Cathedrals have a central place in English history and culture. Much loved, they have never been more popular, attracting large numbers of visitors and thriving congregations. They are cherished as architectural masterpieces, repositories of art and history, and guardians of the English choral tradition. As a result, they have generated innumerable books, both popular and scholarly. The study of their buildings has flourished, most notably in the series of British Archaeological Association conference proceedings and major archaeological investigations; new architectural monographs and guides continue to appear. Other aspects of cathedrals’ history have attracted less attention, though most of the ancient foundations now have their own institutional histories. Collective histories, with the notable exceptions of Stanford Lehmberg’s English Cathedrals (Reference Lehmberg2005) and Philip Barrett’s Barchester (Reference Barrett1993), are particularly scarce. Nicholas Orme’s history, the first study of English cathedrals from their foundation to the present day, is an important and welcome addition to their number. It is an ambitious survey of commendable breadth and range, one that breaks new ground by considering aspects of cathedral history rarely discussed in other accounts, and by placing the growing body of individual histories in their wider, collective context.

England’s Cathedrals spans seventeen centuries, from the first appearance of bishops in the fourth century to the new challenges of the twenty-first. Far from presenting ‘one damn thing after another’, the author sets out a clear chronological framework for cathedral history over the long durée, a series of five great crises: the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Viking Raids, the Reformation, the Civil War and Interregnum, and the reform movement of the 1830s. While this framework is convincing, it does tend to underplay how fundamentally the Reformation, a watershed in their history, changed cathedrals. Two key characteristics emerge from Orme’s survey: the longevity of cathedrals and their adaptability. Older than generally realised – the Roman bishops of York, London and Lincoln had them – cathedrals have disappeared twice: between the collapse of Roman empire soon after 400 and the arrival of St Augustine in 597, and during the Interregnum (1649–60), when they were abolished. Yet they survived. By adapting to changing circumstances, albeit often reluctantly and slowly, they made themselves useful to the Church and to the wider society around them, and continue to do so. Indeed, their usefulness has led to an increase in numbers. The Henrician Reformation and the reforms of the 1830s resulted in the creation of new cathedrals, a process that continued until 1927. Such is their strength that in the recent reform of the diocesan structure of West Yorkshire, all three cathedrals, Bradford, Ripon and Wakefield, have been retained. Few other institutions of comparable longevity – cathedrals have a longer continuous recorded history than either the parish system or parliament – have survived as well.

Orme’s discussion of the twentieth century is one of the particular strengths of England’s Cathedrals. Many institutional histories, reluctant to comment on events within living memory, present this period as a bland narrative, a necessary appendage to more significant and interesting eras. His substantial chapter identifies the key developments in a century of major change. During this century cathedrals underwent a transformation as radical as the Norman Conquest and the Reformation, as they gradually adjusted to a more democratic and less deferential society and faced the challenges of mass tourism. The significant constitutional reforms of the 1990s have made cathedrals more accountable within the Church and to society more generally. As a result, they are now more outward facing, no longer essentially the private churches of their clergy that they had been for most of their history.

England’s Cathedrals combines a strong narrative thread with a clear analytical focus: a series of central themes are addressed in successive chronologically arranged chapters. Because cathedrals are buildings, the buildings themselves and their evolution are crucial themes throughout, but the principal focus is on how they were used and who used them rather than stylistic developments per se. The fabric is clearly related to its primary function, the worship of God through the performance of the liturgy. Cathedral liturgy (and its associated fixtures and fittings) has had a turbulent history. Since the Reformation it has often been fiercely contested. After an admirably clear exposition of the complexities of medieval liturgy, the author traces the introduction of the much simpler Protestant liturgy and subsequent attempts to enrich it by Archbishop Laud, the Tractarians and twentieth-century chapters. Cathedral liturgy continues to generate controversy in our own time; neither girl choristers nor the revival of shrines have been universally welcomed.

The clergy who performed the liturgy are a parallel theme. Canons and dignitaries, still a privileged cadre, were for much of their history a wealthy, independent and self-perpetuating oligarchy, as prone to scandal as the rest of humanity. Arrogant and eccentric deans were a feature of the fifteenth century as well as the 1930s and the 1980s. Space is also made to examine the contribution of the often-forgotten workhorses of cathedral life – the minor clergy, choristers and ancillary staff – who were essential to the running of such large organisations.

One of the most innovative themes in England’s Cathedrals is its discussion of tourism from its roots in antiquarianism, the first cathedral historians and Romanticism, to its commercial development with the mass-production of guide books, postcards and souvenirs in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is refreshing to see due weight given to the post medieval cultural impact of cathedrals. Their contribution to art, literature and music, especially during the last two centuries, is assessed, if a little parsimoniously in the case of music. Few can match the record of Walter Hussey, dean of Chichester (1955–77), who commissioned work by Bernstein, Chagall, Piper, Sutherland and Walton.

As befits a comprehensive overview, England’s Cathedrals also discusses the important contribution of cathedrals to education and charity, and gives due consideration to Catholic cathedrals and the new Anglican cathedrals of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Inevitably in such a broad survey much has to be summarised or omitted; some readers will be disappointed not to find more about their particular interests. The author largely avoids the twin dangers of covering everything too thinly, and including too much material in an attempt to be as thorough as possible. The structure can at times seem somewhat formulaic, with a fixed number of words per chapter for each theme, but this is leavened by well-chosen examples and the author’s clear and engaging style. These limitations do not detract from the much greater strengths of the book.

This is a scholarly work – there are twenty pages of footnotes and a thorough select bibliography – but one that is firmly addressed to and accessible to the general reader. A six-page glossary demystifies the necessary technical terms in straightforward language. England’s Cathedrals is an attractively produced book, with plenty of apposite colour illustrations embedded in the text, and its generous provision of maps and plans is effectively used to advance the argument. Its modest price will help it reach the wide audience it deserves.

Authoritative and balanced, England’s Cathedrals is thorough and well-researched. Its greatest strength is the context it provides by surveying cathedrals over the long durée. It dispels the widespread assumption that cathedrals are essentially ‘medieval’ by showing how they have been shaped by other periods in their long history. In tracing this history, the author emphasises continuity, survival and adaptation. He writes from a broadly Protestant perspective, but is respectful and deeply understanding of the medieval past. This is a sympathetic and insightful account, though the author’s admiration of and affection for cathedrals is not uncritical. He has done cathedrals a huge service. Readers of England’s Cathedrals will find their subsequent visits to them greatly enriched.