Mansions

The British gardener making an impression on Monet’s lily pads… By Jane Fryer Last updated at 2:18 AM on 14th May 2011 Even before James Priest unlocks the green-painted side gate in the ancient stone wall and ushers us through, the rich smell of honeysuckle, sweet jasmine, dusky pink roses and rhododendrons is wafting our … Continue reading »

A drawing by the French architect and theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc depicts “The First Building”. It is the archetypal romantic image of a house in a primitive paradise. Slender saplings still growing from the ground are seen tied together to create a framework, while Rousseau-esque noble savages begin to clad the structure in what looks like … Continue reading »

13 May 2011 Last updated at 20:00 ET By Jon Manel BBC Radio 4 The government has, until recently, kept the contents of its wine cellar a secret. A rare tour reveals some vintage treasures. It lies beneath a grand London mansion, owned by the Queen and leased to the government. It contains around 39,000 … Continue reading »

WHITTIER – A week after officials celebrated the 210th birthday of Pio Pico, the park bearing the name of the last California governor under Mexican rule, is on the list of state park closures. California State Parks announced Friday a plan to close up to 70 of its 278 parks due to budget cuts. The … Continue reading »

ALBANY — The Capital Region’s hills, hollows and flats will be alive with the sounds of the past this weekend: the clang of a steel hammer on an anvil, the trill of a fife and the bleats of sheep being sheared. The rich history of the area will be celebrated at multiple historic sites as … Continue reading »

The sprawling property and farmland features five houses, two swimming pools, a tennis court, polo field and clubhouse, and a chapel / Supplied Source: Supplied FOR a bargain buy it carries quite a knockout tag but fallen tycoon Ric Stowe’s $50m Bullsbrook estate is still likely to sell at auction tomorrow. The country’s most lavish … Continue reading »

where was Alexis’s studio? I’ve put that address on IMDB but I’ve made a mistake. It’s actually 1441 North Angelo Drive. Famous as “the enchanted hill”, it was the property of the actress/screenwriter Frances Marion and husband, silent screen star Fred Thomson. It was torn down in 2000 by Paul Allen (former chairman of Microsoft). … Continue reading »

Locals call it the Band-Aid house. But the Fern Hall Inn is about as sturdy as they come. The elegant and richly historic stone mansion, located on 117 acres at Crystal Lake in Clifford Twp., has to be among the architectural jewels of Northeast Pennsylvania, one with a highly impressive pedigree. Fern Hall was built … Continue reading »

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum will celebrate Bronx Week’s Environmental Day on Saturday, May 21 with two outdoor events: their annual Bike Tour and an Owl Meet and Greet. Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum’s annual Bike Tour will focus on horticulture with visits to private gardens on City Island and public gardens in Pelham Bay Park. Park horticulturalist Scott … Continue reading »

Through a good part of the fall and all winter, skilled builders from RC Legnini Building Contractors, the firm responsible for renovating the interior at Boyds in Rittenhouse, have been working to restore and modernize the interior at Smith Memorial Playhouse in Fairmount Park. The mansion, built in 1899 and designed by Philadelphia architect James … Continue reading »