The ancient churches and cathedrals of England's towns and countryside are among the glories of our national heritage. Yet how were our ancestors able to construct these often substantial edifices without the benefit of modern techniques? How did the medieval masons plan, design and oversee their construction? What methods of construction were used by the medieval carpenters to realise the magnificent roofs and ceilings we see today? In this unique guide, Geoffrey R. Sharpe brings forty years experience of caring for historic buildings to show us how, from the original planning and preparation to the final construction and decoration. In a final chapter the author shows the reader how to assess the history and development of a church from the constructional and architectural clues contained within its features. The result is a work that adds a whole new dimension to our understanding of English church building and architecture.

Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. A. H. Thompson's The Ground Plan of the English Parish Church was published in 1911 and was the first book to devote itself entirely to the historical development and resultant features of the parish church in England. It remains an insightful work on the subject.

Originally published in 1938, this volume provides a detailed study of the Romanesque style as exemplified by the architecture of the Cluniac Monastic Order. The key features of Cluniac architectural style are discussed in detail and observations are supported with a broad variety of illustrative examples. Other features include comprehensive lists of Cluniac Houses and affiliated Parish Churches, a key to Marrier's Catalogus, and a generous bibliography. This is a well-presented and highly informative book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Christian monastic architecture.

In 2010, the East London Mosque celebrated its centenary. One hundred years earlier, the Aga Khan and Syed Ameer Ali had convened a public meeting at the London Ritz Hotel, where they set out a strategy for the construction of a mosque in London that would be 'worthy of the capital of the British Empire'. The Mosque, however, took a long time to materialise. From the Commercial Road in the East End of London in which it was eventually first set up in 1941, it moved to Fieldgate Street and on to the Whitechapel Road in 1985. Through the lens of the original Minutes and related documents, Professor Ansari takes us on the fascinating journey of how the newly emerging confident Muslim community of the early twentieth century and major figures of the British establishment reached out to one another, each looking to nurture the development of this new multicultural society.

This 1955 book examines the beginnings of 'Perpendicular'. A reconsideration of the structures themselves and of their documentary background drastically corrected previous ideas, and all this knowledge is made use of and extended by the author. Dr Hastings sets forth the whole theory of the incidence and discrimination of principles and practice of the Court School of masons and decorators, taking as his focal point the building of St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster (1292 1347). Dr Hastings introduces his main subject by an examination of the 'New Work' of St Paul's Cathedral, by a survey of masons employed on royal buildings, and by a study of the surviving evidence relating to the Eleanor Crosses. He concludes with an essay on the tomb design of England and France within his period, by an examination of the contemporary works at Windsor, Ely, Gloucester, and by a final chapter summing up his conclusions. The book is richly illustrated by reproductions of old plans and drawings, and by photographs.

The Safavid period represents an immensely rich chapter in the history of Iranian architecture. In this discussion of Safavid architecture in the context of its political, social and religious milieu, Kishwar Rizvi gives special consideration to the shrine of Shaykh Safi, built in AD 1334, as an important template for an emergent Safavid taste. Of both regal and religious significance, the shrine's direct relationship to imperial power is unique in Islamic architecture and provides valuable information about the methods of architectural benefaction prevalent in early modern Iran. Rizvi examines the ways in which the transition from a devotional aesthetic to an imperial one represented the young dynasty's imperial aspirations, and affected a wide range of public buildings from mosques to palaces during the early Safavid period and beyond.

In this 1911 work, J. Armitage Robinson uses architectural and documentary sources to discuss the history of the abbot's buildings at Westminster Abbey. The medieval monastic remains are extensive, but have been considerably modified over the centuries. The abbey muniments provide much information on the building's history, and Robinson includes many documents, both medieval and post-Reformation, to trace the development of the complex and how it was used. As dean of the abbey, Robinson had unprecedented access, and so was able to work out the architectural history more fully than had been possible in previous studies. As the abbey grew in importance and wealth, so the status of the abbot grew, necessitating grander buildings for entertaining. The medieval abbey must have been a continual building site, to judge by the frequent references to structural work in the accounts. This is a valuable study of an important surviving medieval building.

Since ancient times, Hindus have expressed their love and devotion to their deities through beautiful ornamentation dressing and decorating the deities with elaborate clothing, jewelry, and flowers. In this pioneering study of temples in Vrindaban and Jaipur, India, Cynthia Packert takes readers across temple thresholds and into the god Krishna s sacred domain. She describes what devotees see when they behold gorgeously attired representations of the god and why these images look the way they do. She discusses new media as well as global forms of devotion popular in India and abroad. The Art of Loving Krishna opens a universe of meaning in which art, religious action, and devotion are dynamically intertwined."

