A Glimpse of Heaven: Catholic Churches of England and WalesThe architecture and decoration of Catholic churches and their importance as part of our heritage has gone largely undiscovered and unappreciated. This book is a celebration of100 Catholic churches in England and Wales, with lively and informative text and stunning photography specially commissioned for the book. Each chapter is devoted to a milestone in the history of the Catholic Church since the Reformation, with a brief introduction followed by a description of each church complementing Alex Ramsay’s photographs.The churches vary enormously in scale, date and location. The small, 14th-century chapel at Rotherwas near Hereford survived centuries of official persecution and more informal terror from local anti-Catholics. The 19th-century Church of St Everilda in Yorkshire was built after Catholic Emancipation, but though off the beaten track it still hid its interior magnificence behind non-committal, blank walls. The Gothic churches of architect Joseph Hansom strike wonder into the hearts of their visitors: at Manchester’s Holy Name he contrived a space of breath-taking vastness – architecture designed to shock and awe. Early 20th-century church architects adopted a lighter – and in some cases extraordinary – approach that gave Rochdale a church with a Byzantine dome and a wall of sumptuous mosaics. All these are important, architecturally, decoratively, historically and socially, and each has an additional powerful and poignant dimension because of their remarkable stories. |
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A Glimpse of Heaven: Catholic Churches of England and Wales Christopher Martin No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbey alabaster angels Anglican apse arches architect architecture Arundel baptistery bell-cote Benedictine Bentley Birmingham Bishop Blessed Sacrament Chapel brick building built Cardinal carved Catholic Catholic church Catholic family centre choir Christ Classical clerestory coloured columns commissioned concrete congregation Cross decoration dome east end east wall east window England English English Heritage Eric Gill Father font gallery George Gilbert Scott Gilbert Scott Giles Gilbert Scott gold Hansom Hardman & Co Henry Henry Clutton High Altar Holy interior Jesuit John Francis Bentley Lady Chapel Lancashire light Liverpool London look marble Martyrs Mary medieval monks mosaic nave niches painted panels parish Patrick Reyntiens Peter priest pulpit re-ordering relief reredos Roman Romanesque Rome rood roof saints sanctuary Scoles screen side space spire St Francis St John St Mary's St Peter's St Philip stained glass stained-glass Stations statue of St stone tabernacle tall tower town transept Victorian west front Westminster Cathedral worship