Our Borough : our Churches (King's Lynn, Norfolk). By Edward
Milligen Beloe. (Macmillan and Bowes, Cambridge.) —Mr. Beloe gives something less than a fifth of his book to the "borough," the remainder to the "churches," the latter part including the account of a local architect, Henry Bell, who might have risen to distinction in a larger sphere of action. The municipal history has a special element of interest in the relation which Mr. Beloe draws out between the Bishop and the town. We are not prepared to endorse all that he says on this subject, but it is certainly worth considering. The account of the churches, illustrated with some excellent drawings, and full of valuable detail, is melancholy reading. The hand of the restorer, according to our author, has been heavy on the archi- tectural treasures of King's Lynn. Here, again, we must hold our judgment in suspense. The reaction, as we may call it, against restoration sometimes runs into fanaticism. There have been recent instances where, if it could have had its way, nothing less than ruin would have followed. Anyhow, Mr. Beloe's volume is a praiseworthy contribution to the history of his native town. —We have also received a "cheap edition" of Sutton-in- Hoiderness, by Thomas Blashill (Elliot Stock, 6s.) This one ot the eighty odd "Sutton-a," simple and compound, is on the Humber, and has an interesting history, media3val and modern. We are glad to see that Mr. Blashill's labours are so well appre- ciated that a popular edition of his book has been called for.
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