Le Guide du Leader Cette etude biblique approfondie est preparee pour les leaders de l'Eglise notamment: Pasteurs, Diacres, Evangelistes, Predicateurs, Enseignants ou Docteurs, Chefs de groupes.... "Le verset clef d'encouragement 2 Timothee 2: 15 Efforce-toi de te presenter devant Dieu comme un homme eprouve, un ouvrier qui n'a point a rougir qui dispense droitement la parole de la verite. Le Tome I de la serie "Le Guide du Leader" s'etend sur quatre grands chapitres: 1. Le Millenium ou le Royaume de Christ 2. Le Travail du Saint Esprit avec le croyant 3. Les Anges qui sont-ils? 4. Les Doctrines Fondamentales de la Bible Ecrit par: Frere Gary Volcy Theologien Linguiste Gestionnaire Programmeur (Computer Science)

This is a fully illustrated account, first published in 1985, of the rock-cut monasteries, hermitages and other complexes in Cappadocia (central Anatolia, in Turkey). These were cut into soft volcanic rock, mostly during the ninth to eleventh centuries, when the area formed part of the Byzantine Empire. Although called 'cave' monuments, these monasteries were carefully finished to resemble ordinary built architecture. Some of the churches were decorated with wall paintings, which occasionally included portraits of their patrons or dedicatory inscriptions. Dr Rodley provides a definitive record of the monasteries and hermitages, tries to determine when, why and by whom they were established, and places them within the larger contexts of Byzantine history and Byzantine monasteries.

Dorchester-on-Thames and its abbey have been subjects of antiquarian interest for more than 450 years, and during that time much has been written about them. They are, however, still far from being comprehensively studied and recorded. Indeed, the most substantial architectural description of the medieval church was written as long ago as 1845, and a thoroughgoing reappraisal has long been overdue. In this major new study on the origins, history and architecture of Dorchester Abbey, Warwick Rodwell assembles a huge amount of material from observations during repair and conservation and information derived from archaeological excavation, as well as the unexpected discovery of previously unstudied and unpublished topographical and architectural material, housed in several archives. The volume is divided into two parts: the first contains an account of the archaeology of the site and the architectural development of the abbey, while the second comprises a series of detailed notes and observations on the present structure, its fittings and furnishings.

Few monuments have fascinated people as much as the Parthenon. Two and a half millennia after its construction, this monument continues to generate important research across a wide range of fields, from classics and art history to archaeology and the physical sciences. This book, which grows out of a conference held at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, presents the latest developments in Parthenon research by an international cast of scholars and scientists. It offers new interpretations of some of the most crucial issues, ranging from the authorship of the frieze to the reconstruction of its missing sculpture, as well as the sociopolitical context in which the monument was created and the application of new technologies in Parthenon studies. Showcasing the most up to date research on the Parthenon, this book not only presents the current state of Parthenon studies but also marks the future direction of scholarship.

The popular image of the traditional western city has usually been dominated by the cathedral, whose sheer size seemed to create an isolated physical and spiritual focal point. In this iconoclastic study, the author sets out to reverse some of the romantic myths which have accrued about the medieval cathedral, in particular that the cathedral was a separate entity, self-sufficient, sublime and apart. Here the cathedral is shown to be a dynamic, evolving and unpredictable force in the development of the medieval city. Taking France as the main focus, but including material on England, Germany, Italy, Spain and Bohemia, the author describes the growth of diocesan authority and the consequent experiments in the layout of cathedral plans. Full use is made of recent archaeological research to show how architectural, social, financial and religious considerations combined to form a structure that was above all a practical, functioning concern, a 'city within a city'.

A small church nestling deep in the countryside is instantly evocative. Why is it there at all? Whom does it serve? In a county by county guide to the smallest gems of English ecclesiastical architecture, John Kinross provides the reader with descriptions of over 100 of the country's loveliest and most interesting churches and chapels, and offers directions on how to find these churches for those inspired to seek them out. The book, which is comprehensively illustrated with colour and black-and-white photographs, drawings and location maps, will appeal both to those living in England and to visitors.

Previously issued in 1981, this book examines the wooden church architecture of Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is the principal refuge of styles and techniques of 'solid' timber and log building which were once far more widespread. These same building methods were once well known in central Europe too but the increasing scarcity of forest resources prompted the development of timber-framing or half-timbering as a more economical alternative. This system exerted an influence over wide areas of eastern Europe, and Mr Buxton devotes some space to a consideration of it, but the bulk of the book is concerned with churches built basically in solid timber, though with many refinements and embellishments. The author attempts to show the origin and relationship of the numerous regional styles with notes on their geographical and historical setting. He spent a number of years travelling in eastern Europe gathering material and taking a great many photographs some of which are included in the book; there are also plans and sections of all principal church-types. There are two appendixes: in the first Mr Buxton discusses the relationship between the wooden styles presented here and the American log cabin; the second describes the wooden synagogues of eastern Poland, all tragically lost in the last war.

