What's the difference between an abbey, a church, a minster, a priory and a cathedral? The differences are not always clear cut, especially when considering cathedrals. Given the title of this book, need to be a touch pedantic: “other” than what cathedrals? Writes author Paul Jeffery: “Although the word ‘cathedral’ is now generally used for a bishop's church at any stage of its history, it would not have been recognised in Anglo‐Saxon and Norman times. It appeared in the late thirteenth century, although only as an adjective: the term ‘cathedral church’ is still used today. Use as a noun began only in the sixteenth century. Even in the late medieval years and beyond, a building containing a bishop's throne was usually referred to simply as a church. It is only relatively recently that such a church has come almost always to be called a cathedral”. Jeffery continues by itemising the changing “canon” of English cathedrals. From 1133 to 1539, there were 19 cathedrals. Two then ceased, making 17. Seven further were created under Henry VIII, of which five are still cathedrals. Between 1836 and 1927, 20 more diocese were created, for which most an existing church was promoted to cathedral status, but, says Jeffery, only four can be considered “great cathedrals”. The canon of great cathedrals, then, the “other” not covered here, number twenty‐one (it is not clear, though, what status this “canon” has). The term “cathedral”, then, seems is a loose one: it can be a noun or an adjective, and in Chapter 8, we find that “Ultimately a cathedral is a work of art”.
England's Other Cathedrals is more a book of reference than a reference book per se. The latter would have an alphabetical sequence arrangement of entries relating to the individual cathedrals selected, interspersed with entries on relevant ecclesiastical and architectural topics. This work, however, is split into eight chapters, some relating to historical periods, others topic‐based, with a substantial introductory text to each chapter giving historical, political, architectural and liturgical background, followed by a detailed account of a number of selected “cathedrals”. Entries for the 131 buildings selected vary from half a page to three (e.g. Westminster). The work is well illustrated with thirty high‐quality coloured photographs and a liberal sprinkling of good black‐and‐white photographs and engravings throughout the text. The work has an introduction, a glossary, a select bibliography, and an index.
The complexity of the subject is illustrated in the chapter headings. Lost Pre‐Conquest Sees (with 16 examples); Lost Cathedrals of the Later Middle Ages (with ten); New Cathedrals Proposed Under Henry VIII (12); Lost Predecessor Cathedrals (nineteen); Post‐Reformation Anglican (fifteen); Cathedrals of Other Denominations has 22 Roman Catholic cathedrals, twelve Orthodox, and three others (Catholic Apostolic at Bloomsbury, Wesley's Chapel at Finsbury, and the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Mayfair); ten Churches with Cathedral Nicknames; and finally seventeen Other Churches of Cathedral Stature.
Many of the cathedrals selected are ruins, some indeed have disappeared completely; some are large, and some are small. Some are second or third buildings on the same site. Monastic churches, collegiate churches, priories, abbeys and just plain old “churches” are included. There are currently some 45 dioceses in England, each of which will have a “bishop's chair”, a cathedral, and most are here. The chapter featuring churches with cathedral nicknames indicates that the subject has a lighter side: “Cathedral of the Moors” (Altarnun in Cornwall); “Cathedral of the Marsh” (Lydd in Kent); “Cathedral of the Peak” (Tideswell in Derbyshire). Seventh century Bradwell‐on‐Sea is the oldest cathedral featured; Liverpool's RC cathedral completed in 1967 the newest.
The author is clearly an enthusiast for his subject and has provided clear documentation and acknowledgements for his extensive research. Source material ranges from financial records, diaries, and archaeological evidence. I would like to have seen a preliminary listing of the buildings featured. Indeed, I made my own, the better to understand the book and to provide quick access to the buildings selected. Some cathedrals appear in more than one chapter, where, for example, there has been more than one building on the same site, such as Coventry and St Paul's in London. The author's selection from the many hundreds is good, though doubtless we will all have our favourites not included, and I am still confused over what qualifies as a cathedral.
The book is beautifully produced, authoritative, interesting, thought‐proving, and worth adding to libraries concerned with church history, architecture, tourism and cultural studies.
