Cathedrals of the Church of England: Director's Choice

A cathedral is the mother church of a diocese, the seat of a bishop. Together, the 42 English cathedrals of the Church of England constitute one of the world’s great achievements in architecture.

My new book features the history, architecture and treasures of each cathedral, including six original version of Magna Carta. The reader is brought up to date with life and events in the cathedrals today, most recently the re-interment of King Richard III in Leicester cathedral.
Supported by the Cathedrals Team—Becky Clark, Anne Locke and Rhiannon Wicks—it has been a great privilege for me to visit each of the Church of England’s cathedrals over the last twelve months.

I’ve criss-crossed England by train (including Settle to Carlisle in the snow), and visited with the family and dog, and soon I will cycle at least one of the legs on ChurchCare’s new cathedrals cycle route. Always chapter staff and volunteers have been welcoming and informative. There have been huge thrills—I’ve been upfront with the eighth-century St Chad Gospels and Lichfield Angel—and moments of contemplation, and best of all has been attending Sung Eucharist and Evening Prayer with the cathedral communities. Everywhere I’ve been struck by the huge amount of activity and energy in our cathedrals today.

I hope this small, portable book, illustrated with eye-catching photographs and a bite-sized introduction to each of our cathedrals, will inspire you to visit too.

– JANET GOUGH