Would I like to spend 11 months visiting 30 cathedrals across the UK and write 4 books about them?
Ever since I moved to the UK at the start of the millennium, I have been fascinated by cathedrals. The power, the glory and the majesty of them. Their sheer size and bulk. Their unbroken link with the past, back to the Middle Ages and Roman times and, even before that, to Pagan times and prehistory when the sites of today’s magnificent buildings were shrines and places of ritual.
Cathedrals are the oldest buildings in continuous use in their communities. They are a living link with our ancient past and with the lives of the people who have gone before us. But most of all, they are filled with stories. And it was mainly those stories that fascinated me.
So, getting a commission to write about 30 of the greatest cathedrals in Britain in a series of four books was my dream job. I didn’t even care when my arthritic hip packed up two weeks before I was due to start which meant I had to do the journey on crutches.
Starting in Scotland and the north of England, one of the main seats of ecclesiastical power in the country (Book 1), I travelled south as far the coast and the only cathedral that can be seen from the sea (Book 2). I went right through the centre of the country, to some of the most famous cathedrals of all (Book 3), and finished up heading west, all the way into Wales and the smallest cathedral in the UK (Book 4).
As well as the cathedrals, I wrote about the cities that grew up around them, unravelling history and finding out what makes them great today. It was a fantastic project to work on – even on crutches.
I visited Ely Cathedral early in 2017. While I was there, I saw a touring exhibition by photographer Peter Marlow called ‘The English Cathedral’. These photographs of the naves of 42 cathedrals of the Church of England were all shot from the same position, looking east towards the altar, as dawn broke through the main window.
Sadly, Peter had died the year before, following complications from an illness, but before he died had published a book of his cathedral photographs, writing in the introduction: ‘How many times a year do you wake up excited by what is going to happen that day? I felt that way on my cathedral days.’
And, as I got up in the morning on my own ‘cathedral days’, I felt it too. Excited to find out more about the stories that have shaped these mighty buildings and their mixed and sometimes magical, often bloody, histories. Excited to explore the cathedral cities. And to go on a magical journey.
Book 1: Cathedrals of Britain: North of England and Scotland
Book 2: Cathedrals of Britain: London and the South East
Book 3: Cathedrals of Britain: West, South West and Wales
Book 4: Cathedrals of Britain: East and Central
Top cathedral cities of Britain
It’s the site of one of the most famous murders in English history and the destination for Chaucer’s classic tales. The original Canterbury cathedral is oldest cathedral in England and its contemporary foundation marks the Christian conversion of a large part of the country. It’s the Mother Church, not only of all England but of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the seat of the most powerful archbishop in the country. Read more
York
York Minster is one of the biggest Medieval Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe and holds half of all the Medieval stained-glass in England. It costs £20,000 a day to run and employs a full-time staff of 200, including thirty permanent glaziers and stonemasons, as well as 500 volunteers. The city of York began life as a Roman garrison, used by Hadrian as the base for his northern campaign. It later became the Viking capital of Britain for a hundred years and the name ‘York’ is derived from its Viking name ‘Jorvik’. Read more
Durham
Durham Cathedral was founded in 1093 when the Byzantine empire was in its heyday, the Nubian kingdom was at the peak of its power and Vikings were still roaming Europe. Several centuries later its soaring architecture remains, in the words of Sir Walter Scott, ‘Half church of God, half castle ‘gainst the Scot’. The mighty Romanesque building still dominates the Durham city landscape; next door the 11th century Durham Castle forms part of the halls of residence for Durham university. Read more
Ripon
Ripon cathedral may hold the body of one of the greatest early saints of England and might just have provided the inspiration for one of the best-known books in the English language. Steeped in history, the 7th-century crypt at Ripon dates from 672 and predates every cathedral in the country. The city of Ripon has its own ancient historical traditions; every night at 9pm a horn-blower sounds his horn at each corner of the obelisk in the square to set the night watch, a ritual that dates back over a thousand years. Read more
St Giles, Edinburgh
A place of worship for nearly 900 years, St Giles Cathedral has played a tumultuous part in Scottish history and has been a legendary scene of revolts and reconciliations. Today, as well as being Edinburgh’s chief seat of worship and a spiritual centre for the community, it holds a special place within its walls for royalty. And dogs. Meanwhile Edinburgh city is brimming with history and culture – and just a short journey from the sea. Read on
The Cathedrals of Britain series by Bernadette Fallon is published by Pen and Sword books, £12.99, buy online here