditional Georgian dish of cheese-filled bread
FOOD & TRAVEL
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; GILLY PICKUP
Gori was the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. Georgians are not proud of Stalin and my guide and driver Vladimir was reluctant to stop to let me have a look around
a seriously tough climb uphill on foot. Alongside is the gigantic aluminium statue of Kartlis Deda or ‘Mother Georgia’. She has been there since 1958, the year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary, holding a cup of wine in one hand while brandishing a sword in the other. How better to symbolise the country? Georgia puts enemies to the sword and welcomes friends with wine. Next morning I set off by minibus to follow in the footsteps of Silk Road travellers to visit cave town Uplistsikhe. Built high on a cliff in Kartli and overlooking the Mtkvari River, this rock-hewn settlement, dating back to the early Iron Age, was once home to 20,000 people. As I clambered upwards to the 10th-century Christian stone basilica, I passed structures which were once dwellings, a pharmacy, bakery and pagan places of sacrifice. All evidence of a fascinating past. Although Uplistsikhe gives the impression of being in the back of beyond, it is only 10km from the small town of Gori. Gori was the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953. Georgians are not proud of Stalin and my guide and driver Vladimir was reluctant to stop. However, I managed to persuade him to let me spend a short time there though understand that Stalin is not high on everyone’s list of tourist attractions. I learned that he was born Josef Dzhugashvili but took the surname Stalin later in life – it translates from Russian as ‘steel’. The simple dwelling of his birth is now housed inside a glass roofed temple-like structure,
while in the grounds his 83-tonne personal Pullman bulletproof train carriage, in which he travelled to the Yalta Conference in 1945. is popular with camera clicking tourists. On the way back to Tbilisi, there was a visit to Mtskheta, Georgia’s capital for 800 years and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The dusty main street of this small, dishevelled town which dates back to the fifth century BC, is lined with stalls selling fruit, souvenirs, wine and local handicrafts. Stall holders are keen to offer food and drink samples, ever hospitable. Mtskheta’s pride and joy is the 11th-century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, heavily adorned with stone carvings outside and in. It is revered by worshippers as legend has it that Christ’s crucifixion robe is buried under the central nave. I barely scratched the surface of this East meets West cultural and political hotspot – but there was no doubting its warm, embracing welcome, embedded in its abundance of delicious food. BOOK IT: Air Astana offers return flights between Heathrow and Astana from £508 and return flights between Astana and Tbilisi from £213. Air Astana offers a stop-over in Astana with transfers and hotel on B&B basis for $1 for the first night (airastana.com/uk/en-US). Several good hotels in Tbilisi include the super-stylish Rooms Hotel Tbilisi (roomshotels.com/Tbilisi) and Mercure Tbilisi Old Town hotel (accorhotels.com). September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 109
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FOOD & TRAVEL 1
2
TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE
The Buzzardry, East Sussex
THREE MORE TREEHOUSES
1 Netherby Estate Get back to nature with views of the Scottish border and sounds of the Border Esk river trickling past this Cumbrian treehouse. From £150 per night. netherbyestate.com 2 Brockloch Farm A contemporary take on a treehouse, this one in Dumfries and Galloway is pierced by dozens of little windows. From £115 per night. canopyandstars.co.uk 3 Clowance Estate An open-air bathtub, views over Cornwall parkland and acccess to a spa – utter relaxation. From £825 for two nights. luxurylodges.com
3
T R AV E L N E W S
THE HOTEL WIZARD Fiona Duncan is tempted by the trees
1
Arriving at night after a glorious evening at Glyndebourne (30 minutes away), climbing the spiral steps and opening champagne on the terrace.
2 3
And waking at dawn among the branches and the birds…
… Because this is a cedar wood treehouse on a private estate, beautifully constructed, wonderfully romantic, with the trappings of a five-star hotel.
4
The soaring circular ceiling above the sitting room/kitchen: like an intricate cedar wood parasol, superbly handcrafted.
5
The embracing curves, circles and spirals that make up its design…
6
… And the wide balcony high in the tree canopy, perfect for breakfast or dinner.
ON THE TRAVEL RADAR
7
The generously stocked fridge and trug full of provisions, including fresh eggs, bread and homemade jam for breakfast.
8
The two blissful, all-natural bedrooms, one with a deep copper bath as well as a shower.
9 GRAVETYE’S GLORIOUS GRUB And lingering in East Sussex… Gravetye Manor’s new dining space seamlessly integrates one of Britain’s most historic Grade II listed gardens with its Michelin-starred restaurant. gravetyemanor.co.uk
NEW NATURAL BASE IN ARGENTINA The luxury South America travel company Explora has announced a first hotel in Argentina. Opening in 2020, it’s being constructed in Los Huemules Nature Reserve and will have no wifi or TV: it’s the nature that counts. explora.com
The lake gardens and grounds – yours to explore, a succession of magnolias, bluebells, azaleas, cornus and hydrangeas – created by Lady Fisher; and her Georgian house, Marklye, surveying them.
10 AND TALKING OF BRITAIN...
Snuggle up in your treehouse reading Hudson’s Heritage Guide 2018. Out this month, it’s an inspiring, entertaining and informative guide to the extraordinary heritage of the United Kingdom, which also doubles as a compelling coffee table book. Guests at the Buzzardry will find that the area around them is rich in fascinating castles, priories and gardens. £17.99. visitheritage.co.uk
Charming Rushlake Green, a ten-minute stroll, with its spacious green, lovely houses, pub and village store. From £230 per night. sussextreehouse.com
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FOOD & TRAVEL
THE ESSENTIALS
STAY
ABOVE: The glittering French Riviera town of Saint Tropez BELOW: Brigitte Bardot was a regular at Hotel Byblos
THE WEEKENDER
While a rustic setting may seem an unusual backdrop for the hedonism Byblos is famed for, provincial village character and bright painted walls are joined by fine dining and the lavish expectations of its well-heeled visitors. Riviera breakfasts by the pool roll on until 12pm, lunch is whenever and however you fancy and their Sisley Spa shower plays club classics while you scrub. Pack your Gucci loafers. byblos.com
SAINT TROPEZ Rosalyn Wikeley dusts off her diamonds for a shimmering South of France sojourn
DO
I PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; REX FEATURES
t’s that time of year again when the world’s glitterati descend upon Saint Tropez and the port swells with superyachts, diamonds glisten under Michelin-starred ceilings and cigar smoke fills the salty air. While Saint Tropez’s cultural face is often overlooked – with its quaint old village, citadel and Musée de l’Annonciade – the glamorous Riviera scene is equally deserving of the culture tag (read, arrive by boat and disembark for a glitzy fivestar hotel). Hotel Byblos is the one to head for, a decadent gesture to Brigitte Bardot and where Mick and Bianca Jagger got hitched. If you haven’t managed to secure a superyacht, head down to the port and admire them lining the front from The marina
Hire a bike or Mini Moke and head to Pampelonne beach. See and be seen here (make sure you reserve a table Club 55 for lunch). Rifle through the market at the Place des Lices (open on Tuesday and Saturday mornings) where you can bag yourself some good quality bargains, from bespoke leather belts to truffle oil and smelly cheese. Salon D’Antiquités is an upmarket treasure hunt found on the same square.
