The Story of Britain's Best Buildings

About this book

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 celebrated for the bold simplicity of its architecture and great beauty. But look closer, and its pioneering engineering becomes more apparent and the symbolism of its decoration more mysterious. Much speculation has been focused on the columns in the south transept -- especially on the odd one at the end. In the riddle of its stones, the cathedral gives us important clues to help understand the aspirations, beliefs, and struggles of the society that built it. The Story of Britain's Best Buildings explores eight such edifices that characterize a nation. From the heroic to the idiosyncratic, this sweeping survey also looks at: Windsor Castle Holyroodhouse Blenheim Palace Tower Bridge Midland Grand Hotel at St. Pancras Highpoint One Cardiff Castle. In this handsome book, illustrated with more than 120 color photographs, the author celebrates the architecture of great buildings and tells their stories which, together, form a gripping portrait of over a thousand years of British history.

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