Here’s a list of some useful resources on houses and gardens plus people, places & sites I’ve bumped into.

MAP showing all HHA, NT, EH houses (produced by a walking club)

Professional websites

• Architectural Heritage Fund
• Art Fund (National Art Pass)
• English Heritage
• FAI (Italy’s version of the National Trust)
• Furniture History Society
• Flickr group for gardens/houses
• Georgian Group
• Gresham College architecture lectures
• Historic Houses Association
• HMRC’s list of properties with exempt heritage assets
• Irish Georgian Society
• Institute of Classical Architecture (a US-based society)
• www.invitationtoview.co.uk (South West & East Anglia)
• Landmark Trust
• Landscape Institute
• London Gardens Online (directory of London green spaces)
• National Garden Scheme (yellow book)
• National Trust
• National Trust for Scotland
• National Trust online bibliography (of articles relating to properties)
• National Trust online picture library
• Parks & Gardens UK
• The Royal Horticultural Society (the RHS)
• Royal Institute of British Architects’ summary of British architecture
• SAVE Britain’s Heritage
• V&A Articles
• Victorian Society
• Visit Britain

Books on my shelf

• The Classical Country House by David Watkin
• The Destruction of the Country House, ed. Roy Strong
• English Country House Interiors by Jeremy Musson
• No Voice from the Hall: Early Memories of a Country House Snooper by John Harris
• Some Country Houses and their Owners by James Lees-Milne (short diaries of his visits trying to procure houses for the National Trust)

Blogs & personal websites

HOUSES (interiors & style)

• The Devoted Classicist (blog)
• Chinoiserie Chic (blog)
• Dan DiCamillo’s Companion to British & Irish Country House
• Pegs & ‘Tails (blog showing the making historically faithful furniture)
• Ben Penreath’s Inspiration (blog)
• The Dandy Portraits (blog)
• The Country Seat (blog focusing in topical news re. country houses plus some architectural history)
• Lavenders Blue (blog showing historic properties and related design)
• Tweedland (blog focusing on fashion, interior design, historic interest)
• Lucy Worsley’s personal blog (she’s Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and a some time television presenter)
• Cote de Texas (interior design)
• SHAFE (an undergraduate’s notes on art & architecture)
• British & Irish Stately Homes (blog – lists properties for sale & topical television programmes)

GARDENS

• Been There Done That (ideas for exploring England)
• Federal Twist (prairie-inspired planting by James Golden)
• Garden Visitor UK (more of what I do – a kindred soul – just gardens)
• The Frustrated Gardener
• The Galloping Gardener (pictures of English gardens plus itineraries)
• Garden Visit (garden finder, blog, holidays)
• Garden History Matters (blog about the history of gardening)
• Garden History Girl
• Noel Kingsbury blog & https://www.noelkingsbury.com/

Paints & wallpapers

• Colefax & Fowler – London store – country house wallpapers and fabrics
• de Gournay
• Gracie
• Farrow & Ball – nationwide, posh paints (worth visiting the shop to watch the clients agonise over paint colours: they are expensive and have cornered the market but if budget is a concern, paint something with a sample pot and take it to Dulux for colour matching!)
• Fromental
• Harrods
• Liberty
• Thibaut
• Patrick Baty (professional focusing on historic paint analysis)
• Harlequin (good linen-appearance wallpaper – Sefa range)

Fireplaces

• Jamb
• Chesneys
• Renaissance

Shutters

• http://www.thenewenglandshuttercompany.com/

Furniture making & restoration

• https://www.jonathan-sainsbury.com/
• FURNITURE WAX: https://gilboys.co.uk/| BUY Gilboy’s wax

Wood flooring

• http://walkingonwood.co.uk/ – London
• http://ardernhodges.co.uk/contact.html – London

Lighting & Electrical

• Vaughan
• The Wandsworth Group
• https://www.pooky.com/

LED lights: brightness is rate in lumens – a higher no. gives more light.

• table light: 350-500 lumens
• color temp. is measured in Kelvins – below 3000K = warm white; higher rating is a cooler light

Salvage & Auctions

• Lassco – (Central London)
• Drew Prichard (North Wales)
• Crystal Palace Antiques (London)
• Criterion Auctioneers – Islington & Wandsworth
• Bellmans auctioneers (pieces are often sent here by Central London ‘big name’ auction houses that wouldn’t make the big money to justify a central London sale room)

Other interior products

• Blacks Design  – country house interior pieces (based in Northants)
• Botanicus.org – free downloadable botanic prints (I love a botanical print collection)
• Chelsea Harbour Design Centre

• Ikea hackers – see what you can turn IKEA bits into pending buying the real deal
• Ben Pentreath Ltd, London store with blog
• Horchow (US-based store but I wish it existed in the UK)
• http://www.stencil-library.com – wall stencils
• http://www.purlfrost.com/ – window film

DOOR FURNITURE

• http://www.thedoorknockercompany.co.uk/
• https://www.willowandstone.co.uk/
• http://www.broughtons.com/store/
• https://www.worldofbrass.co.uk/

FLOORING & DECKING & TIMBER

• https://www.havwoods.co.uk/
• http://www.championtimber.com/

RENDERS / WALL FINISHES

• http://www.jubrenders.co.uk/

---

GARDEN CENTRES & NURSERIES

These are a few that I’ve visited and would happily go back to (a work in progress).

• Crews Hill (and in particular, The Gardening Club) – North London (nr Enfield)
• Castle Howard Garden Centre (North Yorkshire) – next door to Castle Howard
• Dorney Court Walled Garden (nr Windsor, Berkshire) – Dorney Court itself is also open May/June
• King John’s Nursery (Kent) -nr Pashley Manor Gardens – there is also a show garden and historic house (extra cost)
• Merriments (Kent) – nr Pashley Manor Gardens – there is also a show garden (extra cost)
• The Walled Nursery (Kent)

Plants online

• Crocus.co.uk
• Hopleys.co.uk
• Kelways.co.uk
• Tendercare.co.uk – mature & specimen trees & shrubs
• http://www.hedgeworx.co.uk/ – hedging & topiary, including pleached trees
• http://www.majestictrees.co.uk/
• http://hlplantcentre.co.uk/
• https://www.paramountplants.co.uk/ – mature trees & shrubs

Landscaping & pots

• http://www.ashfieldgroup.com/ – stone
• http://www.ateliervierkant.com/ – pots
• https://www.londonstone.co.uk/

Garden designing

• http://marcusbarnett.com/
• http://www.theoutdoorroom.co.uk/
• https://rosebanklandscaping.co.uk/ – Matt Keightley’s practice

Green walls

• https://www.vistagreen.com/ – artificial green walls

---

Design schools & interior designers

• Inchbald School of Design, London
• Mrs Monro
• Max Rollitt

 

---

Overseas art/language/cooking courses

Florence

Art

• Accademia D’Art
• Florence Academy of Art
• Charles H Cecil Studios
• Leonardo da Vinci Art School (art, cookery, language)
• http://www.mamaflorence.com/en/ – cookery