# Works of John Betjeman

Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984) was a twentieth-century English poet, writer and broadcaster. Born to a middle-class family in Edwardian Hampstead, he attended Oxford University, although left without graduating. He turned down a position in the family furniture business, and instead took a series of jobs before becoming the assistant editor of The Architectural Review in 1931, which reflected a deeply held affection for buildings and their history. That same year he published his first book, Mount Zion, a collection of poems.
In 1932 Betjeman began a career in broadcasting, with a radio programme about the proposed destruction of Waterloo Bridge; he continued with regular radio work for the rest of his life, appearing in a wide range of genres, from panel and game shows, interviews, news interviews, documentaries and poetry readings. He published his first non-verse book in 1933, Ghastly Good Taste, which was subtitled "a Depressing Story of the Rise and Fall of English Architecture"; it reflected his concern of the destruction of Victorian and Edwardian architecture to make way for "grimmer contemporary developments, shopping arcades, and bogus Tudor bars". In 1937—shortly after the BBC began regular screen broadcasts—he appeared in his first television programme, How to Make a Guidebook, and went on to appear in a wide range of programmes until his death. His television appearances increased from the 1950s, and his output was prolific.
In 1960 Betjeman was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), which was followed in 1968 with his election as a Companion of Literature. In 1969 he was knighted and, in 1972, he succeeded Cecil Day-Lewis as Britain's Poet Laureate. In the later years of his life, Betjeman suffered from Parkinson's disease, and he died in May 1984. His obituarist in The Times thought him "a true original", and considered that he was "whimsical, imprudent, shrewd, humorous, disarming, always something of an enfant terrible". The poet Philip Larkin wrote that Betjeman "was not only the best loved poet, but one of the best loved men of our time", while his biographer, the academic John Clarke, described him as a "unique figure in twentieth-century English poetry, enjoying a degree of fame and success unequalled by any poet since Byron".

## Verse

Betjeman's poetry :
| Title | Year of first publication | First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) | Notes |
| Mount Zion | 1931 | James Press | |
| Continual Dew, a Little Book of Bourgeois Verse | 1937 | John Murray | |
| Sir John Piers | 1938 | Westmeath Examiner, Mullingar, Ireland | Published under the pseudonym Epsilon |
| Old Lights for New Chancels, verses topographical and amatory | 1940 | John Murray | |
| New Bats in Old Belfries | 1945 | John Murray | |
| Slick but not Streamlined | 1947 | Doubleday, Garden City N.Y. | Introduction by W. H. Auden |
| Selected Poems | 1948 | John Murray | preface by John Sparrow |
| St. Katherine's Church, Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire | 1950 | Privately printed, Chiselhampton | Subtitled Verses Turned in Aid of a Public Subscription towards the Restoration of the Church of St. Katherine, Chiselhampton |
| A Few Late Chrysanthemums | 1954 | John Murray | |
| Poems in the Porch | 1954 | Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge | |
| Collected Poems | 1958 | John Murray | Compiled and with an introduction by the Earl of Birkenhead. This consisted of a selection of Betjeman's poems, rather than a collection of all his work; there have been numerous reprints, some of which have provided additional works for inclusion. |
| John Betjeman | 1958 | John Murray | Selected poems |
| Lament for Moira McCavendish | c. 1958–59 | Browne Lismore | Undated, but c. 1958–59; booklet, limited to 20 copies |
| Summoned by Bells | 1960 | John Murray | |
| A Ring of Bells | 1962 | John Murray | |
| High and Low | 1966 | John Murray | |
| Six Betjeman Songs | 1967 | Duckworth | |
| A Wembley Lad and The Crem | 1971 | Poem of the Month Club | |
| A Nip in the Air | 1974 | John Murray | |
| Betjeman in Miniature: selected poems of Sir John Betjeman | 1976 | Gleniffer Press, Paisley | |
| The Best of Betjeman | 1978 | John Murray | Selected by John Guest |
| Five Betjeman Songs | 1980 | Joseph Weinberger | |
| Ode on the Marriage of HRH Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer | 1980 | Warren Editions | Limited to 125 copies |
| Church Poems | 1981 | John Murray | |
| Uncollected Poems | 1982 | John Murray | |
| Betjeman's Cornwall | 1984 | John Murray | |
| Ah Middlesex | 1984 | Warren Editions | Limited to 250 copies |
| Harvest Bells: New and Uncollected Poems (ed. Kevin J. Gardner) | 2019 | Bloomsbury Continuum | PDF ebook |

## Radio

Betjeman was broadcast in numerous radio performances, although no full record exists. Most were on British radio, although he also made recordings for American radio.
