…Churches, Houses, Castles
This was one of the books that I received for my birthday. I also received England’s Thousand Best Houses, England’s Thousand Best Churches (both by Simon Jenkins) and The Garden’s of English Heritage (by Gillian Mawray and Linden Groves). It has been one of my lunch time reads at work and if I left it lying around on the desk someone else was bound to pick it up and browse through it.
The book covers buildings that are great like the big Marcher castles and Cathedrals along with the small little known churches that are off the beaten track. The criteria for inclusion in the book is that they must at least be open and accessible to the public. Each building is given a star rating from 1 to 5, this does not relate to the quality or importance of the building but rather to the pleasure that is experienced during a visit to the place.
In addition to the architectural delights that are to be found between the covers there is also a wealth of information about the people who were associated with the buildings. This builds up a cultural history of Wales and brings the buildings to life.
I really enjoyed the book and found some little gems that I must make time to visit. The book is well worth a read. Each chapter covers a different county with a map to show where the properties are located, making it ideal to have to hand if you are visiting a specific area, either on holiday or for a day trip.
Definitrly my kind of book(s), Cherie. Makes me want to see if they have such a thing for Holland!
I do hope you find one, I am sure there must be one
Whatever would the Welsh have done for castles if it hadn’t been for the English, I wonder?
Perhaps we should ask them