County Durham

Martin Roberts is a former historic buildings inspector for English Heritage, North East region, and the founder of the North East Vernacular Architecture Group.

“This exhaustive and scholarly book makes discovering this cornucopia a revelation and a delight.”—Simon Heffer, The Telegraph“You should arrive at Escomb church on foot...I grew hungry to see it whilst eagerly sampling the 900-page new volume, County Durham, part of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, revised and amplified by Martin Roberts. It is a strong invitation to a holiday in the county.”—Christopher Howse, The Telegraph“What a lush and plush book it is. Half as large again as the previous edition, which dated back to 1983, it is uncommonly handsome and scholarly.”—Lucinda Lambton, The Oldie“The 70 pages devoted to the Durham Cathedral and Castle precinct would make an excellent guidebook alone...Period images and engravings are reproduced, complementing the new colour photography which captures the range and diversity of the county.”—Greg Finch, Hexham Local History Society Newsletter“Delightful enthusiasm is combined with thorough fieldwork — every building has been visited, many have been measured and important aspects researched, especially craftsmen working for the Church. Roberts is an authority on the county’s parks and gardens as well as its vernacular architecture…A superb achievement.”—Adrian Green, Vernacular Architecture  “This new volume of County Durham…is now greatly enhanced. It will remain a treasured and essential work for all those with an interest in the heritage of the county and the architectural history of England more generally and is likely to be so for decades to come.”—Martin Lowe, Journal of Historic Buildings and Places“Martin Roberts, assisted by his son Will, who took most of the superb photographs in the book, has produced a revelatory account, elegantly written and stamped with his knowledge of and affection for one of England's least well-known counties.”—Kenneth Powell, The Victorian