Sénéquier, the restaurant famed for its red film directors’ chairs. The old village has a distinct blend of bakeries, cafés and designer shops (the luxury boys are forced to blend into Saint Trop’s historic aesthetic), along with local favourites such as Atelier Rondini, with their timeless Tropéziennes sandals. Visit the parish church to see the bust of Tropez himself and head up to the impressive 16th-century citadel at the top of the village. If you’re feeling brave, Le Sentier du Littoral is a seven-mile track wrapping around the coast to the notorious Pampelonne beach. En route, enjoy a coffee or a cocktail at Plage des Graniers, a more secluded side of Saint Tropez (Bardot herself Shop at Atelier Rondini bought a house for Tropéziennes sandals nearby).
EAT Alain Ducasse’s Rivea at Hotel Byblos, is a refined, calm corner of the hotel with locally sourced produce whipped up in their open kitchen. Bagatelle is an unpretentious, family-run Italian restaurant in an old-town setting (bagatellesttropez. com). L’Opera if you’re chasing the party and fancy cabaret for pudding (opera-saint-tropez.com).
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R E N TA L S
A DOG’S LIFE Caroline Phillips and Daisy Finer find four places for the perfect canine staycation
HALES HALL, Norfolk
It’s a haunting place, if not haunted. You can almost hear the Tudor hounds and patter of paws past. This is Hales Hall near Norwich, Norfolk, a drop-dead gorgeous medieval estate in formal gardens of topiary, box hedging and lavender avenues. It boasts nine acres of moated meadowland and buttercups with fairytale cottages and a Great Barn (perfect for parties) – offering overall accommodation for 25. The hall itself is a Grade I-listed masterpiece built by Sir James Hobart in the 1470s. Inside it’s all impeccably tasteful and modern luxury – perfect for posh pets – with three reception rooms and seven double bedrooms, plus Vispring mattresses, piping hot rainfall showers and strong WiFi. It’s so big – think 40-foot kitchen – that your hound can exercise inside, so forget putting him on a lead, take a SatNav and set off on a walk around the 8,267 sq/ft house to admire its mullion windows, copper pans and antiques. And roll-top baths, beams and flagstone floors. Then curl up on a sofa piled high with velvet cushions and watch man’s best friend snooze by a crackling fire. It’s tranquil enough to hear a doggie choc drop. BOOK IT: Three nights exclusive hire, from £4,125. norfolkcottages.co.uk
HOUND HALL
RADISSON COLLECTION ROYAL MILE EDINBURGH, Scotland
This Scottish boutique hotel has decor so daring – restaurant with fuchsia tables and zany rainbow columns – that you’ll want to wear shades. The hotel has contemporary suites, mixologists and staff in kilt, plus a dogsOK-in-the restaurant policy and DOGA handmade edible pooch treats in BUNNIES the bedroom. It’s set in Edinburgh’s Old Town with The Writers’ Museum a few strides away, and just seconds from the café where JK Rowling penned her early Potter. (Staff turn a blind eye to Fido being left behind in your room, unless he’s howling.) Bag the Strathmore suite with its wraparound views of Arthur’s Seat – a steep and dogfriendly hill best enjoyed at sunset – then chill while a walker runs your four-legged darling around the nearby Meadows for £25 per hour. You can even do Doga here – a yoga class to enjoy with your pooch, excellent for bonding and downward-facing dogs. Finish with a tail-wagging party: up to three hounds are permitted to kip with you. BOOK IT: Doubles from £209 B&B. The pet package is £50 per pet per stay and includes housekeeping services, dog bed, dog bowl, treats and a soft toy. radissoncollection.com/en/royalmile-hotel-edinburgh
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FOOD & TRAVEL
DUKES HOTEL, London
Tucked away in a tiny alleyway off St James’s Mayfair, this might not be an obvious hotel to bring your pup to. After all, Dukes dates back to 1908 and this elegant, classically English townhouse hotel remains one of the most traditional places to stay in London. The still legendary bar is where author Ian Fleming coined one of Bond’s most famous phrases: ‘Shaken, not stirred’; the martinis here are killer. But Dukes has always stayed up to speed, and has recently undergone a bells and whistles makeover, including the GBR restaurant in all its freshness, and – best yet – you can now bring fourlegged friends for a sleepover in the big smoke. It’s an adventure from the start: a luxury dog bed with comfy cushions, chewy treats to gnaw on, recommended walks, even a special doggy shampoo and in-room dining menu. If your dog is the needy type there are dog sitters available – though imagine the fun of walking around this area with your pooch. It seems like everybody wants to talk to you and Dukes will even pack you up the most perfect picnic to have in Hyde Park. BOOK IT: Doubles from £320 B&B. Dogs from £25 a night. dukeshotel.com
MONDAINE MUTT
THE GALLIVANT, East Sussex
Great for a houndmoon, The Gallivant is a hip motel across the road from Camber Sands beach. ‘Eat, sleep, beach’, as the brochure puts it. The rooms have a homely coastal vibe with muted colours and bathtubs (but no mutt washing, please, requests a sign) in the bedroom. There are goose down pillows and a king-size bed for master, and doggie shampoo and a takeaway drinking bowl for Lassie. Plus five miles of sandy beach and dunes for exercising furry creatures (although only in designated zones between 1 May and 30 September). The restaurant serves modern British food – such as pork cheek croquettes – while smiley reception staff take care of your pampered pet. A range of relaxing treatments – using natural, ethical products – is on offer in their Beach Hut, but no doggy grooming. The hotel – blissfully near Rye with its cobbled streets, antique shops and Tudor houses – is a magnet for birthday celebrants, anniversary couples and dogs. BOOK IT: Doubles from £95. thegallivant.co.uk
HOUNDS FOR HIRE
BEACH BITCHES
If you don’t have a dog to take on a staycation, sign up for Borrowmydoggy.com. It’s the ultimate site for borrowing – and lending – urban pooches. Premium membership (£44.99 a year) costs less than a sack of dog food and gives access to a wagtastic community and veterinary advice. Or you can join for free, with fewer benefits. Its staff offer a helping paw to potential borrowers and also give tips to owners on marketing their hound to wannabe walkers. September 2018 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 113
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FOOD & TRAVEL
TEAS OF THE WORLD
NEWS
GASTRO GOSSIP Hop aboard a classic locomotive for the ultimate in fine dining, says Clementina Jackson
Once in a while, the classic egg and cress sandwich and scones combo needs a little jazzing up. Ever embracing its multiculturalism, London leads the trend for international afternoon teas. Try the Japanese tea party at Ginza Onodera (onodera-group.com), Maison Assouline’s Moroccan-inspired offering (assouline.com) and 45 Park Lane’s new American CUTcakes and Tea (dorchestercollection.com).
