Reviewer: Michael Keith
Title: Cathedrals of Britain: North of England & Scotland
Editor: Bernadette Fallon
No. of Pages: 122
Rating Scale (1: very poor, 10: excellent): 8
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In her introduction to this volume, the author observes that ‘Cathedrals provide a continuous link to the living past…They are places of worship and prayer…but also…they are places to stand and stare and marvel’. It is a fair assessment of the book’s content.
An Acknowledgments section is placed after the Contents page. In it the author thanks ‘…Everybody who generously gave their time, experience and support to this book’, before listing the individuals and organisations who contributed to the volume. An eight-page Introduction follows. This provides historical and ecclesiastical background to the material contained within the eight Chapters which form the majority of the volume. Each Chapter focuses on one specific cathedral. Within the specific Chapter, subheadings are used to provide details about the specific structure and to highlight various little ‘oddities’ which are unique to the edifice. Although the volume is nominally about a specific structure, at the end of each chapter a ‘…Where to go and what to do’ section appears. This provides additional information about the surrounding district and of any attractions which might be of interest to a visitor. A Glossary placed after the last Chapter (Number Eight: Aberdeen) clarifies the various ecclesiastical, architectural and historical terms which appear within the volume. It is in turn followed by a section titled Further Reading. In the absence of a designated Bibliography, this appears to function in that role. An Index completes the volume. Black and White photographs from a variety of sources are used to illustrate salient points within each Chapter. The Contents page and the Index carry no acknowledgement of their existence. The volume contains no Maps, a detail which could reduce its value to intending ‘Day Trippers’ and to international visitors unfamiliar with both British geography and public transport systems. Although the volume contains numerous Quotes (that by George Cavendish on page 65 being but one example), these are not referenced, reducing the volume’s value as an historical source.
The author concludes her Introduction to this work with the words ‘Let us take you on a marvellous journey…’ As an invitation it has no peer and (the previously-noted ‘faults’ notwithstanding), for this reviewer the ‘journey’ was indeed ‘marvellous’. This is a delightful, well-written and easily-readable volume. It is definitely ‘Enjoyable’. For that the author is to be commended.
Due to its subject and the accessibility of the structures discussed within it, this volume should have wide appeal. Despite the lack of maps, the previously-mentioned ‘Day Tripping’ fraternity and international visitors could no doubt find it to be a useful souvenir of a visit or visits that they may have made to any of the Cathedrals that the volume mentions. Some might even care to use it as a ‘guide’ and attempt to ‘collect’ them all. Readers with an interest in ‘British’ architecture in general, and religious structures in particular, may also find it of interest. Readers interested in the more unusual aspects of British architecture and even folk-lore may also find it of interest. Due to the unusual items appearing within its pages, the volume may also be a useful reference book for pub-trivia quizzes. Those seeking a ‘fun’ read on a wet afternoon could also do worse than give this volume their attention.
On a Rating Scale where 1: very poor, 10: excellent: I have given this volume an 8.
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