Herfordshire

by Nikolaus Pevsner

'Not a mile visually unrewarding or painful' Pevsner wrote of this attractive rolling county on the borders of Wales, studded with red sandstone churches and appealing villages of timber-framed and brick houses. There is a rich medieval legacy, from tiny country churches with the distinctive wiry Norman sculpture of the 'Herefordshire school', to the inventive Gothic of Abbey Dore and Hereford Cathedral. Later highlights include endearing oddities such as the icing-sugar Gothic of the eighteenth century church at Shobdon, and Robert Smirke's grandiose neo-Norman Eastnor Castle.

Genres: Architecture, Reference, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (January 30, 1902 - August 18, 1983) was one of the twentieth century's most learned and stimulating writers on art and architecture.

He established his reputation with Pioneers of Modern Design, though he is probably best known for his celebrated series of guides, The Buildings of England, acknowledged as one of the great achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. He was also founding editor of The Pelican History of Art, the most comprehensive and scholarly history of art ever published in English.

Reviews

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each of Pevsner's guide is worth collecting in any edition for his erudite prose and coverage of the places and people who built Britain. Herefordshire happens to be one of my favourite counties so I keep this volume nearby when travelling through. Ledbury and surrounds is a centre for me from which to explore but Hereford, the county town is well covered.

[Lesley Arrowsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the one where Pevsner, that ultimate describer of church architecture, actually ran out of names for the different parts of a church when he came to Peterchurch in the Golden Valley!

[Vince Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's long due an update, but still part of a wonderful series.