Think of the Gothic cathedral and you think of the austerity of stone. Rows of saints and angels and angels ushering the righteous into heaven and thrusting the damned into the haws of hell … The whole of the architectural design was meant to optimize that flood of heavenly-coloured light. Shining down on you in Chartres cathedral were the stories of the Bible. Simon Schama, Civilisations 1e7: Radiance, BBC 2018
Beirut: This stunning Christian cathedral … built in 1968 … an Arab/Christian sect … Art and architecture take on a key role … brutalist building. Alastair Sooke & Janina Ramirez: An Art Lover’s Guide s2e2: Beirut, BBC 2018
A team of master-craftspersons and elite engineers battle to save this fragile structure from a catastrophic collapse. Out of tragedy is born opportunity to solve archaeological mysteries and understand the very fabric of this medieval mega-structure like never before. Rebuilding Notre-Dame: Inside the Great Cathedral Rescue, BBC 2020
An 850 year old Gothic wonder: it is the heart of France. ibid.
‘On the night of 14th November 1940 Coventry cathedral was almost completely destroyed. Only the spire stood unscathed as it has stood for almost six centuries. Today the presence of Her Majesty the Queen the new cathedral church of St Michael will be consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Coventry.’ Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain, BBC film 1962, BBC 2021
‘This then is the building designed and built by Sir Basil Spence in ten years of unremitting planning and labour.’ ibid.
Consecrated in May 1962 Coventry’s new cathedral church of St Michael was conceived and built in the two decades after World War II. These were years of reconstruction, of the welfare state and the consumer boom. ibid.
Alongside hundreds of castles they built abbeys and cathedrals on a scale never seen before in England. Professor Robert Bartlett, The Normans II, BBC 2010
Britain’s cathedrals – majestic, magnificent, monumental. For more than 1,400 years they’ve dominated Britain’s landscape. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson I: York Minster, Channel 5 2018
York Minster Cathedral – started in 1220, it took thousands of men over 200 years to build this masterpiece of design. 22 storeys high, over 500 feet long, its high towers and long nave are home to a staggering 60% of all England’s medieval glass. ibid.
In the 1960s the locals got such a shock when they discovered their beloved cathedral was about to collapse. ibid.
In 1984 came a ferocious blaze causing cracks in 400 pieces and threatening to destroy the entire cathedral … The wooden roof would cost them dearly over 700 years later. ibid.
Canterbury: Britain’s oldest cathedral. Built over 1,400 years ago this world heritage site has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in the UK with nearly a million visitors every year. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson II: Canterbury
Nearly 525 feet long, and the arched ceiling is almost 85 feet high … fantastic architecture and fascinating history. ibid.
And it’s those tourists who help pay its enormous upkeep costs which are around £18,500 a day. ibid.
It took Lanfranc seven years to rebuild the Cathedral. ibid.
A whole industry grew up around Becket which created a vast amount of wealth for the cathedral. ibid.
Salisbury cathedral: built in 1220, its most striking feature the spire at 404 feet is the tallest of any church in Britain. Nearly 800 years old, the cathedral looks much as it did when first constructed. The world’s finest example of early English Gothic architecture. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson III: Salisbury
This whole cathedral was built on a marsh … [and] took only 38 years to build. ibid.
Durham Cathedral: It took more than four decades to build and has stood for more than 900 years … a sandstone masterpiece. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson IV: Durham
Over time the city of Durham grew around it. Its construction was ordered by one of our most famous leaders, William the Conqueror. ibid.
This was the processing of pilgrims on an industrial scale. ibid.
It’s the Church of England’s newest cathedral as well as Britain’s biggest. The bells inside are the highest and the heaviest. And in its day it contained the largest music instrument ever made. Built on a high it dominates the city’s skyline. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson V: Liverpool
This one was constructed from steel and concrete. ibid.
It was finally completed in 1978, 74 years later. ibid.
Winchester cathedral, the longest medieval church in Britain. For centuries, Winchester was the home for royalty in England. Britain’s Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson VI: Winchester
Over its lifetime it’s been attacked and nearly destroyed. ibid.
140 foot tall, it’s built in the traditional shape of a cross. ibid.
A treasured icon, a gothic architecture of medieval construction. But on 15th April 2019 disaster strikes – a huge fire rips through the cathedral reducing the roof and spire to ashes. For the last 3 years our cameras have been following teams of engineers and crafts-people as they struggle to bring Notre Dame back to life. Lucy Worsley, Rebuilding Notre Dame: The Next Chapter, BBC 2024