The hallway
Most modern home dwellers have to make do with a narrow hallway. But in the words of Oscar Wilde, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression', which is why no great English country house would be without a grand entrance hall. It is a chance to immediately impress and sets the tone for the rest of the house.
Historically, the entrance hall would be a place of social mingling among the classes - tenants might be received here and the space would be shared by staff and family alike. Because the footfall would be busier in the hall than in any other part of the house, it made sense to have hard surfaces that could be cleaned easily, stone floors that could be swept and washed, and little or no upholstery.
The guest loo
The downstairs loo of a country house can range from relatively small and intimate to something with the footprint of an entire ground floor in a new-build, two-bed semi. Size aside, the downstairs loo is usually the most highly decorated room in the house. The walls are often a shrine to family history (animals and people) and smothered in school photos, army commissions, family trees, team insignia and hunting, fishing and shooting mementos.
The drinks table
A lavishly stocked and elegantly laid-out drinks table is the one piece of furniture that no drawing room in a rural residence should be without. The hospitable host aims to provide the widest spectrum of spirits, mixers and bitters. Because sometimes, even in the comfortable confines of the English country house, a stiff snifter is called for.
The four-poster bed
Non-aficionados are often puzzled as to the point of a four-poster bed, but they are considered essential to the country house and you will often find them crammed into tiny cottage guest bedrooms, as well as in the main bedrooms of the stateliest of homes. Their enduring appeal is now largely historical - having originated in the Middle Ages, they ensured privacy in an era when servants slept on mats next to the bed, warmth in what were poorly heated houses and, before eaves were closed and windows glazed, the canopies would protect the occupants from bird droppings. Nowadays, their protection is rather more symbolic, but there is no doubting the sense of peace and security they provide.
The library
'Bookshelf wealth' may be a new TikTok term, but all English country-house libraries subscribe to writer Anthony Powell's maxim that 'books do furnish a room'. They bring warmth, depth, colour and texture to a space. And that's just in terms of decoration.
The dining room
In a world that has almost universally embraced eat-in kitchens and open-plan living, the English country house is one of the last bastions of the formal dining room. Whether vast in scale with many-leafed tables that can seat 24 (or more), or an intimate space for dinner parties of six, a room dedicated to dining is where the English country set likes to eat. Dining rooms are usually dominated by decorative furniture, candlelight, rich colour schemes and luxurious wallpaper.
This is an edited extract from English Country House Style by Milo and Katy Campbell (Abrams, £40).