No serious art-historical library should be without it. [The publisher] is to be congratulated for taking on this epic venture. BURLINGTON MAGAZINE. The fifty years between 1130 and 1180 produced some of the most original and evocative capitals of the middle ages - a period that was largely responsible for the evolution of the Gothic style. But despite the fact that many are hard to examine in situ and are often too dark to observe closely, they have rarely been published before. These volumes will therefore be widely welcomed. The 7,600 illustrations they contain cover, in large and exquisite detail,nearly every capital; they include the multitude of works in the great cathedrals and abbeys of the time, including Chartres, Laon, Noyon, Paris, Saint-Denis, Senlis and Sens. The staggering range of individual creativity shows aculture able to reinvent itself in a rare and exciting way. The publication of the fourth and fifth volumes in the sequence completes the photographic archive of foliate carving from the Paris Basin during the formative two centuries in which architecture and the techniques of building were transformed. They are also the foundation for subsequent volumes which will establish a chronology for Early Gothic architecture and sculpture, as well as technological developments in rib vaults and construction methods. Dr JOHN JAMES is a world authority on medieval architecture, and author of over sixty books and articles.

This book is the crowning achievement of the remarkable scholar D. Dennis Hudson, bringing together the results of a lifetime of interdisciplinary study of south Indian Hinduism.
The book is a finely detailed examination of a virtually unstudied Tamil Hindu temple, the Vaikuntha Perumal (ca. 770 C.E.). Hudson offers a sustained reading of the temple as a coherent, organized, minutely conceptualized mandala. Its iconography and structure can be understood in the light of a ten-stanza poem by the Alvar poet Tirumangai, and of the Bhagavata Purana and other major religious texts, even as it in turn illuminates the meanings of those texts.
Hudson takes the reader step by step on a tour of the temple, telling the stories suggested by each of the 56 sculpted panels and showing how their relationship to one another brings out layers of meaning. He correlates the stories with stages in the spiritual growth of the king through the complex rituals that formed a crucial dimension of the religion. The result is a tapestry of interpretation that brings to life the richness of spiritual understanding embodied in the temple.
Hudson's underlying assumption is that the temple itself constitutes a summa theologica for the Pancharatra doctrines in the Bhagavata tradition centered on Krishna as it had developed through the eighth century. This tradition was already ancient and had spread widely across South Asia and into Southeast Asia. By interweaving history with artistic, liturgical, and textual interpretation, Hudson makes a remarkable contribution to our understanding of an Indian religious and cultural tradition.

Jeanne Halgren Kilde's survey of church architecture is unlike any other. Her main concern is not the buildings themselves, but rather the dynamic character of Christianity and how church buildings shape and influence the religion. Kilde argues that a primary function of church buildings is to represent and reify three different types of power: divine power, or ideas about God; personal empowerment as manifested in the individual's perceived relationship to the divine; and social power, meaning the relationships between groups such as clergy and laity. Each type intersects with notions of Christian creed, cult, and code, and is represented spatially and materially in church buildings.
Kilde explores these categories chronologically, from the early church to the twentieth century. She considers the form, organization, and use of worship rooms; the location of churches; and the interaction between churches and the wider culture.
Church buildings have been integral to Christianity, and Kilde's important study sheds new light on the way they impact all aspects of the religion. Neither mere witnesses to transformations of religious thought nor simple backgrounds for religious practice, church buildings are, in Kilde's view, dynamic participants in religious change and goldmines of information on Christianity itself.

Originally published in 1935, The English Abbey sees celebrated architectural historian Frederick Herbert Crossley look beyond the masonry and arches to describe the inner workings of the abbey, a way of life central to English society until its eventual suppression and destruction at the hands of Henry VIII. After recounting the history of monasteries and the various orders of monks and nuns, The English Abbey describes the people found inside, from the all-powerful Abbot to the lowliest novice. Chapters cover the buildings' location, construction and architecture, their management and maintenance, with the many different jobs and offices required to keep an abbey running smoothly, and the highly regulated daily rhythms of a life which revolved around services. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs and drawings showing some of England's finest examples, The English Abbey is a revealing and highly informative work of both architectural and social history.

This book examines the development of Roman temple architecture from its earliest history in the sixth century BC to the reigns of Hadrian and the Antonines in the second century AD. Although archaeologists, architects, and historians have studied the temples of this period since the Renaissance, this book is unique for its specific analysis of Roman temples as a building type. John Stamper analyzes their formal qualities, the public spaces in which they were located and, most importantly, the authority of precedent in their designs. The basis of that authority was the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the city's first and most important temple. Stamper challenges the accepted reconstruction of this temple, proposing a new reconstruction, and assessing its role in the transformation of Rome. He also traces Rome's temple architecture as it evolved over time and how it accommodated changing political and religious contexts, as well as the effects of new stylistic influences.