THIS MONTH
MEAL ON WHEELS
The Orient Express may be out of service, but the height of locomotive glamour continues aboard Belmond’s British Pullman. A series of culinary on-board pop-ups sees top chefs take over the galley-kitchens for 100 lucky guests. Secure your ticket now for Michel Roux Jr. on 28 September. From £405 per person. belmond.com
SALCOMBE SECRETS
He may be one of Britain’s most celebrated chefs with two Michelin stars under his belt, but Devon-born Michael Caines is heading home to collaborate with Salcombe Gin on a limited-edition spirit. Be careful to hide the unique ceramic bottle deep in your liquor cabinet, as with only a thousand made, you don’t want to share... £65. salcombegin.com 1 EAT These mango mochi bites provide a much-needed throwback to summer. £4.99. littlemoons.co.uk
CORINTHIAN ORDERS No longer content with simply providing a place to sleep, London’s top hotels have upped their restaurant game of late. Eversearching for an excuse not to brave the wilderness (i.e. the countryside), Londoners can now enjoy Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge’s legendary fare at The Corinthia Hotel, where he is opening an elegant Bar & Grill this month. corinthia.com
2 DRINK Pears are in season. Drink them in cider form. £3.40. masterofmalt.com 3 BUY The Üllo Wine Purifier to remove sulphites, restore wine to its natural taste, and eliminate the dreaded wine-hangover... £69.99. ullowine.com 4 TRY The revolutionary new Vegan Keto diet, made easy and delivered straight to your door. £444 for a seven-day programme. noshdetox.com
WHALE OF A TIME The streets of Welsh market town Abergavenny heave with the country’s best chefs, journalists, farmers and food producers every September. Now in its 20th year, Abergavenny Food Festival will be putting on a series of tutored tastings, forages and debates to celebrate – as well as plenty of feasting, of course. 15–16 September. abergavennyfoodfestival.com 114 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | September 2018
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Where can we take you this year?
01886 812862
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FOOD & TRAVEL RECIPE
BIRDS OF A FEATHER Richard Corrigan’s roast grouse makes for the perfect Sunday lunch
FOODIE TALES Richard on a Christmas pudding disaster and the smell of fresh bread
What’s your food philosophy? For me, it’s all about British and Irish ingredients with a strong emphasis on provenance and sustainability. What was the first dish you learnt to cook? When I was a child, we kept hens and one of the first things I did was a wonderfully simple little baked egg dish. Most vivid childhood food memory? The smell of freshly baked bread coming from the kitchen – my mother baked it from scratch every day. Favourite ingredient that is in season now and how are you using it? In September I’m always really excited about the return of the native oyster. Biggest mistake you’ve made in the kitchen? When I was 15, I was making a Christmas pudding. It was going so well until I mistook 4oz for 4lb and it ended up as a hot mess.
ROAST GROUSE
Game is one of my favourite things – aside from it being very tasty, it’s incredibly sustainable and is one of the healthiest meats around – very lean with lots of nutrients. INGREDIENTS SERVES 4
» 4 oven-ready red grouse » 3 shallots peeled and finely chopped » 150g foie gras » Bunch of thyme » 4 slices of bread » 1 bulb of garlic » ½ punnet of blackberries » 2 rashers of bacon » ½pt brown chicken stock » 100g chicken livers » 50g butter » Ground nut oil
METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Stuff each grouse with two cloves of garlic and some sprigs of thyme (reserve half for later). Heat some oil in a pan and seal the birds all over until golden brown. Cover with the bacon rashers, season with pepper and roast in the oven for 8-10 mins. Bring the stock to a simmer. Remove the breast and legs from the cooked grouse, place the legs and carcasses into a pan with the stock, allow to infuse over a low heat for ten minutes. Sweat the shallots, garlic and remaining thyme in some oil and leave to cool. Pre-heat the grill to a medium-high heat. Chop the chicken livers and foie gras until smooth, then add to the cooled shallot mixture. Spread this onto the sliced bread. Gently heat the butter in a pan and fry (bread-side down) until golden and crisp. Place under the grill for 2-3 mins to cook the liver. Strain the stock and add the blackberries, season to taste. Serve the grouse alongside the liver en croute and blackberry sauce, and some game chips (thinly sliced fried potatoes, seasoned with rosemary salt). Soon after the Glorious Twelfth, grouse returns to Corrigan’s Mayfair.
Most memorable meal out? L’Ambroisie, Bernard Pacaud’s three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris. It epitomises haute cuisine. When you’re not in the kitchen, where are you? Virginia Park Lodge in Ireland which I bought in 2013. It’s an 18th-century former hunting lodge with 100 acres including nine acres of orchards and kitchen gardens. Do you have any unusual rules in your kitchen? I’m a stickler for fresh fish – hold a fish by the tail and if it still has its rigor mortis, we’re good to go. What’s in your fridge right now? Some leftover organic chicken, tonnes of sparkling water, and always a really good bar of Swiss chocolate, butter and milk. Who would you most like to take out for dinner? I’d really like Rowley Leigh to cook both my wife, Maria, and me a simple and delicious dinner before sitting down to join us with a bottle of Vosne-Romanée.
