COVENTRY Cathedral features in a new book chronicling England’s treasures.
Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places is divided into ten categories ranging from music and literature to power, protest and progress.
The lavishly illustrated book has been penned by Philip Wilkinson, a specialist writer on history, architecture and religion, who explains the importance of each place in the nation’s life.
The Cathedral Church of St Michael, better known as Coventry Cathedral, is included in the chapter on art, architecture and sculpture, in the company of the likes of Chatsworth House and The Angel of the North.
The Basil Spence designed cathedral, which sits next to the ruins of the old cathedral destroyed by the Luftwaffe, is home to work by some of the greatest British artists of the 20th century, including Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Ralph Beyer, John Hutton, Jacob Epstein, and Elisabeth Frink.
The Queen laid the foundation stone in 1956, and the cathedral was consecrated in 1962, which included a premiere of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem composed for the occasion.
The cathedral remains a symbol of peace and reconciliation.
Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places, published by Historic England, is priced £20.