Radio broadcasts of Betjeman :
| Broadcast | Date | Channel | Notes |
| "Waterloo Bridge is Falling Down" | 17 February 1932 | BBC National Programme | |
| "Conversations in the Train: On the 9.20" | 30 April 1932 | BBC National Programme | |
| "All Male Novelty Variety" | 1 December 1932 | BBC National Programme | |
| "One Hour of Modern Variety" | 23 January 1933 | BBC National Programme | |
| "Variety" | 10 February 1933 | BBC London Programme | |
| "One Hour of Variety" | 29 March 1933 | BBC London Programme | |
| "Wanted—A Free Hand" | 20 February 1934 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| Crowded Moments | 2 May 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "West Country Calendar: May Games or Matter for a May Morning" | 18 May 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| Crowded Moments | 24 June 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| Crowded Moments | 22 August 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "The Clifton Suspension Bridge" | 27 August 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "Extremes Meet: Build or Rebuild?" | 20 December 1936 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "After Dinner" | 26 February 1937 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| Town Tours | 12 April – 24 June 1937 | BBC West of England Programme | Six episodes |
| "What is Wrong with the Cinema" | 4 September 1937 | BBC National Programme | |
| Eccentrics: "Adolphus Cooke Esq of Cookesborough" | 24 September 1937 | BBC Regional Programme | The producer of the programme was Guy Burgess |
| Seaview: "Visitors" | 22 April 1938 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| Seaview: "A Horrible Holiday" | 6 May 1938 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| Seaview: "Where are you Going" | 11 May 1938 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| "How to Look at a Church" | 31 August 1938 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| "Up to London" | 2 January 1939 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| Western Worthies: "The Parson Hawker of Morwenstow" | 7 February 1939 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| Built to Last | 17 April – 27 June 1939 | BBC Regional Programme | Six episodes |
| "How to Look at Books" | 15 August 1939 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "Sir Henry Newbolt" | 4 January 1940 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Back to the Railway Carriage" | 10 March 1940 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Some Comments in Wartime" | 4 July 1940 | BBC Home Service | |
| "More Comments in Wartime" | 12 August 1940 | BBC Home Service | |
| "War Commentary" | 21 November 1940 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Coming Home, or England Revisited" | 25 February 1943 | BBC Home Service | |
| "How to Look at a Town" | 6 July 1943 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Second Hand Books" | 4 November 1943 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Personal Choice" | 29 December 1943 | BBC Regional Programme | |
| "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" | 29 May 1944 | BBC Home Service | Betjeman read excerpts of Oscar Wilde's work |
| "The World Goes By" | 5 August 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| Book Talk: "Yesterday's Fiction" | 21 August 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| Book Talk: "Wartime Tastes in Reading" | 4 September 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Domestic Interior" | 14 September 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| Book Talk | 18 September 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| Country Magazine: "Padstow and St Merryn, Cornwall" | 19 November 1944 | BBC Home Service | |
| Arts: "Looking at Things" | 25 May 1945 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Hawker of Morwenstone" | 25 May 1945 | BBC Home Service | |
| Western Men: "Sabine Baring-Gould" | 21 September 1945 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "Tennyson as a Humourist" | 26 April 1946 | BBC Home Service | |
| Literature in the West: "Augustus Toplady" | 23 June 1946 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| West-Country Short Story: "Move with the Times" | 11 September 1946 | BBC Home Service | |
| Living Writers: "Evelyn Waugh" | 14 December 1946 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Seeking Whom He May Devour" | 27 December 1946 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Time for Verse" | 26 January 1947 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Aberdeen Granite" | 28 July 1947 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green" | 20 December 1947 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Christmas Nostalgia" | 25 December 1947 | BBC Home Service | |
| New Books and Old Books | 12 June 1948 | BBC Light Programme | |