Fortress-Churches of Languedoc traces the changing relationship between military and religious realms as expressed in architecture across medieval Europe. The scholarship of medieval architecture has traditionally imposed a division between military and ecclesiastical structures. Often, however, medieval churches were provided with fortified enclosures, crenellations, iron-barred doors and other elements of defence, demonstrating the strong link between Church and state, and the military and religious realms. In her study of fortress-churches, Sheila Bonde focuses on three twelfth-century monuments in southern France - Maguelone, Agde and Saint-Pon-de-Thomiere, which are among the earliest examples of the type. She analyses her archaeological surveys of these structures, and also re-examines their documentation, which is here presented both in the original Latin and in English translations. The book also explores the larger context of fortification and authority in twelfth-century Languedoc and examines the dynamics of architectural exchange and innovation in the Mediterranean at a moment of critical historical importance.

The history of a building site in Moscow where Russian rulers since Alexander I have planned, constructed, and destroyed monuments of colossal proportions This book surveys two centuries of Russian history through a succession of ambitious architectural projects designed for a single construction site in central Moscow. Czars, Bolshevik rulers, and contemporary Russian leaders alike have dreamed of glorious monuments to themselves and their ideologies on this site. The history of their efforts reflects the story of the nation itself and its repeated attempts to construct or reconstruct its identity and to repudiate or resuscitate emblems of the past. In the nineteenth century Czar Alexander I began to construct the largest cathedral (and the largest building) in the world at the time. His successor, Nicholas I, changed both the site and the project. Completed by Alexander III, the cathedral was demolished by Stalin in the 1930s to make way for the tallest building in the world, the Palace of Soviets, but that project was ended by the war. During the Khrushchev years the excavation pit was transformed into an outdoor heated swimming pool-the world's largest, of course-and under Yeltsin's direction the pool was replaced with a reconstruction of the destroyed cathedral. The book explores each project intended for this ideologically-charged site and documents with 60 illustrations the grand projects that were built as well as those that were only dreamed.

English cathedrals, including Canterbury, Durham, Winchester and York, are the greatest collective work of art and architecture in Britain, reflecting over a thousand years of history. "English Cathedrals" is an account of their foundation, construction and decoration - their architectural history - but also of who used them and what happened in them - their human history. Cathedrals were centres of learning, music and wealth. Continuity of worship over hundreds of years was broken by the two great crises of the sixteenth-century Reformation and the seventeenth-century Civil War. There were also dramatic episodes, such as the loss of St Paul's in the Great Fire of 1666, subsequently to be rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. All have changed over the centuries. These great buildings remain striking monuments in the landscape with a unique power to evoke the past.

An introduction to the medieval cathedral, those churches that are regarded as the greatest achievements of medieval architecture. Details their social history, who built them, how they were built, and why. Forty photos and maps help to guide the reader through a narrated tour of these awe-inspiring churches. When we think of cathedrals, we usually envision the great Gothic Buildings of 12th- and 13th-century Europe. But other than being a large church, a cathedral is neither a specific building type nor specifically medieval. What a makes a large church a cathedral is the presence of a single item of furniture: the chair (in Latin: cathedra) or throne that is the symbol of the ecclesiastical and spiritual authority of a bishop. This book is an introduction to the medieval cathedral, those churches that are usually regarded as among the greatest achievements of medieval architecture. While cathedrals were often the most prominent urban structure in many European cities, their construction was never a civic responsibility, but remained the responsibility of the clergy in charge of the day to day activities and services. Beginning with an overview of the social history of cathedrals, Clark examines such topics as patrons, builders and artists, and planning and construction; and provides an in-depth examination of the French Cathedral at Reims—a seminal building with significant technological advances, important sculptural programs, a surviving bishop's palace, and other structures. The volume concludes with a series of illustrations, a selection of original texts, and a selected bibliography for further study. A full index is also provided.

For 250 years chapels have been at the heart of Black Country life - both social and religious. Poor social conditions in this heavily industrialised area stimulated the growth of religious nonconformity, and chapel influence is strong even today, despite many closures and demolitions over the last few years. over the Black Country and from a wide range of denominations (Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Independent and Quaker) and has recorded their memories. This is, therefore, a first-hand account not only of the buildings themselves - including tin chapels, those converted to other uses, and some that have vanished altogether - but also of the wide-ranging and active social life that surrounded them - Sunday schools, Scouts and Guides, choirs, youth groups, parades and carnivals, outings, sporting events and so on. paintings, posters and other ephemera, Black Country Chapels will bring back memories for anyone who was born and brought up in the Black Country.