The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture — Story, Setting & Ideas

A Restorer's Dilemma

Ditchfield repeatedly confronts the problem of restoration. At Lichfield, he notes that Wyatt's work and the use of Roman cement had to be overcome by Scott, who 'endeavoured to imitate the ancient sculpture and stone-work.' The author is cautious in judgment: though Scott's work was 'severely criticised,' Ditchfield reminds readers that the Gothic revival had not reached its highest development in 1856. He is similarly measured elsewhere, recording what was lost and what was spared. This thread gives the book a critical edge, as the author weighs the intentions of restorers against the survival of original fabric.

The Language of Stone and Ornament

Ditchfield's descriptions rely on precise architectural terminology: arcades, canopies, ball-flower ornament, Perpendicular style. He often notes the material—Lichfield's red sandstone, for instance—and the effects of time. The west front of Lichfield is described in three stages, with the lowest covered by 'a rich arcade of brackets and canopies and statues.' The author also points to iconographic programmes, as in the north-west doorway where figures represent the genealogy of Christ. These details are not merely catalogued; they are situated in the building's chronology, showing how styles evolved and how later additions altered the original design.

Pace and Compression in the Cathedral Tour

The book's structure imposes a brisk pace. Each cathedral receives a few pages, and the author moves from history to exterior to interior without lingering. Yet within this compressed format, Ditchfield varies his tempo. At Lichfield, he devotes space to the west front and its statues, enumerating figures on the north and south sides. Elsewhere, he may race through a building in a single paragraph. The effect is that of a guided tour where the guide pauses at notable features but does not let the party dawdle. Readers interested in a particular cathedral will find the essential facts; those reading straight through will sense the rhythm of a country surveyed in systematic order.

This edition preserves the original 1902 text and illustrations. Readers should treat the building dates and dimensions as a starting point for further research, and note that Ditchfield's judgments on restorations reflect late-Victorian attitudes. The book is best used as a companion to visiting the cathedrals themselves, or as a reference for tracing the architectural history of a single see. The author's own advice—to 'read aright the architectural history of our great churches'—remains sound.

Leafing through the cathedral guide, I paused on a weathered stone carving, and it brought to mind the quiet pigments in The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 2 (of 6) From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century — Background and Themes. Both speak of time’s gentle erosion, how faith and beauty bear the mark of passing centuries, yet somehow endure. A shared, quiet patience.