| Three in Hand: "St Protus and St Hyacinth, Blisland, Cornwall" | 21 July 1948 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| Three in Hand: "St John the Baptist, Mildenhall, Wiltshire" | 28 July 1948 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| Three in Hand: "St Mark's, Swindon, Wiltshire" | 4 August 1948 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| New Books and Old Books | 30 October 1948 | BBC Light Programme | |
| Buildings and Places: "Padstow" | 6 February 1949 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Letcombe Bassett: The Future of a Village" | 19 February 1949 | BBC Light Programme | |
| The West in England's Story: "Victorian Provincial Life" | 24 May 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| Coast and Country | 3 June – 27 September 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | Series one; nine episodes |
| It Begins at Home: "St Petroc" | 11 July 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "The Isle of Man" | 7 August 1949 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Poetry Reading" | 20 August 1949 | BBC Third Programme | Betjeman reads a selection of his own poetry |
| "Poetry Reading" | 6 October 1949 | BBC Third Programme | Betjeman reads a selection of his own poetry |
| "Country Mixture" | 28 October 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "It Begins at Home" | 13 November 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| The Critics | 4 December 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| The Critics | 11 December 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| The Critics | 18 December 1949 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "Two Thoughts in a Landscape" | 16 April 1950 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "A Hundred Years of Architecture in Wessex" | 17 April 1950 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "Love in the Valley" | 21 April 1950 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "For Your Book List" | 5 May 1950 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "The Future of the Town" | 26 May 1950 | BBC Third Programme | |
| Coast and Country | 9 June – 29 September 1950 | BBC West of England Home Service | Series two; five episodes |
| "Tennyson as a Humorist" | 7 July 1950 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Childhood Days" | 16 July 1950 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Théophile-Jules-Henri Marzials" | 24 December 1950 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "South Kentish Town" | 9 January 1951 | BBC Home Service | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 4 February 1951 | BBC Home Service | An appeal for the restoration fund of St Mary's Church, Mildenhall |
| "Poetic Licence" | 7 March 1951 | BBC Home Service | |
| For Your Book List: "William Barnes" | 20 March 1951 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| Let's Go | 3 May – 20 September 1951 | BBC Light Programme | Betjeman broadcast in seven episodes of the programme |
| "Festival in London" | 7 May 1951 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Here is our Home" | 10 May 1951 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| Coast and County | 18 May – 23 August 1951 | BBC West of England Home Service | Series three; five episodes |
| The Faith in the West | 10 July 1951 – 22 December 1957 | BBC Home Service | Betjeman broadcast in 30 episodes of the programme |
| "Some Thought on Christmas Parties" | 26 December 1951 | BBC Home Service | |
| Three in Hand: "Kelmscott Manor" | 4 May 1952 | BBC Home Service | |
| "New Soundings" | 14 May 1952 | BBC Third Programme | |
| Three in Hand: "Cardiff Castle" | 18 May 1952 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Pugin: A Great Victorian Architect" | 15 September 1952 | BBC Midland and West of England Home Service | To mark the centenary of Augustus Pugin |
| Woman's Hour | 24 September 1952 | BBC Light Programme | |
| Evening Service | 28 September 1952 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The Fifty One Society" | 21 March 1953 | BBC North of England Home Service | |
| "Trains of Thought" | 8 May 1953 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Tercentenary of Staunton Harold Church" | 27 September 1953 | BBC Midlands Home Service | |
| "Changes of Morals" | 15 June 1954 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Town Forum" | 17 June 1954 | BBC Midlands Home Service | |
| Desert Island Discs | 8 October 1954 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Personal Call" | 11 October 1954 | BBC London Calling Asia | |
| Foreigners | 20 February – 13 December 1955 | BBC Home Service | Series of three programmes |
| "Frankly Speaking" | 26 June – 27 December 1955 | BBC Home Service | Betjeman broadcast in four episodes of the programme |
| "A Christmas Wreath of Prose and Poetry, Woven by John Betjeman" | 25 December 1955 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Café Royal: A Study in Conversation" | 28 December 1955 | BBC Home Service | |