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FOOD & TRAVEL R E S TA U R A N T R E V I E W S
FORK & FIELD
GAME CHANGERS
This season’s surf and turf. By Clementina Jackson
Celebrate the start of British game season at these restaurants…
COUNTRY
Riddle & Finns The Beach, Brighton
Where better to enjoy the superlative combination of fresh seafood and Champagne than by an untouched stretch of Brighton beach right in front of you? The comprehensive menu is a result of 12 years as Brighton’s most elegant fish restaurant, working only with trusted suppliers who source as locally as possible. Seaside classics of potted shrimps and hearty fish pie stand out on a menu packed with seemingly try-hard international dishes, but take a gamble on the lobster, chilli and mango salad or calamari with peanut and ginger dipping sauce and you’ll delight at your risqué choice. Gloriously, oysters take up one quarter of the menu and out-of-London prices are the perfect excuse to experiment with hot, fried and cold variations alongside foaming tankards of Black Velvet and a healthy dose of salty air. Mains from £15. riddleandfinns.co.uk
THE GAME BIRD Game is the star of the show at The Stafford’s restaurant. Dishes go beyond the classics, with inventive, hearty creations such as venison with tulip, savoy cabbage and pine, and wood pigeon with beetroot, buckwheat and blackberries. thestaffordlondon.com
TOWN
Milos, St James’s
Sustainable and local: buzzwords on the London restaurant scene, and the absolute antithesis of Costas Spiliadis’ seafood restaurant. A rather unassuming Grade II listed building hides one of London’s best-kept secrets – a bastion of Greek hospitality and quality. Defiantly racking up the air miles, Milos has its own fishermen in Greece who fly over their daily catch to be beautifully offered just hours later in the restaurant’s ‘fish market’. Expert waiters then guide guests through what’s on offer, before it’s rustled up to their exact brief – grilled, fried, baked in sea salt, cooked whole in a traditional kakavia soup or even sliced à l’instant for the freshest sashimi. Their expertise is so absolute that you won’t give a second thought to drinking a shot of sherry out of a carabineros prawn’s head. Little is left to potential ruin at the hands of the Brits – even the tomatoes are flown in from Crete. Mains from £32. milos.ca
45 JERMYN ST. Few places ooze old-school British glamour like 45 Jermyn St. with its signature orange leather and eau de nil accents (it’s owned by Fortnum & Mason). Come game season, the restaurant steps it up a notch with a grouse and foie gras pie that hits a decadent spot you never knew you had. 45jermynst.com
THIS MONTH I’M… 1 Savouring one last taste of southern Italian summers at Bocca di Lupo, with this month’s Puglia-inspired menu. boccadilupo.com 2 Getting the first train to Bath to try Pierre Koffmann and Marco Pierre White’s new brasserie. abbeyhotelbath.co.uk 3 Going back to school for the Go Vegan cookery course in the picturesque surroundings of Lucknam Park. lucknampark.co.uk
NATIVE Zero-waste, foraged-focused and dedicated to British wild produce, this season is the best time to visit Native. Game is shot in Yorkshire, and is thoughtfully cooked to showcase it at its best. eatnative.co.uk
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3 nights for 2 available until March 2018
THE ST ENODOC HOTEL
STAY
DINE
RELAX
ROCK, CORNWALL
www.enodoc-hotel.co.uk | 01208 863394 | info@enodoc-hotel.co.uk
STOCKISTS ALEXIS MABILLE alexismabille.com
MALAN BRETON malanbreton.com
BARBOUR barbour.com
MARSHAMA X STACCATO masha-ma.com
BORA AKSU boraaksu.com CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA charlotteolympia.com CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN christianlouboutin.com
Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour samuel-heath.co.uk Made in England
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RACHEL TREVOR-MORGAN racheltrevormorgan.com RALPH & RUSSO ralphandrusso.com SCHÖFFEL schoffelcountry.com
DAKS daks.com
SOPHIA WEBSTER sophiawebster.com
DENTS dents.co.uk
TEMPERLEY temperleylondon.com
ERMANNO SCERVINO ermannoscervino.com
VALENTINO valentino.com
GHOST LONDON ghost.co.uk
WILLIAM EVANS williamevans.com
LE CHAMEAU lechameau.com
27/07/2018 13:12
C&TH EDITED BY ANNA TYZACK
PROPERTY
HOUSE OF THE MONTH Sell it to us in a sentence... A charming country estate within an hour of London. How big is the estate? 1,349 acres. Who built it? The estate has a long and illustrious history. It has been lived in by a number of wealthy families over the last three centuries including Newdigate Poyntz in the 1700s, the de Latour family in the 1800s and George Hodgson in the early 1900s.
The Hexton Manor Estate, Hexton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire Price: £19m 10 bedrooms 6 bathrooms 22,858 sq/ft
In what style has it been decorated? Traditional with a contemporary touch. Best room in the house? The tripleheight entrance hall with gallery landing and glass lantern above. What is the garden like? The property boasts a traditional English garden with a beautiful spring-fed lake, parkland, arboretum and walled kitchen gardens. Does it have any sporting rights? It has its own very high-quality shoot and trout fishing on the lakes. The current owner says… ‘It is has been the most magical place to bring up a family. We love being able to wake up, look over the lake and see kingfishers and swans. There’s a real sense of peace and tranquillity but it’s close enough to go the theatre in London in the evening.’ 020 7409 8882; savills.com
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FROM ABOVE: Bath is now considered London’s country cousin
L E T ’ S M O V E T O . ..
BATH
S
o well-trodden is the migration path between London and Bath that the small Somerset city has become the capital’s country cousin. Families move here for a bigger house and a better lifestyle, explains Luke Brady of Savills in Bath. ‘Architecturally and culturally it feels like London but on a more chilled and easy scale,’ he says. ‘There are theatres, a great music scene, restaurants including the Ivy, plus great shopping and rugby – and if you want to go back to London you can in 90 minutes on the train.’ Georgian Bath was built on the site of Roman Baths as a place for fun and socialising. The sandstone terraces, circuses and parades have mellowed since Jane Austen first saw them and complained that they gave her a migraine but the city’s recreational heritage lives on. Along with the Thermae Bath Spa, Britain’s only natural thermal spa, where you take the waters, as the Celts and Romans did over 2,000 years ago, there is a wealth of museums, art galleries and concert halls. ‘It is a World Heritage Site but it is not a museum,’ says James Mackenzie of Strutt & Parker. ‘You look down a street in Bath and you have artisan coffee houses and bakeries on one side, and start-up eateries and restaurants on the other.’ This juxtaposition of history and modern living ensures that people move to Bath out of choice rather than necessity, according to Brady. ‘It’s very special – rather like Oxford and Cambridge,’ he says. Indeed, more than half of those leaving London for Bath continue to work in the capital for at least a few days a week. ‘The number of Londoners moving here will continue to rise as Cross Rail arrives and opens up Bath to move people,’ explains Matthew Leonard of Knight Frank in Bath. ‘We’re also near Bristol airport which adds to the appeal.’
