The Country House Podcast
Hancock Productions
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About This Podcast
"If these walls could talk..." | Please join us as we discuss all things country houses. These are far more than mere bricks and mortar; they are family homes - living, breathing, changing and adapting over time. On The Country House Podcast we explore everything from their architectural history, gardens and collections to the lives of those who have lived and worked in them.
The goal of our platform remains true to its founding principles. We hope to inform people on a subject we are knowledgeable about, while proving that architectural and art history are accessible and engaging for everyone and can be enjoyed by all of us, whatever background or demographic we come from!
Country houses bring these subjects to life - their architecture encapsulates the progress of nations through the centuries, their collections speak of changing tastes, and their social histories include the lives of many great and powerful figures (and occasionally some rather unsavoury ones!) Country houses are not only beautiful buildings, but also important historical monuments and essential aspects of our respective national identities.
If you enjoy tuning in, please consider supporting us by joining one of our membership tiers on our Patreon page - we love getting to know members of our community. Please also like, share and comment as you see fit.
Love Geoff & Rory x
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Recent Episodes
Sissinghurst | A Wound Dressed in Wisteria
In April 1930, a young socialite - cheated of her inheritance by the laws of primogeniture - walked into a Kentish ruin; no electricity, no drains, a farmyard of "squalor and slovenly disorder"...…
Bournville | The Chocolate Box Utopia
In this episode we travel to Bournville, the extraordinary model village laid out by George Cadbury on the southern fringe of Birmingham. Part garden suburb, part moral experiment, Bournville married…
The quiet genius of Rousham
Some gardens demand attention. Rousham simply holds it. Tucked into the Oxfordshire countryside, this is a place where design and landscape speak in the same breath - where structure yields to…
Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough
From the marble corridors of Newport to the draughty majesty of Blenheim Palace, Consuelo Vanderbilt was the ultimate 'Dollar Princess' - a woman who was traded in by her parents for a title she…
Knowsley Hall Pt. II | With the Earl of Derby
In this second instalment with our special guest, Teddy, the 19th Earl of Derby, we are guided through the magnificent state rooms of Knowsley Hall, the Derby's privately owned stately home that sits…
Knowsley Hall Pt. I | With the Earl of Derby
Join us for an exclusive 3-part series with the Earl and Countess of Derby at the extraordinary Knowsley Hall!In this episode, we peel back the layers of the Stanley dynasty - a family that turned…
Almshouses | Architecture for the soul | Ep. 103
In this episode, we explore how guilt-ridden medieval merchants and eccentric Victorian philanthropists built almshouses - so-called 'hospitals of the soul.' We deconstruct the classic almshouse form…
Big Ben: At the stroke of midnight... | An Architectural Icon | Ep. 102
As the resonant peals of the Great Bell usher in the New Year, we turn our eyes to the Elizabeth Tower; the neo-gothic sentinel that is universally - if erroneously - known as 'Big Ben'!In this New…
The parish church | A Christmas special | Ep. 101
We are delighted to be joined in this week's 'Christmas special' by historian Daniel Wilson - known for his brilliant social media platform 'Daniel's Historic Architecture'…
Where palatial homes & politics meet | Helena Rees-Mogg & the Fitzwilliam family | Ep. 100
On this week's podcast episode, we are delighted to be joined by Helena, Lady Rees-Mogg. This marks the first time Lady Rees-Mogg has ever appeared on a podcast, and the first time she has spoken…
Heists & heavenly frescoes | Galerie d'Apollon at Le Palais du Louvre | Ep. 99
In this timely episode, Rory steps into the shoes of Inspector Clouseau to give Geoff - and you - a tour of the Galerie d'Apollon; the scene of the crime for the latest Louvre heist in which eight…
The poet & the house that inspired an empire | Kipling & Bateman's | Ep. 98
In this Remembrance Day special, we step through the doors of Bateman’s, the 17th-century Jacobean house that became both a refuge and a muse for imperial poet, journalist and writer, Rudyard…
An unexpected inheritance: Robert Parker & Browsholme Hall | Ep. 97
In this episode - the final part in our series on the shortlisted candidates for the HHA Collections Award (sponsored by Dreweatts) - we travel to the heart of the Forest of Bowland to…
If walls could talk: Jane Austen & Chawton House | Ep. 96
Many country houses claim to be the inspiration for Pemberley, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, but few houses have such tangible links to Jane Austen as Chawton House in Hampshire.On this week's…
Fairfax House: The finest Georgian townhouse in England? | Ep. 95
What happens when the last in a line of viscounts has only one child - a daughter - but the family's ancestral seat is entailed to the male line (meaning it'll go to a distant cousin)? This was the…
Burton Constable Hall & its 'Cabinet of Curiosities' | Ep. 94
A Cabinet of curiosity (also known as a wonder-room) is an encyclopaedic collection of objects assembled in post-Enlightenment Europe by noblemen, landowners and merchants who were fascinated by…
Scone Palace with Viscount Stormont: The crowning place of Scottish kings | Ep. 93
Over the next five weeks, we will be exploring the history and collections of the five shortlisted candidates for this year's Historic Houses Association Collections Award (sponsored by Dreweatts).…
Painting Houses: Rory's Watercolour Portraits | Ep. 92
The challenge for all portraitists is in painting not only what they see but in trying to distil and capture the essence or spirit of their subject in oil, ink or watercolour. This challenge applies…
Somerleyton Hall with Lord & Lady Somerleyton | Ep. 91
This week Geoff 'goes it alone' (Rory's on holiday) and visits Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk, where he's joined on the podcast by Hugh and Lara Crossley, Lord and Lady Somerleyton. The seat of the…
Highland Retreats | The storied history of Scotland's shooting lodges with Mary Miers | Ep. 90
The shooting lodges of the Scottish Highlands have beguiled and entranced people from all walks of life for generations. But beyond the romantic facade - the magnificent architecture and breathtaking…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Country House Podcast has published 121 episodes since November 2023, covering topics in History, Home & Garden.
The Country House Podcast is currently sporadic with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 47m.
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