| "A Young Person's Forum on Books" | 31 January 1956 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Using Your Eyes" | 20 June 1956 | BBC Home Service | |
| Woman's Hour | 27 July 1956 | BBC Light Programme | |
| "Talking of Films" | 12 August 1956 | BBC Home Service | |
| "A Young Person's Forum on Books" | 28 August 1956 | BBC Home Service | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 2 September 1956 | BBC Midlands Home Service | |
| "Past Summers at the Seaside" | 3 October 1956 | BBC West of England Programme | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 7 October 1956 | BBC Midlands Home Service | |
| "Conversation Piece" | 2 December 1956 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Town and Country" | 29 May 1957 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The Younger Generation" | 21 October 1957 | BBC Network Three | |
| "Personal Choice" | 20 February 1958 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Tread Softly..." | 16 March 1958 | BBC Home Service | |
| John Betjeman: Poet, Connoisseur and Churchwarden | 31 October – 14 November 1958 | BBC General Overseas Service | Series of three programmes |
| "Poetry Reading" | 26 December 1958 | BBC Third Programme | Betjeman reads a selection of his own poetry |
| Woman's Hour | 12 March 1959 | BBC Light Programme | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 3 May 1959 | BBC Midlands Home Service | |
| Today | 12 May 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The Island-Going Naturalist" | 21 June 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Monday Night at Home" | 29 June 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Glasgow: The Wondrous City" | 6 September 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| In Town Tonight | 3 October 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| "People Today" | 24 December 1959 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The Poetry of the Place" | 10 February 1960 | BBC General Overseas Service | |
| "The Enjoyment of Reading" | 10 April 1960 | BBC General Overseas Service | |
| "Life and Letters" | 9 September 1960 | BBC General Overseas Service | |
| Summoned by Bells | 22 November – 28 November 1960 | BBC Third Programme | Series one; three programmes |
| "On Railways in the South" | 12 February 1961 | BBC Network Three | |
| "The Eye-Witness" | 11 March 1961 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The Eye-Witness" | 30 September 1961 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Portrait of Martin Wilson" | 11 March 1962 | BBC West of England Home Service | |
| "Some Aspects of British Snobbery" | 18 April 1962 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Royal Academy of the Arts: Annual Dinner" | 1 May 1962 | BBC Home Service | |
| "I Remember" | 5 June 1962 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Far and Wide" | 7 June 1962 | BBC South and West Home Service | |
| "Let's Find Out" | 10 August 1962 | BBC Light Programme | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 4 November 1962 | BBC Home Service | |
| Woman's Hour | 11 December 1962 | BBC Light Programme | |
| In Town Tonight | 29 December 1962 | BBC Home Service | |
| "For Your Bookshelf" | 11 February 1963 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Famous London Churches" | 16 February 1963 | BBC General Overseas Service | |
| "Horizons" | 21 March 1963 | West of England Home Service | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 7 April 1963 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Turning Points" | 7 June 1963 | BBC Home Service | |
| "New Comment" | 4 July 1963 | BBC Third Programme | |
| "Hugh Gaitskell: A Radio Portrait" | 16 January 1964 | BBC Home Service | |
| "John Betjeman" | 15 June 1964 | BBC Home Service | Betjeman introduced the programme, which consisted of his poetry set to music |
| The Week's Good Cause | 6 September 1964 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Frankly Speaking" | 23 October 1964 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Conservatories and Other Edwardiana: An Exercise in Nostalgia" | 27 December 1964 | BBC Third Programme | |
| The News | 5 January 1965 | BBC Home Service | Betjeman offered an appreciation on T. S. Eliot |
| "Holiday Books" | 21 July 1965 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Time and the River" | 19 August 1965 | BBC Home Service | |
| "T.E. Brown" | 2 October 1965 | BBC Third Programme | An appreciation of T.E. Brown |
| Britain's Cathedrals and Their Music | 19 November 1965 – 1 April 1966 | BBC Radio 3 | Series of 19 programmes |
| "For Ever England | 27 December 1965 | BBC Third Programme | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 15 May 1966 | BBC Home Service | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 4 September 1966 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Louise MacNeice" | 7 September 1966 | BBC Home Service | |