It is the schools, however, that are the major lure for Bath’s London leavers and the increasing number of expats relocating here from abroad. There are five private schools in Bath, along with some of the top state schools in the country. ‘The popular independents include King Edward’s, Kingswood, Prior Park College and Royal High School and Monkton Combe just outside Bath,’ explains Bath property finder Jess Simpson (jesssimpson.com). ‘The city also has single-sex state schools such as Beechen Cliff Boys’ and Hayesfield Girls’ secondary schools.’ Rather like London, Bath is a city divided by a river and there is a friendly rivalry between north and south. ‘If your children are at Kingswood or Royal High you’ll want to live on the north side; if they’re at Prior Park, King Edward’s or you’d like to be able to walk to the train station, you’ll look to an area such as Widcombe in the south,’ explains Brady. Along with Widcombe, the most popular family-friendly areas include Lansdown and Bathwick, along with destination addresses such as Royal Crescent, a sweeping terrace of 30 houses, Lansdown Crescent and the Circus, which has a lawn at its centre. Generally prices peak around £1,000 per sq/m, ensuring the city remains much more affordable than prime central London. Two-bedroom flats cost from £250,000, while four-bedroom townhouses cost from £800,000, although you can easily spend more than £3.5m for a property on Royal Crescent or the Circus. A magnificent Grade II listed Georgian villa near King Edward’s and Prior Park, formerly owned by Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, is on the market for £3.85m (struttandparker.com). ‘You really can’t go wrong in Bath, there are beautiful pockets all over the city and everything is within walking distance,’ Leonard says.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
This gorgeous West Country city packs a cultural punch yet is far more manageable than the capital, says Anna Tyzack
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PROPERTY
24 HOURS IN BATH... For a decent cup of coffee Colonna & Small’s on Chapel Row serves some of the best artisan coffee in Bath. colonnaand smalls.co.uk To learn a new skill Take a bread making course at The Bertinet Kitchen, awardwinning chef Richard Bertinet’s cookery school. thebertinet kitchen.com A night in a hotel The Roseate Villa is a hidden gem in the centre of Bath, overlooking the seven-acre Henrietta Park. roseatevillabath.com Some me-time Spend an hour or two browsing the shelves as Topping & Company on the Paragon, Bath’s best independent bookseller. toppingbooks.co.uk A spa day out Relax in two spectacular baths, fed by the naturally warm, mineralrich waters, and choose from a wide range of individual spa, health and beauty treatments. thermaebathspa.com
The problem is securing a house – such is the demand for properties in the best addresses that many change hands off-market. Property prices have risen This Georgian villa, once home to Anita steeply, according to Roddick, is on the market with Strutt & Parker property finder Robin Gould from Prime Purchase. ‘The burgeoning student population means cheap accommodation is not readily available and is often bought by investors,’ he says. British expats from Asia are seeing Bath as the new city of choice, add Mackenzie. ‘It has more charm and depth than other neighbouring cities like Bristol and Birmingham, and is well placed for the coast and country walks.’ When Wick Court, an historic Jacobean mansion just outside Bath, launched on the market earlier this summer with Strutt & Parker, it attracted five viewings on day one (£1.5m, struttandparker.co.uk). While Bath is just a short drive from the rolling countryside of the Cotswolds, those wanting a more rural existence tend to look to one of the surrounding villages such as Freshford, Wellow, Combe Hay, Monkton Combe, Bathford and Hinton Charterhouse, where five-bedroom houses with a couple of acres cost from £1m. ‘The further out of the city one ventures, the more bricks – or honey-coloured Bath stone – one can acquire,’ says Richard Trimbee of Coast & Counties (coastandcounties.com). Andrew Cronan, of Strutt & Parker, also recommends St Catherine’s Valley, where Jane Seymour used to live and Bathampton, which has become something of a hotspot. ‘It is a village so your money goes further yet it is connected to the city by a canal so you can cycle along the tow path to the station or office,’ he says. While Bath has stringent planning rules to ensure it retains its beauty, there is nothing fusty about it. There are currently several development projects in the pipeline including a Marco Pierre White restaurant and a new swimming and leisure complex. There is also an increasingly busy events calendar enticing the best names in literature and the arts to the city. Yet despite all this culture, the city still manages to retain a low-key village feel; Brady regularly bumps into friends while walking through the streets. ‘It somehow manages to be even more of a social place than London,’ he explains. ‘I guess this must have a lot to do with the fact we all go to the same Waitrose.’
FOR SALE
Little Ashley, £2.75m An exquisite, Grade II listed country house with seven bedrooms, a useful range of traditional stone outbuildings and a two-bedroom cottage. The farmhouse is surrounded by beautiful gardens and grounds with an Astroturf tennis court and is ideally situated for Bath and its many schools 6.5 miles away. 01225 325999, knightfrank.com
Lansdown Crescent, £4.75m A magnificent Grade I listed crescent house with seven bedrooms, situated at the heart of one of Europe’s architectural masterpieces. There are elegant reception rooms, a wine cellar and a sweeping stone staircase, plus breathtaking views over Bath and its surrounding hills. Outside is the original stonebuilt coach house building containing a garage and studio. 01225 474500, savills.com
Relax in the Thermae Bath Spa
Midsomer Norton, £900,000 PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
The Grange is an impressive detached Victorian house with an acre and a half of gardens. There are period features throughout including a tessellated floor in the hall, cornicing and marble fireplaces in the drawing and dining rooms, plus a a gym and cinema room. 01225 220216, hamptons.co.uk
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HOMES SWEET HOMES...
MY PROPERTY LIFE
LOUIS DE BERNIÈRES The writer and musician would like to snoop inside a dictator’s house
Where was your first home? It was a tent in the THE FOREVER HOME
Louis de Bernières The Margaret River landscape in Western Australia
mind having a one-room cabin or a trailer next to a lake. I would feed the fish and go swimming in it, and one day be discovered drowned, and nobody would know if it was deliberate or not.
Where do you live now? In south Norfolk in a large Georgian rectory, surrounded by fields and woodland.
What do you love most about it? I love the space, the big garden, the way the sun sets at the end of the field, the extraordinary wildlife, the locals who are egalitarian and friendly without being nosey. Favourite room? I like the conservatory best, but only in cool weather. It is most snoozeworthy in there.
If you could buy a second home where and what would it be? A few years ago I would have said France or Greece but now I favour the Isle of Wight. My grandmother lived there, and I take the children there every summer.
Louis would love a peek in Kim Jongun’s house, as long as it was vulgar
If money was no object, where would you live in London? The world? In London, I would choose Barnes because of the common and because it’s easy to get to the Surrey countryside. If it was somewhere in the world it would be the Margaret River in Western Australia. It’s the Garden of Eden plus kangaroos and red wine.
