CONTENTS
| CHAPTER I | |||
| THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARISH CHURCH | |||
| SECTION | PAGE | ||
| 1. | Early parish churches in England | [1] | |
| 2. | The monastic missionary settlements: church-building on private estates | [3] | |
| 3. | The Danish invasions and the monastic revival | [5] | |
| 4. | German influence on pre-Conquest architecture | [6] | |
| 5. | Influence of the Normans on the architecture of parish churches | [7] | |
| 6. | The parish church at the Norman conquest | [10] | |
| 7. | Appropriation of churches to monasteries: ordination of vicarages | [11] | |
| 8. | Relation of monastic owners to the fabrics of churches | [13] | |
| 9. | The builders of medieval parish churches | [15] | |
| 10. | The parish church and its rectors | [17] | |
| 11. | Disadvantages of pluralism and litigation | [18] | |
| 12. | Growth of the chantry system | [20] | |
| 13. | Chantry chapels at Beckingham, Lincolnshire | [21] | |
| 14. | Summary | [22] | |
| CHAPTER II | |||
| THE CHANTRY CHAPEL IN THE PARISH CHURCH | |||
| 15. | Chantries and colleges of chantry priests | [24] | |
| 16. | Foundation of chantry colleges | [27] | |
| 17. | Parochial chapels | [29] | |
| 18. | Religious and trade guilds | [30] | |
| 19, 20. | The chantry chapel: its influence on the church plan | [33] | |
| 21. | Chancels of collegiate churches | [37] | |
| 22. | St John Baptist’s, Cirencester | [39] | |
| 23. | Chesterfield and Scarborough; charnel chapels | [41] | |
| 24. | Burford church, Oxon | [42] | |
| 25. | St Michael’s and Holy Trinity, Coventry | [45] | |
| 26. | Importance of the work of lay benefactors | [48] | |
| CHAPTER III | |||
| THE TOWER, THE PORCH, AND THE CHANCEL | |||
| 27. | Subject of the chapter | [51] | |
| 28. | The western tower before the Conquest | [53] | |
| 29. | Survival of the older type of tower after the Conquest | [56] | |
| 30. | Architectural development of the tower | [59] | |
| 31. | The spire | [60] | |
| 32. | The tower of the later middle ages: its relation to the clerestory of the nave | [62] | |
| 33. | Western doorways and porches | [65] | |
| 34. | Side doorways of the church | [67] | |
| 35. | The porch: altars in porches | [68] | |
| 36. | Chambers above porches | [71] | |
| 37. | Altars in towers: habitations in connexion with churches | [73] | |
| 38. | Variety of position of the tower | [75] | |
| 39. | The chancel arch | [76] | |
| 40. | Enlargement of the chancel and architectural treatment | [78] | |
| 41. | Fourteenth century chancels in Yorkshire and the northern midlands | [80] | |
| 42. | Decline of chancel building in the fifteenth century: the laity and the nave | [85] | |
| 43. | Sacristies | [88] | |
| 44. | Squints, priests’ doors, low side windows | [90] | |
| 45. | Crypts and bone-holes | [95] | |
| CHAPTER IV | |||
| THE FURNITURE OF A MEDIEVAL PARISH CHURCH: CONCLUSION | |||
| 46. | Remains of medieval decorations | [98] | |
| 47. | Mural paintings | [98] | |
| 48. | Stained glass | [102] | |
| 49. | Coloured furniture of stone and wood | [105] | |
| 50. | Furniture of the nave and aisles: font and benches | [106] | |
| 51. | Chapels in aisles | [109] | |
| 52. | Pulpits, galleries, etc. | [110] | |
| 53. | The rood screen | [112] | |
| 54. | The rood loft and beam | [116] | |
| 55. | Quire stalls and lectern | [117] | |
| 56. | Levels of the chancel | [119] | |
| 57. | The altar and its furniture | [120] | |
| 58. | Piscina,sedilia, and almeries | [122] | |
| 59. | The Easter sepulchre | [124] | |
| 60. | Exceptional furniture | [128] | |
| 61. | Parish churches after the Reformation | [129] | |
| 62. | Later parish churches | [130] | |
| 63. | Post-reformation work and modern restoration | [131] | |
| Bibliography | [134] | ||
| Index | [137] | ||
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| St Benet’s, Cambridge: west tower from N.W. | [Frontispiece] |
| PAGE | |
| Sketch of Hallaton, chantry chapel in S. aisle | [25] |
| Plan of Cirencester Church | [40] |
| Plan of Burford Church | [43] |
| Plan of St Michael’s Church, Coventry | [46] |
| Plan of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry | [47] |
| Norton, Co. Durham: Saxon central tower, with transept | [52] |
| Carlton-in-Lindrick, Notts: west tower | [57] |
| Tickhill, Yorkshire: general view from S.E., shewing clerestory, western tower and projecting eastern chapel | [63] |
| St Mary’s, Beverley: south porch | [69] |
| Cirencester: south porch | [72] |
| Patrington: north side of chancel and vestry | [83] |
| Walpole St Peter: from N.E. | [86] |
| Wensley: chancel, with low side window, from S.E. | [91] |
| St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol: from N.E. | [95] |
| Patrington: interior, looking across nave from S. transept | [99] |
| Well, Yorkshire: font cover | [107] |
| Banwell, Somerset: rood screen | [113] |
| Hawton, Notts: Easter sepulchre | [125] |
[ CHAPTER I]
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARISH CHURCH
§ 1. The early history of the English parish church is obscure, owing to the fact that architectural remains of the earliest fabrics are somewhat scanty, and that their actual date still affords ground for dispute. The episcopal constitution of the Romano-British church is not fully known; but it is probable that, as in Gaul, every considerable centre of population possessed within its walls a church, which followed the ‘basilican’ arrangement common to the Christian churches of the Roman empire. But while, on the continent of Europe, the ecclesiastical history of the chief provincial capitals remained unbroken, and the great cathedrals of the middle ages rose upon sites which had been, from the establishment of Christianity in the empire, the centres of the religious life of Roman cities, the continuous history of church-building in England was broken by the relapse into heathenism which followed the victorious invasions of the Saxons. The history of church architecture begins again with the coming of St Augustine in 597 A.D. Of churches which may reasonably be said to have been built as an immediate result of his mission, there are several remains in Kent; and the famous church of St Martin at Canterbury is probably in large part the building which he and his companions used for their first services. There is more than one theory as to the original extent of the church; but there can be little doubt that the western part of the chancel, the south wall of which is built of Roman brick, is of Augustine’s time. Bede tells us that Augustine found an earlier church, built during the Roman occupation, on this site or on a site closely corresponding to it. It is safe to assume that he repaired this building, and spared all that he could of its materials. Apart from the Kentish churches there remains, on the remote part of the Essex coast, a building known as St Peter’s on the Wall, which appears to be connected architecturally with the Kentish group. Its history cannot be traced back earlier than about 653 A.D., when St Cedd was sent from Northumbria to preach to the East Saxons. One of his two chief missionary centres was the Roman city of Othona, then known as Ythanceaster, at the mouth of the Blackwater. Here he ordained and baptized: he also, says Bede, built churches in several places. St Peter’s on the Wall, now long disused, stands on the site of the eastern gateway of Othona, and is largely built of re-used Roman material. It presents difficulties of site and plan which forbid us to connect it positively with St Cedd; but there is a high probability that it is his church, while, in point of plan, it is too closely allied to the Kentish group to admit of a doubt as to its connexion with those churches. The actual way in which the connexion came about is, however, a difficult problem to solve.