The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See

A meticulously detailed Victorian guide to one of England's most imposing medieval cathedrals, originally published in 1899 and revised in the 1920s. Sweeting, a respected architectural historian of his era, traces Peterborough's transformation from a 7th-century monastic foundation established by King Peada into the grand ecclesiastical structure that dominates the Fens today. The book operates on two levels: a meticulous fabric-by-fabric description of the cathedral's architecture, from the famous west front to the interior elevations, and a parallel narrative of the bishopric that shaped it across centuries. What distinguishes Sweeting's approach is his intimate familiarity with the building itself, he guides readers through specific features, explaining how Norman work gave way to Gothic additions, how the monastic complex evolved, and why certain architectural decisions were made. The fifty illustrations document a cathedral that has changed considerably in the intervening decades, making this historical account valuable for understanding the building's own past. For cathedral enthusiasts, architectural historians, and visitors seeking to read the building as much as tour it, Sweeting provides the learned companion who unlocks hidden meanings in stone.