Norfolk, £1.85m Burfield Hall is a mellow brick Queen Anne house near Norwich set in 18.6 acres. The house has an abundance of period details including sash windows and a magnificent main staircase lit by a Venetian window. It also has modern bathrooms, a new conservatory and parterre garden, plus a custom-built kitchen. 01603 229229. savills.com
THE SECOND HOME Isle of Wight, £3.95m Fairways is a state-of-the-art home with its own private beach and 7,200 sq/ft of accommodation with wonderful views over The Solent. The principal rooms are light and spacious and there are six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a pool and landscaped gardens sweeping down to the beach. 01962 850333. knightfrank.com
What has been your most extravagant home purchase? I had a section of the house rebuilt that had been demolished. In it I installed a huge library and an extra kitchen that I didn’t need.
Whose house would you most like to see inside? I would like to see the inside of any palace owned by a dictator with vulgar tastes.
What advice would you give to a first-time buyer? Write a successful novel so you can
Where do you see yourself living in the future? In
buy a house outright, with no mortgage.
extreme old age I wouldn’t
So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernières is out now.
THE DREAM HOME Gloucestershire, £1.65 m White Willow Lodge at Lakes by Yoo is the perfect lakeside cabin, with access to fishing and sailing as well as luxury facilities including a spa and swimming pool. The house has been designed to work in harmony with the surroundings and has five bedrooms. 01285 659771. knightfrank.com
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; REX FEATURES
Jordanian desert. My father was in the army, and my mother was following the flag, so I was taken out there in a bomber when I was eight weeks old. I lived off evaporated milk, and still loved it until I was in my twenties. Best thing about it? I had a devoted Arabic bodyguard who thought that sons were infinitely precious and would squat by my pram all day to save me from marauders.
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1WILTSHIRE
Savernake Park Farm occupies a peaceful position near Marlborough, with a manor house overlooking its own gardens and parkland. The current owners have transformed it into an idyllic family home and sporting estate. The house has stunning reception rooms and seven bedrooms. Outside, there is an orchard, a vegetable garden, chicken run and pond. There is a mix of arable, pasture and woodland, which supports a family shoot over 384 acres. £8m. knightfrank.com
3SOMERSET
Great Bradley Farmhouse is a sportsman’s paradise near Minehead, hidden from public roads, with views across 364 acres over the Barle Valley. The house has large entertaining spaces and five bedrooms plus an indoor pool and yoga studio. There is a shoot lodge and further cottages plus stables, workshops with kennels, formal gardens, a tennis court and river frontage with fishing rights. The current owners run it as one of the best private shoots on Exmoor but it could also be run commercially. £4.5m. struttandparker.com
2DERBYSHIRE FIVE OF THE BEST
SPORTING ESTATES From a classic Scottish grouse moor to fishing in Derbyshire and wooded shooting valleys near London
4 SUTHERLAND
The Achnabourin Estate in the stunning Naver Valley with a wonderful white sandy beach, is a fantastic all-round sporting estate. There is a classic lodge with characterful reception rooms and five bedrooms with glorious views in every direction. The 5,855 acres lend themselves to stalking, first-class woodcock shooting, duck flighting ponds, salmon fishing and grouse, and there is a two-bedroom cottage currently occupied by the housekeeper. £995,000. goldsmith-estates.com
Whitehough is a glorious Grade II listed house with fishing rights, set against the backdrop of the surrounding Peak District and High Peak. The house has been restored and renovated and has a beautiful organgery and covered courtyard, as well as a flamboyant staircase. It is set within over ten acres of glorious formal grounds and gardens with Blackbrook river frontage and impressive equestrian facilities including a Martin Collins manège. £1.45m. savills.com
5 SUFFOLK
Sutton Hall Estate is one of the biggest estates on the market this year with more than 2,000 acres and three miles of fishing on the river Deben. The estate was once the home of Sir William Quilter, one of the founders of the National Telephone Company, the forerunner of BT, and at its heart is a listed Georgian manor with formal gardens. There are also three farmhouses and seven cottages, extensive pasture and woodland and an active family shoot. £31.5m. knightfrank.com
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The house on the garden square.
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Thurloe Square, Knightsbridge SW7 • A Grade II listed house on a sought-after garden square • Extensively redeveloped, including the installation of air conditioning • Approximately 5,280 sq ft
Our Knightsbridge expert, Harry Dawes, looks forward to helping you. harry.dawes@knightfrank.com 020 3641 5930
Located on the borders of Knightsbridge and South Kensington, close to famous restaurants, museums, Harrods and Hyde Park. The house gives easy access to the underground and the A4 for the M4 and Heathrow.
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £13,950,000 Freehold
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The house with a large garden.
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Chesham Street, SW1 • A dining room with French windows leading to a terrace • A rare and wider than average townhouse • Approximately 4,442 sq ft
Our Belgravia expert, Stuart Bailey, looks forward to helping you. stuart.bailey@knightfrank.com 020 3641 5908
Located 0.8 miles away from Victoria mainline and underground station, 0.5 miles from Knightsbridge underground station (Piccadilly line). (All times and distances are approximate).
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £11,500,000 Freehold
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The town house with the gardens.
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Earls Terrace, Kensington W8 • Grade II listed family house with underground parking for two cars • Access to Edwardes Square communal gardens • Approximately 5,017 sq ft Earls Terrace is situated to the western end of Kensington High Street and is within easy distance of Holland Park. Kensington High Street's varied shops, restaurants and transport connections are close at hand.
Our Kensington expert, Peter Bevan, looks forward to helping you. peter.bevan@knightfrank.com 020 3589 2698 07770 017 076
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £10,250,000 Freehold
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The house by the garden square.
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Norland Place, Notting Hill W11 • Contemporary house providing accommodation over three floors • Has secure off street parking in this quiet mews • Has a right to apply for a key to the communal garden
Our Notting Hill expert, Arthur Lintell, looks forward to helping you. arthur.lintell@knightfrank.com 020 8166 5451
Norland Place runs between Norland Square and Princedale Road, ideally situated just a few moments from Holland Park Underground Station and the local amenities and shops.
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £6,950,000 Freehold
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The flat with grand windows.
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Bramham Gardens, SW5 • A beautifully refurbished flat located on the first floor • Offering wonderful open plan living with large private terrace • Approximately 1,065 sq ft
Our South Kensington expert, Giles Barrett, looks forward to helping you. giles.barrett@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6173
Bramham Gardens is a highly sought after address and excellently located for the amenities of both Gloucester Road and Earl's Court.
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £2,250,000 Share of freehold
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The house with river views.
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Thames Bank, SW14 • Grade II listed property • A number of period features throughout • On the market for the first time in over 50 years Thames Cottage is located on a picturesque road along the banks of the Thames between Barnes Bridge and Chiswick Bridge. For the commuter Mortlake and Barnes Bridge railway stations provide a frequent service to London Waterloo.
