14 h. ago JD Vance 'circus' moves to Ayrshire:  Luxury estate swarms with secret service agents as US Vice President kicks off Scottish leg of holiday with golf on Donald Trump's course

US Vice President JD Vance is believed to be staying on a luxury estate in Ayrshire, the area he says his ancestors left in the 17th century to help found the USA.

Politics

20 h. ago Sticky end? The British pudding faces extinction, English Heritage warns

Not just boiled or steamed desserts in danger, charity finds, households also rarely make fruit pies and crumblesAt the end of the 17th century a French travel writer who crossed the Channel was clearly impressed by the sweet, comforting treats offered to him, declaring with relish: “Ah! What an excellent thing is an English pudding!”More than three centuries on, English Heritage has sounded the alarm that the good old British pudding is facing extinction. Continue reading...

Events

25 h. ago Heatwave reveals 'ghost' buildings at historic properties: Parch marks of long lost hall and buried wall show up in grounds of abbey and manor house

The marks in the grounds of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire and Mottisfont in Hampshire give a view of both the foundations of a lost hall and the remains of walls.

Society

3 d. ago JD Vance's Beast of the Cotswolds: Countryside in lockdown as US Vice President arrives in tiny hamlet with Secret Service convoy amid huge security operation

Police have closed off all roads and paths leading to the hamlet of Dean, where the US Vice President is staying with his family at Dean Manor, an 18th-century country house.

Politics

3 d. ago Cotswolds in lockdown as JD Vance's holiday begins: Vice President arrives in tiny hamlet amid huge security operation after enjoying private tour of Hampton Court Palace

Police have closed off all roads and paths leading to the hamlet of Dean, where the US Vice President is staying with his family at Dean Manor, an 18th-century country house.

Events

3 d. ago 17th century manor house on sale for £150k but there's a catch

The Grade II-listed property has six bedrooms

Economics

4 d. ago Ab Fab and Bottom stars Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson face fresh planning battle over £250k extension to their £2m Dartmoor home

The Absolutely Fabulous and Bottom stars are planning to move to their £2million country manor house in Dartmoor National Park full time as they scale down their work commitments in London.

Events

5 d. ago 'Sorry for the circus!' Owner of the manor house in the 'Hamptons of the UK' apologises to neighbours over JD Vance's stay

As part of his 'MAGA summer' holiday, the US vice-president is set to make a visit to the Grade II-listed property, accompanied by his wife Usha and children Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

Politics

5 d. ago Six killed and dozens wounded by Israeli army while collecting aid, says Gaza civil defence – Middle East crisis live

Israeli troops reported to have targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central GazaThe US and UK have “disagreements” on Gaza including over whether to recognise a Palestinian state, JD Vance has suggested as he arrived in England for his summer holiday.The US vice-president was speaking before a bilateral meeting with David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, at his 17th-century grace-and-favour country house, Chevening. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Historic church with pulpit and stained glass windows on sale for £150k as 'family home'

The Roxburgh Church in Kelso, Scotland, is said to be a 'wonderful find for those ready to start their renovation journey' with plans to transform it into a family home

Economics

6 d. ago 17th century church with stunning stained glass on sale for £150k as family home

The 1752-constructed church, situated in a cemetery, has been listed for sale at £150,000 with planning permission to convert it into a family home

Economics

8 d. ago Historic house that instills the 'Golden Age of Leith' comes onto market for £3.75m

Lamb’s House takes us back to 17th Century Leith when the harbour boomed with merchants and trade.

Economics

8 d. ago Historic house that instils the 'Golden Age of Leith' comes onto market for £3.75m

Lamb’s House takes us back to 17th Century Leith when the harbour boomed with merchants and trade.

Economics

1 week ago The Confessions of Samuel Pepys by Guy de la Bédoyère review – sex and the city

Newly decoded extracts from his diaries expose the celebrated 17th-century diarist and naval administrator as a rapacious sexual predatorSamuel Pepys’s diary, which covers 1660 to 1669, is regarded as one of the great classic texts in the English language. Words spill out of Pepys – 1.25m of them – as he bustles around London, building a successful career as a naval administrator while navigating the double trauma of the plague and the Great Fire of London. Historians have long gone to the diary for details of middle-class life during the mid‑17th century: the seamy streets, the watermen, the taverns and, as Pepys moves up the greasy pole, the court and the king. Best of all is his eye for the picturesque detail: the way, for instance, on the morning of 4 September 1666, as fire licks around his house, Pepys buries a choice parmesan cheese in the garden with the intention of keeping it safe.Not all of the diary is in English, though. Quite a lot of it is in French (or rather Frangla...

Politics

1 week ago The Confessions of Samuel Pepys by Guy de la Bédoyère review – journal of a predator

Newly decoded extracts expose the celebrated 17th-century diarist and naval administrator as a rapacious abuserSamuel Pepys’s diary, which covers 1660 to 1669, is regarded as one of the great classic texts in the English language. Words spill out of Pepys – 1.25m of them – as he bustles around London, building a successful career as a naval administrator while navigating the double trauma of the plague and the Great Fire of London. Historians have long gone to the diary for details of middle-class life during the mid‑17th century: the seamy streets, the watermen, the taverns and, as Pepys moves up the greasy pole, the court and the king. Best of all is his eye for the picturesque detail: the way, for instance, on the morning of 4 September 1666, as fire licks around his house, Pepys buries a choice parmesan cheese in the garden with the intention of keeping it safe.Not all of the diary is in English, though. Quite a lot of it is in French (or rather Franglais), Latin, Spanish and a ...

Politics