What’s in this issue?

This month, we shine a spotlight on Yorkshire’s Castle Howard, which has been undergoing a major restoration, particularly to its Tapestry Drawing Room, an 18th century room that was lost to a fire in 1940.

The project is part of a broader refurbishment labelled ‘Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance’, which aims to re-present their collections, expand historical narratives, and explain the realities of preserving a heritage property today, while also allowing the house to evolve. Judges at the Historic Houses Restoration Awards were particularly impressed by the blend of traditional heritage skills, including plastering, joinery and painting, allied to the sympathetic introduction of modern utilities.

At the opposite end of the scale, we have a rather charming focus on a slightly more realisable dream – living in a cottage. They may have begun as rather prosaic workers’ houses, but the cottage, complete with its eponymous garden, has become something of a rural idyll. In our feature on pages 92-97, we look at the history of this quintessentially British dwelling, its changing design, and some of its most famous residents.

Finally, this month, with the Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, we’ve got an exclusive interview with former jockey and the first woman ever to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National - Rachael Blackmore.