Our Barnes expert, Edward Sainter, looks forward to helping you. edward.sainter@knightfrank.com 020 8022 6363 07467 916 005
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £2,600,000 Freehold
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The flat with ideal living space.
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Cheyne Row, Chelsea SW3 • An extremely elegant ground floor flat finished to a high standard • End of terrace building giving more width and a dual aspect • Approximately 568 sq ft Cheyne Row is one of Chelsea's most historic streets in 'Old Chelsea'. With regular bus routes along the Kings Road and with Sloane Square tube station a short distance, the property benefits from good transport links.
Our Chelsea expert, Roly Ingleby-MacKenzie, looks forward to helping you. roly.im@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6172
knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly. Guide price £895,000 Share of freehold
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Superb Grade II* listed house HEYDOUR, LINCOLNSHIRE
Grantham: 7 miles (London Kings Cross from 60 minutes), Sleaford: 8 miles, Lincoln: 25 miles Superb 16th Century stone house, rich in history in a peaceful rural hamlet location. 4 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms (3 en suite), garage, 60 ft garden room/summer house, tennis court, gym and stunning secluded gardens with 2 lakes. About 3.3 acres I Excess ÂŁ999,950
Rupert Fisher Savills Lincoln
01522 719568
lincoln@savills.com
savills.co.uk
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Reading Sulhamstead Price £2,750,000 Dukes Ride CrowthorneGuide Guide Price £1,750,000
Positioned on a private plot in excess of 4 acres, this stunning character, lifestyleplot This substantial, six bedroom, Edwardian residence is positioned on a private residence is within in excess of 8,000 sq ft, and dates back to the 19th century. and located walking distance of Crowthorne Village Centre. EPCEPC – E.– F
To find out more about this stunning property, please contact Prospect Homes of Distinction 7786001 868 or email email us us at at sales@prospectphd.co.uk sales@prospectphd.co.uk Distinction on on 01344 0118 997 Visit our website at prospectphd.co.uk
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Independent Property Search Specialists procuring prime residential property on behalf of private clients
LONDON
COUNTRY
INTERNATIONAL
www.coastandcounties.com 50 years practising within Local, National and International property markets
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Stunning Cotswold cottage hideaways for the perfect escape. Countryside Breaks offers a home away from home, with two stunning cottages based in the heart of the Cotswolds, both charming, elegant and perfectly positioned for a solo escape, romantic getaway or fun-filled family holiday.
Your home away from home For further information or to make a reservation please call Sam O’Sullivan on: 0808 256 5810 or email countrysidebreaks@beresfords.co.uk | www.countrysidebreaks.co.uk
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Fryerning, CM4 FryerningEssex Essex Guide Price £3,850,000 Guide price: £2,925,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception A wonderful Grade II listed five bedroom farmhouseGrade with II listed period propertyannexe thought back detached one bedroom setto in date grounds of500 five years. This charming residence is originally thoughtvillage to be 3 acres (stls). Situated on the fringes of Ingatestone cottages, providing a fantastic flowthis of interesting and enjoying now far reaching countryside views property benefi from easyfamily access to an excellent of shops, andtsextensive living space overrange two floors. The pubs as wellformal as easygrounds access to excellent 7.5and acrerestaurants plot comprises mixed mainline rail serviceswith to London. EPC Exempt sympathetically paddocks (benefitting from a
second separate access), ponds and a substantial lake. Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt
Country & Village Office 01245 397475 Country & Village Office 01245 397475
Fryerning Brentwood,Essex Essex CM14 Guide GuidePrice price:£3,850,000 £1,745,000 A striking five double bedroom, four reception Grade II A wow factor Grade II listed four bedroom home full listed period property thought to date back 500 years. of character and light, with planning permission to This charming residence is originally thought to be 3 convert stables into a two bedroom annexe. Situated cottages, now providing a fantastic flow of interesting on a beautiful landscaped plot of 4.6 acres (stls) with and extensiveformal familygardens living space floors. The outbuildings, and aover lake,two this stunning 7.5 acre plot comprises grounds mixed property offers a tranquilformal and picturesque location with sympathetically with paddocks (benefitting a convenient access to Brentwood, the M25 andfrom London second separate Underground. EPCaccess), Exempt.ponds and a substantial lake. Numerous outbuildings, tennis court, double garage and detached one bedroom annexe. Equestrian potential. EPC Exempt
Country & Village Office 01245 397475 Country & Village Office 01245 397475
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T. 01905 734735 E. country.homes@andrew-grant.co.uk andrew-grant.co.uk
Forthampton, Gloucestershire SPLENDID GRADE II LISTED COUNTRY RESIDENCE WITH FARREACHING VIEWS, SELF CONTAINED FLAT AND RANGE OF TRADITIONAL OUTBUILDINGS WITH PP FOR CONVERSION TO ACCOMMODATION. Upton-upon-Severn 6 miles, Malvern 13 miles, Cheltenham 15 miles, Worcester 21 miles, Birmingham 56 miles, London 126 miles (all mileages are approximate).
Guide Price £1,450,000
House And Gardens, Around 3.961 Acres. In Addition Further Land Is Available In Two Lots Being 24.254 Acres And 10.347 Acres By Separate Negotiation
Contact: Andrew Grant Country Homes 01905 734735
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T. 01905 734735 E. country.homes@andrew-grant.co.uk andrew-grant.co.uk
Llyswen, Brecon, Powys A WELSH FISHING LODGE C. 2706 SQ. FT. WITH INCOME PRODUCING GHILLIE’S COTTAGE C. 918 SQ. FT. AND FISHING RIGHTS ON THE RIVER WYE. AROUND 6.4 ACRES IN TOTAL Hay-on-Wye 8.5 miles, Brecon 11 miles, Abergavenny 22 miles, Hereford 29 miles, Worcester 54 miles, Cheltenham 72 miles, Birmingham 76 miles, London 178 miles (all mileages are approximate)
Guide Price £795,000
The Shrubbery: Drawing Room, Kitchen, Utility / Study, Master Bedroom With En Suite Shared With Bedroom Two, Two Further Double Bedrooms, Shower Room. Gardens, Garage. Shrub Cottage: Sitting Room, Kitchen, Ground Floor Bedroom (En Suite), First Floor Bedroom (En Suite).
