There are forty-eight Anglican cathedrals in England and Wales. Some of them are ancient places of worship, rich in history and of grand proportions; others are more recent structures of the best contemporary craftsmanship. Visitors to these fine places are note always aware of the unique aspects so many of them possess, or of the centuries of creative building that they represent, and this book introduces the reader to the rich inheritance to be found.
There are chapters on the major cathedral-building periods and descriptions of all forty-eight English and Welsh Anglican cathedrals. These comprise brief tours highlighting major features, guiding the reader through the building with the aid of a sketch plan. Roman Catholic cathedrals are also briefly described, but those of Westminster and Liverpool are more fully covered. The author gives brief descriptions of the ancient Scottish cathedrals, now mainly ruinous, and lists the cathedrals of the Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches in Scotland.
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. What is a cathedral?
3. It was not built in a day
4. Plain and simple: Saxon Romanesque architecture
5. Strength and fortitude: Norma architecture
6. Grace and elegance: Early English Gothic
7. Enrichment and splendor: Mid-Gothic or decorated
8. Space and light: Late Gothic - the Perpendicular style
9. Ruin and renewal: From the Renaissance to the Gothic Revival
10. The twentieth century
11. Glass, stone and wood
12. Anglican cathedrals of England and Wales
13. Roman Catholic cathedrals of England and Wales
14. Cathedrals of Scotland
15. Further reading
Index
