Finding a weekend date that 14 friends can all make is tricky enough; finding a house that meets everyone’s requirements is even harder. Salvation arrived in the form of Cothelstone Manor: a magnificent Grade II Elizabethan house beautifully situated on the southern slopes of the Quantock Hills in Somerset. It…
The Great Exhibition of 1851 saw a dazzling variety of inventions shown to the public for the first time, from flushing toilets and waterproof watches to Samuel Colt’s Navy revolver. But one particular brainchild has brought more amusement than most and is still very much part of a British summer:…
Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, was born in 1857. He was the second son of Colonel Henry Lowther and Emily Caulfeild, who was the daughter of St George Caulfeild of Donamon Castle in Roscommon, Ireland. In 1872 the Colonel inherited the earldom from his uncle and with it 100,000…
The ancestral roots of the world’s most popular pedigree dog, the labrador, may have come to us via the Atlantic but it’s the most British of animals, despite its name. And that name is misleading. If you believe the historians, the first labradors came from Newfoundland, though quite how they…
The top 7 best summer game recipes bring together The Field’s favourite seasonal suppers. If you think that game can only be enjoyed on a cold winter’s night by the Aga, then think again. These gamey recipes are best barbecued or packed in a picnic hamper. And the top 7…
When David Ross celebrated a recent milestone birthday, he asked friends whether they could give him trees as presents. “I’m obsessed by them,” says the landowner, entrepreneur and philanthropist. “I love seeing them grow; it gives me a real sense of excitement – even though it’s a slow process.” Some…
Several British cheesemakers now produce excellent cheeses in the halloumi style, including Yorkshire Dama’s squeaky goat’s cheese and Book & Bucket’s Huxley. The combination of garlicky pheasant, milky squeaky cheese, spicy chilli and sweet honey goes exceptionally well. Grilled pheasant with British halloumi-style cheese, honey, walnut and chilli salad Marinade…
Beetroot, Stichelton and caraway quiche Pastry 300g plain flour 2 tbsp caraway seeds 150g cold salted butter, coarsely grated 1 egg yolk 3-5 tbsp iced water Filling 400g cooked peeled beetroot, thinly sliced 200g Stichelton or another good British blue cheese 20g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped 300ml double cream 300ml…
The annual gathering of the fieldsports world has arrived once again. The stage is set, and from 24-26 July tens of thousands of rural sorts will descend on the Capability Brown-designed parkland of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire to celebrate everything great about the countryside. First held in 1958, The Game…
Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown (1919-2016) Born in Leith, ‘Winkle’ (on account of his diminutive stature) Brown’s passion for aviation was cemented at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin when a chance meeting with First World War flying aces Hermann Göring and Ernst Udet led to the latter taking the young Brown…
