The Eighteenth-Century Church in Britain

by Terry Friedman

This ambitious and generously illustrated study is an in-depth account of the architectural character of a vast range of eighteenth-century ecclesiastical buildings, including the Anglican parish churches, medieval cathedrals repaired and modified during the period, and Dissenting and Catholic chapels and mausoleums. The first substantial study of the subject to appear in over half a century, Terry Friedman's work explores not only the physical aspects of these buildings but church-going activities of Britons from the cradle to the grave. In addition, fully documented, chronologically sequenced design and construction histories of 272 key ecclesiastical buildings are presented on an accompanying CD-ROM.

800 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Sitatunga]

This is an extraordinary book. First impression: the sheer scale, the ton of glossy pages, infinity of quality illustrations, a whole CD-ROM of sources - is staggering. But as you read this is no coffee table book - the academic argument runs cleanly through these luxurious pages, that the Gothic style, so long believed to be moribund in thsi period, in reality continued to breathe throughout the centuries of classical revival, that the dilettanteish whimsy of Strawberry Hill and Fonthill merely disguised the survival of true craftsmanship, at local level. I haven't really got into it yet but am already beguiled by Soane's schemes for Tyringham, the various plans for another St. Paul's-sized cathedral, the octagon of Westminster Abbey ....