FRIENDS OF COUGHTON COURT: The group gathered in the restaurant at Coughton on March 16 for the first meeting of the new season to listen to Bernard Pumfrey talking about "The great cathedrals of England".

Mr Pumfrey is well known to The Friends, having visited Coughton several times to speak on various subjects; so a large audience had come to hear his latest illustrated offering.

His lecture was wide-ranging and covered many different ages and architectural styles from small, former parish churches, such as Blackburn and Sheffield, to the magnificence of Durham on its World Heritage site; from "Paddy's Wigwam" – Liverpool's Roman Catholic Cathedral, to little Chichester with its flat-capped towers and its new spire, the old one having collapsed.

A new cathedral is Guilford, only started in 1936, with building work interrupted by the war. Work restarted in 1954 and it was consecrated in 1961 in the presence of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Mr Pumfrey's own favourite is Wells which, he said has the finest medieval sculpture in Europe on its West Front. Next to it is the Bishop's Palace surrounded by a moat where swans were trained to pull on a rope to ring a bell to show that they were waiting to be fed.

Mr Pumfrey's least favourite is Truro which he says is dark inside with echoes of French architecture.

Mr Pumfrey displayed great knowledge and enthusiasm and left members keen to visit cathedrals they had not yet seen and to revisit old favourites.

After some questions from the audience, Mr Pumfrey was warmly thanked by chairman of The Friends, John Brown.

The Friends meet on the third Wednesday of the month from March to October and new members are always welcome.

The next meeting will be on April 20 when Dixie Atkins will talk to us about "Charles 11, The Merry Monarch".

For further details contact the secretary: Janet Thomas on 01386 833767 or jethomas@btinternet.com