Places of Worship in Great Britain 1689-1829, Rewley House Studies in the Historic Environment

Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2021. Book. Fine. Hardback. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. This book, the sixth in a series on places of worship in Britain and Ireland, contains 11 essays on a period of relative calm after the radical changes during the previous reformations and civil wars. The dates are set by the Act of Toleration from the new government of William and Mary and the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829. The period saw a renewed emphasis on auditory worship, preaching, and a new social conscience marked by educational and welfare initiatives and a desire to build churches in every locality. The architecture of the period is marked by simplicity, some geometrical experiments and an eclectic mix of styles for details, mostly classical or vernacular but the first stirrings of the Gothic Revival also appeared here. The essays are by Mark Smith (a general overview), John Harper on worship and music; W. M. Jacobs on Anglican churches 1689-1790; Christopher Webster on Anglican churches 1790-1840; William Roulston on Irish places of worship; Richard Fawcett on Scottish developments; Christopher Wakeling on chapel building in the age of Methodism; Ann-Marie Akehurst on Quaker meeting houses; Roderick O'Donnell on new Catholic places of worship; Sharman Kadish on the Georgian synagogue; and P. S. Barnwell with a detailed concluding essay emphasising that despite denominational diversity the period was united by the ministry of the Word and by a similarity of architectural forms. The book is printed in colour with many handsome photographs and has a comprehensive index (showing that far more subjects are covered than appear in the essay titles), all properly sewn and bound in real cloth..