Contact: Andrew Grant Country Homes 01905 734735
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01223 214214
cheffins.co.uk
Arkesden – Station 3 Miles
UNRIVALLED COVERAGE AROUND CAMBRIDGE
£1,150,000
A highly individual detached conversion of a former chapel set on the edge of this highly sought-after and picturesque village, surrounded by open countryside and conveniently located within easy reach of Audley End station. The property boasts a wealth of character throughout and has been more recently enhanced with a stunning, vaulted kitchen. It is set in approximately half an acre with views over the adjoining countryside. Accommodation comprising: entrance hall, sitting room, inner hall/family room, study, play room, family room, kitchen/dining room, utility room, cloakroom. First floor: master bedroom with en suite and balcony, 3 further bedrooms, shower room, bathroom. Outside: Two gravelled parking areas, with brick built garage with store over, decking area to rear. Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden Office: 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk
Great Sampford – Station 11 Miles
£995,000
A fine Grade II Listed detached period farmhouse which has been maintained to a high standard offering expansive accommodation including an adjoining annexe and cart lodge with accommodation above. The property is set in approximately 1.4 acres with landscaped gardens and paddock land. Comprising: Entrance hall, drawing room, music room, cloakroom, kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, family room, dining room, cellar. First floor: 5 bedrooms – one with en suite shower room, bathroom, attic room. Adjoining annexe: living area, kitchen/breakfast room, study area, bedroom, shower room. Cart lodge and office with with 2 upstairs rooms and shower room, adjoining store room. Outside: gravel driveway with access to cart lodge. Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden Office: 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk
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CAMBRIDGE ELY HAVERHILL NEWMARKET SAFFRON WALDEN LONDON
Ashdon – Station 7 Miles
£1,450,000
An individual detached residence set in approximately 2 acres within a rural lane with beautiful panoramic views over surrounding countryside. The property offers spacious accommodation which has been finished to an exceptionally high standard including a bespoke kitchen/breakfast room and contemporary bathroom suites. The accommodation is set over three floors comprising: entrance hall opening to an impressive kitchen/breakfast room and spacious sitting/dining room leading to a study. The first and second floors offer six double bedrooms, four of which have en suite facilities, family bathroom, home gym and ample storage space. Gravelled carriage driveway and double cart lodge with adjoining store. The gardens are laid to lawn with natural stone paved terraces and pond. In addition, there is an option to purchase the adjoining paddocks by separate negotiation. Contact: Bruce King / Saffron Walden Office: 01799 523656 / bruce.king@cheffins.co.uk
Rock Road, Cambridge – Station 1 Mile
£980,000
An immaculately presented and extended bay fronted Victorian semi-detached residence, located within this most popular and convenient south city location within walking distance of the railway station, close to a variety of local amenities, local bus routes, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, a range of schools and the city centre. Accommodation comprising: entrance and reception halls, living/dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, cloakroom. First floor: 3 bedrooms, bathroom. Second floor: bedroom, shower room. Outside: front garden with driveway, enclosed rear and side gardens. Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk
Passionate about property since 1825
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cheffins.co.uk
Great Chesterford – Station 0.5 Miles
UNRIVALLED COVERAGE AROUND CAMBRIDGE
ÂŁ1,650,000
An important and most impressive detached period residence of considerable character together with a self-contained one bedroom cottage and outbuildings including garaging and stables, occupying a wonderful position in a conservation area right in the heart of this highly sought after and most desirable village with its own mainline railway station. Accommodation comprising: reception hall, cloaks area/room, drawing room, library, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room with aga and pantry, utility room, study/family room. First floor: bedroom with bathroom and dressing rooms, 5 further bedrooms (1 en suite), bathroom, shower room. Cottage: living room, kitchen/dining room, bedroom, en suite bathroom, mature gardens of about 1.75 acres. Contact: Martin Walshe / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / martin.walshe@cheffins.co.uk
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CAMBRIDGE ELY HAVERHILL NEWMARKET SAFFRON WALDEN LONDON
Little Abington – Station 5 Miles
£2,000,000
A most impressive and substantial detached former vicarage dating from the Queen Anne period, together with attractive converted stables providing self-contained annexe, tennis court, outdoor pool, studio/gym and cart lodge. The property is located in this most delightful and secluded location close to the centre of this award winning, well served village about 10 miles on the south east side of the city with grounds in all extending to about 2.5 acres. Reception hall, cloakroom, drawing room, dining room, sitting room, study, kitchen/breakfast room, former dairy/pantry, boot room, scullery/utility, cellar. On the first floor: 3 bedrooms – one with en suite shower room, toilet, bathroom. Self-contained annexe: bedroom, living room, shower room, kitchen. Outbuildings: gym/studio, sauna, pool house, hot tub. Outside: outoor pool, double cart lodge, tennis court, further landscaped gardens to the rear, with flowers, shrubs and trees. Contact: Richard Freshwater / Cambridge Office: 01223 214214 / richard.freshwater@cheffins.co.uk
Passionate about property since 1825
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DAVID BURR
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Dorset - Nr Wareham Wareham 2 miles. (London/Waterloo 2 hrs 24 mins). Poole 10 Miles. Purbecks and Jurassic Coast close by. Grade II Listed 6 bedroom ‘Arts & Crafts’ principal house in need of updating. Extensive gardens. Pair of single storey cottages (EPC=F). Pasture and woodland. Fishing on the River Piddle. About 152 acres (61.5 ha).
Dorchester 01305 261008 rtaylor@symondsandsampson.co.uk Wimborne 01202 843190 nsheppard@symondsandsampson.co.uk
symondsandsampson.co.uk
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Kensington, W8 ÂŁ4,550,000 Leasehold A beautifully refurbished three bedroom apartment in a superbly located portered mansion block. This wonderful lateral apartment is on the fifth floor of this highly regarded building. Campden Hill Court is a fabulous redbrick mansion block in the heart of Kensington. The flat has an east facing reception room with views over the leafy communal gardens to the east of the block. EPC: E Hamptons Chelsea 020 7717 5431 chelsea@hamptons-int.com
Hove, East Sussex ÂŁ1,400,000 Share of Freehold With almost 3,000 sq. ft. of accommodation over two floors, this impressively large Grade II listed seafront mansion apartment spans the width of two houses. A wide balcony in excess of 50 ft. extends across the entire frontage, affording far reaching, direct sea views. The balcony is accessed from the front rooms through French windows. Hamptons Brighton & Hove 01273803290 hove@hamptons-int.com
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REASON #23
Cancelling our plans, soFull a page client advert to be provided didn’t need to change theirs The difference between them and us, is us. A delayed flight is never great. Especially when it means you’ll arrive at your new property a whisker before midnight, fully loaded with luggage, but no keys, it’s that bit more inconvenient. Fortunately for our clients, where the airline failed, we passed with flying colours – housesitting for the evening until they arrived. Contact us today to find out how we can make a difference to your move. 020 7265 6595 hamptons.co.uk
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