| "The World of Books" | 1 November 1966 | BBC Home Service | |
| "Evelyn Waugh" | 9 August 1967 | BBC Third Programme | |
| Choirs and the Places Where They Sing | 20 August – 29 October 1967 | BBC Radio 3 | Series of nine programmes |
| Scenes That Are Brightest | 16 June 1968 – 23 March 1969 | BBC Radio 4 | Series of four programmes |
| "Betjeman's Dickens" | 9 June 1970 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Options" | 19 July 1970 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Tennyson: Portrait of a Poet" | 12 February 1970 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "A Choice of Paperback" | 4 August 1971 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Sir John Betjeman and Alan Pryce-Jones" | 25 December 1971 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Sir Maurice Bowra" | 7 April 1972 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| Poetry Prom | 20 June 1972 – 25 August 1976 | BBC Radio 4 | Betjeman appeared in nine episodes |
| "The Week's Good Cause" | 2 July 1972 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Now Read On" | 5 July 1972 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Portrait in a Place: William Morris" | 6 August 1972 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Larkin at Fifty" | 9 August 1972 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "The Incomparable Max" | 27 August 1972 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Tennyson Eighty Years On" | 8 December 1972 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Victorian Knights" | 12 August 1973 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "A Portrait of Lord Berners" | 15 December 1973 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Forty Years On" | 29 December 1973 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Heroes From the Halls" | 7 January 1974 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Can't Put it Down" | 20 February 1974 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Sir John Betjeman" | 23 December 1974 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Desert Island Discs | 12 April 1975 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Sweet Songs of Zion | 6 July – 14 September 1975 | BBC Radio 4 | Series one; six episodes |
| Sir John Betjeman: Earlier and Later Loves | 12 November – 17 December 1975 | BBC Radio 4 | Series of six programmes |
| "The Young Idea" | 1 May 1976 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| The Week's Good Cause | 20 June 1974 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Sweet Songs of Zion | 18 July – 12 September 1976 | BBC Radio 4 | Series two; 11 episodes |
| Kaleidoscope | 17 August 1976 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Betjeman at 70" | 28 August 1976 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Betjemania" | 26 December 1976 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Hymns Ancient and Modern" | 12 June 1977 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "Hymns Ancient and Modern" | 19 June 1977 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Kaleidoscope | 23 June 1977 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Sweet Songs of Zion | 2 August – 6 September 1978 | BBC Radio 4 | Series three; six episodes |
| Kaleidoscope | 7 December 1978 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Summoned by Bells | 9 April 1979 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| Summoned by Bells | 19 April 1979 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| "Books, Plays, Poems: Set Poets" | 2 May 1979 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Woman's Hour | 15 June 1979 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| "With Great Pleasure" | 22 December 1979 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| Bookshelf: "The Poems of John Betjeman" | 28 December 1980 | BBC Radio 4 | Included an interview with Betjeman |

## Books

Non-fiction work by Betjeman :
| Title | Year of first publication | First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) | Notes |
| Ghastly Good Taste | 1933 | Chapman & Hall | |
| Devon | 1936 | Architectural Press | Part of the Shell Guides series |
| An Oxford University Chest | 1938 | John Miles | includes photographs by László Moholy-Nagy and illustrations by Osbert Lancaster and Edward Bradley |
| A Handbook on Paint | 1939 | The Silicate Paint Co | Co-author with Hugh Casson |
| Antiquarian Prejudice | 1939 | Hogarth Press | |
| Vintage London | 1942 | William Collins, Sons | |
| English Cities and Small Towns | 1943 | William Collins, Sons | |
| John Piper | 1944 | Penguin Books | |
| Five Sermons by Laymen | 1946 | St Matthew's Church, Northampton | Co-authored with C. S. Lewis and others |
| Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide | 1948 | John Murray | Co-authored with John Piper |
| Murray's Berkshire Architectural Guide | 1949 | John Murray | Co-authored with John Piper |
