Norfolk has long been recognised as one of the best counties in which to study parish churches. It has one of the highest densities of medieval churches in northern Europe reflecting its greater population and wealth in earlier times. It is also home to the largest number of round-towered churches in England and to more surviving medieval glass than most counties put together. Its towers and spires punctuate the open landscape and there are some churches from which you can see six or seven others. The building materials range from the local flint and carstone to imported limestones and brick. This diversity of material has led to a huge range of different styles of church - from tiny farmyard churches to those which feel as if they should be a cathedral even though they have probably never served more than a hundred people. This book will cover a cross section of churches throughout the county, both well-known and those waiting to be discovered by a wider audience. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Norfolk over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.

The churches of Hampshire are as varied as the landscapes they occupy. Remote rural churches that have changed little in 900 years are so far removed from those found in medieval market towns or bustling seaports that one might imagine that they have little in common. Yet the building materials of natural flint, imported stone from Normandy or the Isle of Wight and, later, local brick hold these diverse buildings together. As an early regional capital Winchester attracted powerful individuals whose influence spread through the county. Monastic houses flourished and have left us grand churches. Courtiers and courtesans have left their marks across the county, as have eighteenth- and nineteenth-century industrialists, many of whom rebuilt or restored churches. This book looks at fifty Hampshire churches from the Saxon gems of Breamore and Titchfield through Romsey Abbey to isolated churches in the folds of the Downs at Idsworth and Wield to nineteenth- and twentieth-century churches that rank amongst England's finest. Together with their rich memorials and furnishings there is something for everyone, and Churches of Hampshire will encourage all those who live in the county or are visiting to discover the history on their doorsteps.

Kent is often referred to as 'the cradle of English Christianity'. Canterbury is not only home to the Anglican Communion but also the location of St Martin's Church, the oldest church in England in continuous use. Kent's religious heritage has benefitted from this, as has its proximity to both the Continent and London. Architecturally, the churches of Kent range from premier Norman churches to tiny manorial churches that still sit in sequestered churchyards having, apparently, been forgotten for centuries. These churches are distinguished by a greater than usual diversity of building material, from the poor-quality but distinctive Kentish ragstone or flint nodules from nearby fields to excellent-quality limestone imported from Normandy and locally produced bricks. Kent's churches also display glimpses into national history with links to early saints like St Mildred and St Sexburga through to Archbishop Thomas Becket, Anne Boleyn, Charles Dickens and Winston Churchill. In this book author John E. Vigar examines not only examples of the great church building campaigns of the medieval period but also later churches. Many have furnishings and memorials where individuals showed their importance in society by beautifying churches to their own glory, including Lullingstone, which was brought up to date in the early eighteenth century by its rich patron, Sir Percival Hart, and examples where new money from industry influenced the county's churches in the Victorian period, outstanding among which is Kilndown. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Kent over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.

Cambridgeshire is a large and diverse county, and this is reflected in its churches. In the south, chalk provided flints for even the grandest of churches. The Fens in the north and east had no building materials of their own, so limestone was transported from further north and may best be seen in those churches that were owned or established by monastic houses. In the former county of Huntingdonshire limestone dominates, and bricks made from the local clays make an early appearance. In this book author John E. Vigar presents a selection of the most interesting churches from across the county, including the former counties of the Isle of Ely, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough, covering every period and type of church, from simple Saxo-Norman churches such as Hauxton, to late medieval churches where money was plentiful such as Whittlesey. Former monastic houses are represented by March and Ramsey, a rare seventeenth-century church at Guyhirn and one of the most important nineteenth-century churches in England at Cambridge All Saints, as well as many other ecclesiastical gems in the county. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Cambridgeshire over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.