The King's England
The King's England is a topographical and historical book series written and edited by Arthur Mee in 43 volumes. The first, introductory, volume was published in 1936 by Hodder & Stoughton; in 1989, The King's England Press was established to reprint the series.
The publishers claimed that the series was a modern Domesday Book and that the compilers had travelled half-a-million miles in order to complete their task. The vast majority of the content is an alphabetical description of parish churches, and associated historical figures and other local worthies.
Original titles
The first title in the series was the introductory volume, Enchanted Land: Half-a-million miles in the King's England, published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1936. Bedfordshire and HuntingdonshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireCornwallDerbyshireDevonDorsetDurhamEnchanted Land: Half-a-million miles in the King's EnglandEssexHampshire with the Isle of WightHerefordshireHertfordshire: London's Country NeighbourKentLake CountiesLancashireLeicestershire and RutlandLincolnshireLondon: Heart of the Empire and Wonder of the World Middlesex MonmouthshireNorfolkNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetStaffordshireSuffolkSurreySussexWarwickshireWiltshireWorcestershireYorkshire – East RidingYorkshire – North Riding- ''Yorkshire – West Riding''
Revised titles
In 1970, the London volume was split into three. Bomb damage during the Second World War, the subsequent post-war reconstruction and alterations to local government boundaries in 1965 all made it difficult to treat London properly in one volume. The new volumes, which brought the total to 43, were:London North of the Thames except the City and Westminster London – The City and Westminster- ''London South of the Thames''