Ten Poems about Cathedrals

Cathedrals are monumental buildings, often standing in the heart of our cities like a timeless centre of gravity. They can be seen from far away – from trains and motorways – competing on the skyline with office blocks and other modern constructions. Even in our more secular era, cathedrals carry a grandeur that gives us pause for thought. Perhaps this is because we know that they have probably taken longer to build than a human lifetime.

These wonderfully varied poems celebrate the majesty and meaning of all sorts of cathedrals. We encounter York Minster, St Davids and St Paul’s during the blitz. We experience their rather solemn silence and the beauty of stained glass:

“Let your eyes walk
Through a glass garden –
All of these colours
Are born from one light.”

from ‘Rules for Visiting a Cathedral’ by Andrew Rudd

The poems will delight anyone who loves cathedrals for their beauty, their history or for the sense of peace we can feel when we go inside.

Poems by Carole Bromley, Gillian Clarke, Elizabeth Gibson, Malcolm Guite, Keith Jarrett, Richard Jones, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Ormond, Kate Rhodes and Andrew Rudd.

Cover illustration by Sarah Kirby.