| Studies in the History of Swindon | 1950 | Swindon Borough Council, Swindon | Co-authored with L. V. Grinsell, H. B. Wells and H. S. Tallamy |
| Shropshire – with maps and illustrations | 1951 | Faber & Faber | Part of the Shell Guides series |
| The English Scene | 1951 | Cambridge University Press, Cambridge | |
| First and Last Loves | 1952 | John Murray | |
| Gala Day London | 1953 | Harvill Secker | |
| The English Town in the Last Hundred Years | 1956 | Cambridge University Press, Cambridge | The Rede Lecture |
| Some Immortal Hours | 1957 | John Murray | Twenty copies |
| Collins Guide to English Parish Churches, including the Isle of Man | 1958 | William Collins, Sons | |
| Ground Plan to City Skyline | 1960 | Newman Neame | Published under the name "Richard M Farren" |
| Clifton College Buildings | 1962 | Vista Books | |
| English Churches | 1964 | Vista Books | Co-authored with Basil Clarke |
| The City of London Churches | 1965 | Pitkin Pictorials | One of Pitkin Pride of Britain series |
| Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches | 1968 | Collins Publishers | Two volumes |
| Victorian and Edwardian London From Old Photographs | 1969 | Batsford Books | |
| Ten Wren Churches | 1970 | Editions Elector | Limited edition of 100 copies |
| Victorian and Edwardian Brighton From Old Photographs | 1971 | Batsford Books | Co-authored with J.S. Gray |
| A Pictorial History of English Architecture | 1972 | John Murray | |
| London's Historic Railway Stations | 1972 | John Murray | |
| Victorian and Edwardian Oxford From Old Photographs | 1972 | Batsford Books | Co-authored with David Vaisey |
| West Country Churches | 1973 | Society of Sts Peter & Paul | |
| A Plea for Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street | 1974 | Church Literature Association | |
| Victorian and Edwardian Cornwall From Old Photographs | 1974 | Batsford Books | Co-authored with A. L. Rowse |
| Archie and the Strict Baptists | 1977 | John Murray | |
| Metro-land | 1977 | Warren Editions | |
| John Betjeman's Letters: Volume One | 1994 | Methuen Publishing | Edited and introduced by Betjeman's daughter, Candida Lycett Green |
| John Betjeman's Letters: Volume Two | 1995 | Methuen Publishing | Edited and introduced by Betjeman's daughter, Candida Lycett Green |
| John Betjeman Coming Home | 1997 | Methuen Publishing | |
| Trains and Buttered Toast: Betjeman's best BBC radio talks | 2006 | John Murray | Edited and introduced by Stephen Games |
| Tennis Whites and Teacakes: An anthology of Betjeman's prose, verse and occasional writing | 2007 | John Murray | Edited and introduced by Stephen Games |
| Sweet Songs of Zion: Betjeman's radio programmes about English hymn-writing | 2007 | Hodder & Stoughton | Edited and introduced by Stephen Games |
| Betjeman's England: Betjeman's best topographical television programmes | 2009 | John Murray | Edited and introduced by Stephen Games |

## Editor

Betjeman undertook the role of editor for several magazines and journals, including the undergraduate magazines of Oxford Outlook and Cherwell; the following consists of the books he edited.
Works which Betjeman edited :
| Title | Year of first publication | Author | First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) | Notes |
| Cornwall Illustrated | 1934 | – | Architectural Press | Part of the Shell Guides series |
| English Scottish and Welsh Landscape 1700–1860 | 1944 | Various | Frederick Muller Ltd | with Geoffrey Taylor |
| Watergate Children's Classics | 1947 | Various | Watergate Classics | |
| English Love Poems | 1957 | Various | Faber and Faber | with Geoffrey Taylor; also a contributor |
| An American's Guide to English Parish Churches, Including the Isle of Man | 1958 | – | McDowell, Obolensky, New York | |
| Altar and Pew: Church of England Verses | 1959 | Various | E Hulton & Co | |
| A Hundred Sonnets | 1960 | Charles Tennyson Turner | Rupert Hart-Davis | Also wrote introduction |
| A Wealth of Poetry | 1963 | Various | Blackwell Publishing, Oxford | with Winnifred Hindley |
| Selected Poems | 1978 | John Masefield | Heinemann | |

## Television

Television appearances of Betjeman :
| Programme | Date | Channel | Role | Notes |
| How to Make a Guidebook | 21 September 1937 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Tactile Bee | 20 December 1938 | BBC | Participant | |
| Longleat | 20 June 1949 | BBC | – | As a consultant only |
| Readers and Writers | 5 June 1951 | BBC | Co-presenter | |
| Conversation Piece | 2 March 1954 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Where on Earth? | 8 July 1954 | BBC | Traveller | |
| Music From the Castle | 17 October 1954 | BBC | Commentator | |
| Christian Forum | 21 November 1954 | BBC | Participant | |
| Wells Cathedral | 1 April 1955 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Panorama | 25 April 1955 | BBC | Participant | |
| St Paul's Cathedral | 29 May 1955 | BBC | Narrator | |
| Panorama | 29 May 1955 | BBC | Participant | |
