Richard Taylor (born 1967) is a British author, broadcaster and practising lawyer best known for his books, television and radio programmes on

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

imagery,

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

, history and law.

Biography

Taylor was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he attended

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

. He took degrees in English at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

, and law at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Taylor lives in Ranmoor, Sheffield, with his daughter (born 2001). He was widowed in 2016. He is a partner specialising in

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

at law firm

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a law firm with offices in over 40 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It was founded in 2005 through the merger between three law firms: San Diego–based ''Gray Cary Ware & Freiden ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, and until 2012 was the IP/IT columnist for the '' Law Society Gazette''.> Taylor is also a Vice-President of the

National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British Charitable organization#United Kingdom, registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community ...

Writings and presenting

His book ''How to Read a Church'' has sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into five languages. He is the writer and presenter of the six-part

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

series ''Churches: How to Read Them'' broadcast in September and October 2010. Since 2014 he has been a guest presenter for BBC ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...

'', presenting items on

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, Austen, the

Brontë family The Brontës () were a 19th century literary family, born in the village of Thornton, West Yorkshire, Thornton and later associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte Brontë, Charlott ...

, the UK patron saints,

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

, and the birthplaces of the Christian denominations. He wrote and presented ''Still Ringing After All These Years: A Short History of Bells'' and '' Pugin: God's own architect'' (2012), also on BBC Four, and ''Copyright or Wrong'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

."Copyright or Wrong"
BBC Radio 4.

Bibliography

*''How to Read a Church. A guide to images symbols and meanings in churches and cathedrals'', Rider, 2003 *''How to Read a Church. Illustrated Edition'', Rider, 2004 *''How to Read an English Garden'', Ebury, 2006 (co-author with Andrew Eburne) *''How to Read a Church. Pocket Guide'', Rider, 2007 *''Secrets of The National Archives: The stories behind the letters and documents of our past'', Ebury, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Richard Living people 1967 births People educated at Highgate School Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Alumni of the London School of Economics English lawyers English religious writers