Ships of Heaven: The Private Life of Britain's Cathedrals (UK Edition)

'Somerville is one of our finest gazetteers of theBritish countryside. He brings his formidable knowledge to bear onhis personal quest to explore the cathedrals in this entrancingbook'The SpectatorChristopher Somerville, author of the acclaimed The JanuaryMan, pictured cathedrals as great unmoving bastions oftradition. But as he journeys among Britain's favourites, old andnew, he discovers buildings and communities that have been inconstant upheaval for a thousand years. Here are stories of themonarchs and bishops who ordered the construction of thesebuildings, the masons whose genius brought them into being, and thepeasants who worked and died on the scaffolding. We learn of roguesaints exploited by holy sinners, the pomp and prosperity thatfollowed these ships of stone, the towns that grew up in theirshadows.Meeting believers and non-believers, architects andarchaeologists, the cleaner who dusts the monuments and the masonwho judges stone by its taste, we delve deep into the private livesand the uncertain future of these ever-voyaging Ships ofHeaven.'Somerville paints word pictures of exquisitequality'Church Times