| Discovering Britain | 23 September 1955 – 30 March 1956 | ITV | Presenter | Series of 17 short films, on behalf of Shell Oil; also writer |
| Panorama | 5 December 1955 | BBC | Participant | |
| Robert Adam: Architect to an Age of Elegance | 31 January 1956 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Church in Action | 27 August 1956 | BBC | Presenter | |
| The Englishman's Home | 9 July – 5 September 1957 | BBC | Presenter | Series of six programmes |
| Tonight | 16 September 1957 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| Youth Wants to Know | 3 December 1957 | ITV | Participant | |
| Press Conference | 17 January 1958 | BBC | Participant | |
| About Religion | 19 January 1958 | ITV | Participant | |
| Press Conference | 14 March 1958 | BBC | Participant | |
| Meeting Point | 8 June 1958 – 29 August 1965 | BBC | Participant | Betjeman appeared in nine episodes of the programme |
| Panorama | 30 June 1958 | BBC | Participant | |
| Tonight | 8 December 1958 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| About Religion | 8 December 1958 | ITV | Participant | |
| Mainly for Women: Wednesday Magazine | 18 February 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| Monitor: John Betjeman, A Poet in London | 1 March 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| Tonight | 6 March 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| The Royal Scottish Academy | 6 July 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| Beauty in Trust | 4 August 1959 | BBC | Narrator | Also writer |
| Viewpoint | 9 September 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| Viewpoint | 4 November 1959 | BBC | Participant | |
| Journey into a Lost World | 1960 | BBC | Narrator | Also writer |
| Remembering Summer | 19 January 1960 | BBC | Participant | |
| Monitor | 28 February 1960 | BBC | Participant | |
| A Journey into the Weald | 26 June 1960 | BBC | Narrator | |
| John Betjeman as the Book Man | 11 September 1960 – 8 January 1961 | ITV | Presenter | Series of nine programmes |
| About Religion | 18 September 1960 | ITV | Participant | |
| Wednesday Magazine | 30 November 1960 – 6 December 1961 | BBC | Participant | Betjeman made four appearances in the series |
| John Betjeman and the Book Man | 8 January 1961 | ITV | Presenter | |
| John Betjeman Goes by Train | 17 April 1961 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Enjoying Life | 1962 | BBC | Presenter | Produced by the Labour Party |
| Steam and Stained Glass | 2 April – 16 April 1962 | ITV | Presenter | Series of three programmes |
| Perspective on Eccentricity | 31 May 1962 | BBC | Presenter | |
| In View: Men of Steam | 26 September 1962 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| Perspective | 17 January 1963 | BBC | Participant | |
| Sing a Song of Sixpence | 22 January – 19 February 1963 | ITV | Presenter | Series of three programmes |
| Let's Imagine a Branch Line Railway | 29 March 1963 | BBC | Presenter | |
| The Muse in SW1 | 17 July 1963 | BBC | Participant | |
| Seeing and Believing: In Populous City Pent | 6 October 1963 | BBC | Reader | |
| One Man's County | 22 January 1964 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Something About in Diss | 25 March 1964 | BBC | Narrator | |
| High Mass | 26 July 1964 | BBC | Participant | |
| Writer's World | 5 October 1964 | BBC | Participant | |
| Monitor | 15 December 1964 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Panorama | 21 December 1964 | BBC | Participant | |
| Christmas Carols | 24 December 1964 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Swann, Wallace and Betjeman | 25 December 1964 | BBC | Participant | |
| Monitor | 29 December 1964 | BBC | Participant | |
| A Thousand Years From Milton—from Milton Abbey | 3 March 1965 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Muses with Milligan | 3 March 1965 | BBC | Participant | |
| Pity About the Abbey | 29 July 1965 | BBC | Co-writer | Play, co-written with Stewart Farrar |
| BBC 3 | 29 January 1966 | BBC | Guest | |
| Late Show London | 18 February 1966 | | Interviewee | |
| A Man With a View | 19 April 1966 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Footprints | 15 May 1966 | BBC | Narrator | Also writer (in verse) |
| Late Night Line-Up | 31 July 1966 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| Betjeman at Random | 1 August – 22 August 1966 | ITV | Interviewer | Series of four programmes |
| Pride of Place | 1 August 1966 – 20 August 1967 | BBC | Participant | Series of nine programmes |
| The Frost Programme | 2 December 1966 | ITV | Interviewee | |
| The Founder: The Story of Lancing College | 9 December 1966 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Journey to Bethlehem | 26 December 1966 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Betjeman's London | 14 August – 18 September 1967 | BBC | Presenter | Series of six programmes |
| The Picture Theatre | 10 October 1967 | BBC | Presenter | |
| The Frost Programme | 6 December 1967 | ITV | Interviewee | |
