This portrait of the parish church, written by the architectural author and presenter of the BBC TV series "Six English Towns", emphasizes the character and aesthetic value of the English church rather than its historical evolution, and features interiors, decorations and furnishings. Alec Clifton-Taylor discusses at length the treatment which old churches were given by the Victorians and explains what he feels is most worth looking for and why. There is a section in which the character of each county's churches is defined, and the book concludes with a list of the churches the author feels are best worth a visit from an artistic standpoint. Alec Clifton-Taylor also wrote "The Pattern of English Building".