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The Cathedrals of England
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor's The Cathedrals of England is one of the most companionable introductions to England's greatest buildings—a survey, in the Thames & Hudson World of Art series, that walks the reader through nine centuries from the Norman piers of Durham to the twentieth-century concrete of Liverpool. Clifton-Taylor, a broadcaster and architectural historian ranked with Pevsner and Betjeman among the great interpreters of English building, wrote with an unusual gift for making stone speak: he explains not just styles and dates but why a nave feels as it does, what to look for, and how to see. Richly illustrated and organized as an accessible guide to the cathedrals themselves, it is equally at home on the shelf and in the bag on a visit. For anyone drawn to Gothic architecture, church history, or simply the pleasures of looking, it remains a warm and authoritative starting point.
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The author
Alec Clifton-Taylor (1907–1985) was an English architectural historian, writer, and much-loved television broadcaster whose The Pattern of English Building and BBC series made him one of the great popular interpreters of England's built heritage—mentioned in the same breath as Nikolaus Pevsner and John Betjeman.
The book
Part of Thames & Hudson's World of Art series, The Cathedrals of England traces the development of cathedral design from its Norman beginnings through the flowering of Gothic to the twentieth century, illustrated with more than two hundred photographs. It works both as a history and as a practical guide to the individual buildings.
How it has aged
Very gracefully. Styles of scholarship change, but Clifton-Taylor's eye for materials and his knack for teaching the reader how to look keep the book fresh; it is still widely recommended to visitors and students.
For more context
Read alongside his The Pattern of English Building and Pevsner's Buildings of England volumes.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Alec Clifton-Taylor
- Publisher
- Thames & Hudson
- Year
- 1967
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Art
- Location
- Maine