WORCESTERSHIRE. THE BUILDINGS OF ENGLAND

This comprehensive guide to the buildings of Worcestershire is fully revised and expanded from the first edition of 1968. The county extends from the dramatic Malvern Hills through the Severn Valley to the fringes of the Cotswolds, with architecture no less rich than the landscape. Medieval Worcestershire is represented by the fine Gothic cathedral of Worcester, the splendid remains of the abbeys and priories at Pershore, Evesham, and Malvern, and the many parish churches with their rich inheritance of Norman work. Timber-framed houses are abundant, with spectacular examples in both town and country from the Middle Ages until well into the seventeenth century. But Worcestershire is also a county of red brick and sandstone, as the many fine country houses show: Jacobean Westwood, with its extraordinary X-plan; Hanbury Hall, a gem of the Wren period; Hagley Hall, grand and Palladian; Witley Court, now an unforgettable Victorian ruin. The towns include Stourport, the only English town created by the canals, Kidderminster with its carpet mills, the genteel spa resort at Great Malvern, and the leafy New Town at Redditch. All are fully described and explored in this essential work.