Christian Architecture: England Churches

Christopher Martin tells the remarkable story of Catholic church architecture in England and Wales, a subject about which very little has been written. Catholic churches have too often been dismissed as merely "Victorian". With superb illustrations by the well known architectural photographer Alex Ramsay, this book demonstrates that many Victorian Catholic churches were masterpieces,that Catholics built churches and chapels of astonishing confidence even in the 18th century, and that in the 20th century Catholic church-builders grasped the architectural opportunities offered by the modern age with enthusiasm.

Donald Sinden's interest in the country churches of England was awakened during his childhood, when his mother took him to many of the places that had inspired her own father, a gifted draughtsman with a particular interest in ecclesiastical architecture. Since those early days, Donald Sinden has pursued the family interest, and in the intervals of a highly successful acting career, punctuated by the writing of books, he has acquired an unrivaled knowledge of the lovely and often forgotten churches that adorn our countryside. Lavishly illustrated with his grandfather's superb drawings and watercolours, and written with all Donald Sinden's wit and style, this book is a stimulating record of some of the riches of English architecture.