Stephen Platten was educated at Stationers’ Company’s School, the University of London and Trinity College, Oxford. Formerly Dean of Norwich and Bishop of Wakefield, he remains a lifelong enthusiast for the classic Shell County Guides, in which tradition this volume stands. He is an “adopted son” of the County of Northumberland, having explored most corners of it in a series of ancient Land Rovers, and is magnetized still by its landscape, history and architecture. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.