The Story of Britain's Best Buildings

by Dan Cruickshank

Book Overview

Britain is home to an extraordinary array of impressive and historic buildings. They are outstanding architecturally and hold fascinating secrets within their walls. Durham Cathedral has long been... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0563488239
• ISBN13: 9780563488231
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: BBC Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Grab your brolly and your roadmap and hit the road

"The history of Britain is enshrined in its buildings," the Introduction says, and the author (who has done several BBC series) makes his point by examining in detail eight structures from different eras in the nation's history, beginning with the 12th century Durham Cathedral. The other buildings discussed and pictured include Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse, Blenheim Palace, Cardiff Castle, the Grand Hotel at St. Pancras Station, and Tower Bridge, all of which have obvious iconic status, . . . so why wrap up the volume with Highpoint One, a modernist apartment building from the 1930s, which probably no one has ever heard of? (Or maybe that's his point.) I've rubbernecked in and around most of these buildings over the years (never been to Scotland, though), and I have my own favorites: St. Pancras is delightful in its Victorian-industrial, take-no-prisoners, brick-and-iron lushness, and Durham Cathedral's soaring Gothic spacees get right into my bones. On the other hand, Blenheim has to be one of the ugliest palaces ever conceived -- an object lesson in what happens when you're spending Other People's Money. An absorbing, well-written book.