| A Tale of Canterbury | 25 December 1967 | BBC | Narrator | Also written by Betjeman |
| Contrasts | 31 January 1968 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Aida | 5 February 1968 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Omnibus | 2 April 1968 | BBC | Participant | |
| Summer '67 | 8 April 1968 | BBC | Narrator | |
| The Morning Service | 26 May 1968 | ITV | Participant | |
| A Portrait of Hardy | 27 August 1968 | ITV | Participant | |
| Release: The Weekly Arts Magazine | 26 October 1968 | BBC | Participant | |
| Viewpoint | 14 November 1968 | BBC | Participant | |
| Frost on Saturday | 30 November 1968 | ITV | Interviewee | |
| Contrasts | 17 December 1968 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| Bird's-Eye View: The Englishman's Home | 5 April 1969 – 18 April 1971 | BBC | Presenter | Series of 13 programmes |
| A Cathedral for Cornwell | 10 April 1969 | BBC | Narrator | |
| Four with Betjeman | 29 June – 20 July 1970 | BBC | Presenter | Series of four programmes |
| Late Night Line-Up | 26 October 1970 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Look Stranger: Ellan Vannin | 10 December 1970 | BBC | Presenter | |
| An Evening with John Betjeman | 24 December 1970 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Aquarius | 26 December 1970 | ITV | Presenter | |
| That Well-Known Store in Knightsbridge | 1 June 1971 | BBC | Presenter | |
| On Camera: Historic Houses | 13 July 1971 | BBC | Participant | |
| Summer Review | 13 August 1971 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Omnibus: "Happy Birthday, Dear Albert" | 12 September 1971 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Treasures of the British Museum | 24 November 1971 | ITV | Presenter | |
| Railways Forever | 1 June 1972 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Collector's World | 15 August 1972 | BBC | Participant | |
| Betjeman in Australia | 13 September – 4 October 1972 | BBC | Presenter | Series of four programmes |
| Thank God it's Sunday | 10 & 17 December 1972 | BBC | Narrator | |
| Parkinson | 17 February 1973 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| Metro-Land | 26 February 1973 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| Up Sunday | 27 May 1973 | BBC | Participant | |
| A Chance to Meet | 16 September 1973 | BBC | Guest | |
| Nationwide | 19 March 1974 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| Aquarius | 26 May 1974 | ITV | Participant | |
| A Passion for Churches | 7 December 1974 | BBC | Narrator | Also writer |
| Sir John Betjeman | 15 June 1975 | BBC | Presenter | Five-minute appeal on behalf of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast |
| The Book Programme | 30 September 1975 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Just a Nimmo | 28 January 1976 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| Vicar of the Parish | 29 July 1976 | BBC | Narrator | Also writer |
| Summoned by Bells | 29 August 1976 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| Betjeman's Belfast | 12 November 1976 | BBC | Presenter | |
| The Enthusiast | 22 December 1976 | BBC | Presenter | |
| Anyone for Tennyson? | 16 March 1977 | Nebraska Educational Telecommunications | Presenter | |
| Betjeman and Friends | 12 & 19 April 1977 | ITV | Presenter | |
| The Queen's Realm: A Prospect of England | 31 May 1977 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| Parkinson | 5 November 1977 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| The Bold Red Baronet | 6 January 1978 | BBC | Participant | |
| Read All About It | 2 April 1978 | BBC | Interviewee | |
| John Betjeman's Dublin | 30 November 1978 | BBC | Presenter | Also writer |
| The Innes Book of Records | 17 January & 21 February 1979 | BBC | Participant | |
| Tonight in Town | 1 June 1979 | BBC | Participant | |
| Arena: "Private Life of the Ford Cortina" | 19 January 1982 | BBC | Participant | |
| Time with Betjeman | 13 February – 27 March 1983 | BBC | Participant | Series of seven programmes |
| The Architect of Civic Pride | 4 May 1984 | BBC | Participant | |

## Discography

LP recordings by Betjeman :
| Album | Year | Label | Notes |
| The Golden Treasury of John Betjeman | 1956 | Argo Records | |
| The Story of Jesus | 1960 | London Talking Book Co | |
| Betjeman Reads Betjeman | 1961 | Argo Records | |
| Banana Blush | 1974 | Virgin Records | With musical accompaniment from Jim Parker |
| Late Flowering Love | 1974 | Virgin Records | With musical accompaniment from Jim Parker |
| Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales | 1975 | Pye Records | Betjeman and Dame Edith Evans reading the stories |
| Elizabeth II: The Woman and the Queen | 1977 | Argo Records | |
| The World of John Betjeman | 1977 | Argo Records | |
| Sir John Betjeman's Britain | 1977 | Virgin Records | With musical accompaniment from Jim Parker |
| Varsity Rag | 1981 | Virgin Records | With musical accompaniment from Jim Parker |