1. Dissenters and places of worship before 1689
2. The Age of Toleration
3. Enthusiasm and enlightenment
4. The Age of Methodism
5. Growth and renewal 1820–50
6. The Age of Pluralism: 1850–90
7. 1890–1914: The Nonconformist heyday?
8. Chapels since 1914
Christopher Wakeling is an academic and acknowledged expert on nonconformist chapels
... heroic publishing milestone: ... The book and the endeavour
deserve a medal for no previous work has begun to approximate to
its comprehensive coverage, the lusciousness of the photographs,
the authority of the scholarship and the delicacy of the
English.
*AMS Newsletter, Autumn 2017*
Historic England is to be congratulated upon this beautifully
produced and illustrated volume in which many of the striking
photographs are drawn from HE's own archives. Dr Wakeling's expert
knowledge of the subject is displayed to excellent advantage as he
describes the development of chapels in the context of the
religious and political circumstances of the times.
*The Chapels Society Newsletter, 67, January 2018*
... Christopher Wakeling's text balances understanding with
clarity; and is illustrated by new colour images by a crack team of
photographers at Historic England. Together, text and images make
for a must-have volume for anyone interested in the topic.
*Historic Chapels Trust Newsletter, Autumn 2017*
... a clear, wide-ranging, and nuanced account of dissenting
architecture in England, from the beginnings to today. ...
Christopher Wakeling's fine book, lavishly illustrated, clearly
written, and underpinned by deep research, brings the story up to
date, with a good selection of 20th-century chapels in styles from
expressionistic Gothic to modernist. It does an excellent job of
bringing all these buildings and the religious motivation for
constructing them to life, illustrating their best points, and
delineating some sort of pattern to the complex story of
nonconformist architecture, a story that is also one of heterodoxy
and variety.
*English Buildings, November 2017*
This long awaited volume is ground-breaking in many ways, not least
in carrying the story of non-conformist churches and chapels into
the 20th century and beyond, moving beyond the usual charming
Quaker meeting houses, Unitarian and Methodist chapels and mission
halls in industrial towns.
*C20 Magazine, 2018, No. 1*
... a beautifully illustrated scholarly account of the patterns of
chapel buildings amongst all branches of nonconformity from
separatist, pre-ejection times up to the twenty-first century.
... it is a tremendously impressive guide to what is a complicated
and diffuse subject.
... but the whole book is an impressively thorough examination of
the development of different styles of buildings as theologies
changed, as denominations developed, as political circumstances
evolved and as economic opportunity came and went.
... Historic England should be commended for producing such an
impressive book, it is destined to become an essential publication
for anyone with an interest in this aspect of religious
history.
*Transactions of the Unitarian Historical Society, Volume 26, No.
4, April 2018*
... It is a truly magnificent book with chapters arranged
chronologically from the reformation down to the present day.
...Historic England deserves high praise for commissioning such a
distinguished scholar and presenting his informative analysis in
such an attractive form. It deserves a wide readership.
*Context 155, July 2018*
'Chapels of England' provides the most comprehensive and
authoritative overview to date of English Protestant
Nonconformity's places of worship ...Wakeling's fine book take the
buildings and synthesises his rich knowledge of both architecture
and Nonconformist history and theology to review and explain
individual buildings, the wider contexts from which they arise, and
the broader patterns of which they are part.
*Family and Community History, 21:2, 129-141K*
The first chapter provides an excellent introduction to the history
of nonconformist worship in Britain, highlighting battles for
worship space in parish churches between those of different
religious persuasions. ... This book is an eye opener to an
otherwise little-recorded subject and Dr Wakeling, former President
of the Chapels Society, has certainly produced the definitive book
on the subject.
*The Journal of Stained Glass, The Glass House Special Issue, Vol
XLI, 2017*
Overall this is a compelling volume, which will be a valuable
reference point for future scholars of English Nonconformity and
religious architecture in general. ... Wakeling offers a rich
study, which cautions against attempts to make generalisations
about English Nonconformity. ... With its engaging illustrations,
'Chapels of England' successfully unpacks the architectural
complexities of these diverse movements.
*Architectural History 61: 2018*
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
