Churches!
Site of the Ecclesiological Society  - for those who love churches
The Ecclesiological Society, founded in 1879, is the successor of the Cambridge Camden Society more . . .
Welcome! Whether you are an expert on churches and their architecture, or merely curious, welcome! Please contact us with any questions - we will do our best to answer, without charge.
Latest >> York Minster's Great East Window. An important two-day conference in York exploring John Thornton's great medieval window, undergoing restoration. A one-off opportunity. 25 - 26 November. Details here. Added 5 Nov 08 Latest >> Award worth £10,000. The Village Church for Village Life award was launched last year, and is now running for the second year, looking for the 'finest example of a historic, rural parish church that has successfully engaged the wider community to create a focus for village life '. Churchyards included! No formal deadline yet, but time will be tight - the deadline for applications is likely to early February. Details here. Added 5 Nov 08. The Church of England has published its annual statistics, apparently only available online. Available here. Added 5 Nov 08 English Heritage's Inspired! campaign now has a dedicated website. Added 9 Oct 08. >> The Advisory Board for Redundant Churches was disbanded during June. As its legacy, it has published thorough criteria for assessing the value of closed & closing churches (following public consultation on these). Added 9 June 1008.
Explore . . . Site of the month image of the month Fascinating  links Publications
The future With slowly declining congregations (in common with many Christian denominations), what will happen to our Church of England church buildings?  churches future (including downloads). . . This site . . . publications/download  download free publications . . . picture essays  short articles about various aspects of churches . . . research resources feel free to use our  selection of research links . . . news and gossip recent stories, both serious and gossipy . . . conferences  information about our annual conferences events  a large number of events related to church buildings . . . site of the month  each month we select an outstanding site for you to enjoy . . . image of the month  an image every month, with short commentary . . . links  an outanding collection of links to individual churches and collections of churches organisations  other organisations connected with church buildings etc . . . current issues  issues connected with churches (for their future see churches future) about us the Ecclesiological Society - we give a warm welcome to new members . . . members' page  of interest mainly to members contact how to contact us
Help with . . . If you can't find the sort of thing you are looking for on this site, try our Help with . . .  page, which has links to several useful sites, including the excellent Churchcrawler chat site, and helpful hints for those looking after churches and applying for grants. Update policy In theory updated monthly.  This page last updated 5 Nov 08.  See what's new. The Ecclesiological Society, Registered Charity No. 210501 Address for enquiries and general correspondence: EcclSoc, PO Box 287, New Malden, KT3 4YT, UK Home | Search the site What's new for Jan 2008  | News and gossip Dr D's image of the month  | Picture essays | Site of the month Links | Organisations | Research | Help with . . .  Conferences | Events Downloads and publications  |  Churches future  | Current issues    Members' page | About the Society  Contact us at infomain@ecclsoc.org

KEYWORDS FOR SEARCH ENGINES
Church architecture, Church design, Use of churches, Liturgical arrangment,
Romanesque churches, Romanesque architecture, Decorated architecture
Perpendicular architecture, Norman churches, Anglo-saxon churches
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Pews, Pulpits, Fonts, Screens, Galleries, Altar, Communion table, Paschal candle
Squint, Hagioscope, Aisles, Transepts, Sanctuary, Quire, Choir, Sedilia, Chancel,
Piscina, Aumbry, east window, west window, mason, master mason, mason's marks,
tiles, communion rails, porch, wall painting, stained glass, painted glass, figurative glass,
staves, beadles, churchwardens, rood, rood loft, crucifix, cross, saint, iconography, iconoclasm,
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doom, hell's mouth, scratch dial, orientation, burial, tomb, crypt, victorian churches, georgian churches,
post-reformation churches, consecration of churches
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Church architecture, Church design, Use of churches, Liturgical arrangment, Romanesque churches, Romanesque architecture, Decorated architecture Perpendicular architecture, Norman churches, Anglo-saxon churches Saxon churches, Church furnishings, Church fittings, Church furniture, Church decoration Pews, Pulpits, Fonts, Screens, Galleries, Altar, Communion table, Paschal candle Squint, Hagioscope, Aisles, Transepts, Sanctuary, Quire, Choir, Sedilia, Chancel, Piscina, Aumbry, east window, west window, mason, master mason, mason's marks, tiles, communion rails, porch, wall painting, stained glass, painted glass, figurative glass, staves, beadles, churchwardens, rood, rood loft, crucifix, cross, saint, iconography, iconoclasm, box pews,St Paul's ecclesiological society, cambridge camden society, churches, church furnishings, church architecture, liturgy
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Interest in church liturgy can be historic, such as an interest in the Sarum liturgy, or the liturgy of York or Canterbury - that is, medieval church liturgy. The interest might stretch further back, to the liturgies of the Church Fathers. Or it might be an interest in liturgy for today's church - modern liturgy if you will, including the reordering of churches (sometimes spelt re-ordering of churches). Included in the concept of liturgy is the selection of church music, church vestments, ceremonial, the degree of congregational participation, church processions as well as the liturgical arrangement of the sacred space - and these factors can be all be present by their absence.
Church architecture and parish church architecture (the architecture of parish churches)
The Ecclesiolgical Society has members who are particularly interested in medieval church architecture, particularly of parish churches. Others specialise in Saxon architecture (that is to say, English pre-Romanesque) or Norman architecture (Romanesque architecture, partcularly of churches). Yet others will be interested in Carolingian church architecture, of which a substantial amount survives on the Continent of Europe. Other periods also interest our members, including the Georgian period. Many of them love the Victorian period, though asking who is the best Victorian church architect is likely to start a vigorous debate! Modern church architecture is also studied, and twentieth century church architecture.