This was a great find recently; a 1968 first revised edition of Portrait of Canterbury by Richard Church. Originally published in 1953, this edition features beautiful artwork by John Sergeant throughout the book including the front cover of Canterbury Cathedral as seen from the south-west.

Inside is a wonderful painting of the cathedral which is half pasted down making it a charming addition to the book and the only colour plate featured. The rest of the artwork uses clever charcoal and water colour shading of blacks, greys and whites which perfectly captures the mood of the book.

The author was born in 1893 and died four years after the reissue of this book in 1972. He was a prolific author of poetry, novels and non-fiction as well as essays as a critic.

John Sergeant was born in London in 1937 and died in 2010. He actually studied at Canterbury College of Art in the 1950s before going on to produce commissions for reprints of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist and the then Prince Charles for his book A Vision of Britain (1989) His work was widely exhibited with some of his pieces being bought by the National Trust.

Church had a lot to go at in writing this book. Canterbury, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is as rich in history as you are likely to see. From the magnificence of the cathedral to St Martin’s Church, the College of Arts to Roman and Saxon remains or the Norman castle, Canterbury has it all.

Church begins with the era of the Roman Empire and what remains of the walls and the unearthed burial grounds. Church describes Roman Canterbury as a very sophisticated community with the establishment of civil servants to put order to both the city and its people as well as the legionnaires who ensured the rule of law was adhered to. But of course, that wouldn’t last and the civilised society that the people had enjoyed for so long changed dramatically with the withdrawal of the Roman legions.

This, then is a lovely account of a beautiful part of historical Britain, there are still copies to be found and reasonably priced.

Paul Hogarth and John Betjeman

Forgotten Churches