The great survivors: unravelling the story of the English parish church

Aims of the course

This course aims to: 
1. Demonstrate the effect of English religious and social history on the parish church. 
2. Outline the development of parish church architecture.
3. Unveil the wide range of first-class art and sculpture that can be discovered in parish churches. 

Course Content 

Beginning as a means of distributing the Christian sacraments throughout the country, the ecclesiastical parish became the basic unit of secular government. As the physical centre of a community the church building was both a functioning space of worship and a demonstration of that community’s standing. It was, and arguably remains, the focus of many settlements. For much of the Middle Ages, it was a community’s only public stone building and its scale, fittings and furnishings set it apart from most people’s homes. Architectural styles responded to available (and affordable) materials and skills and the best material culture that the parishioners could provide catered to the beliefs and needs of worshippers.  

The Reformation brought two briefly chaotic decades before stability under the Elizabethan Settlement and yet there were further swings in religious practice in the mid-17th century. Though the physical evidence for the re-invention of the medieval church is now fragmentary, written and visual sources can help to understand what happened. The disastrous Great Fire of London of 1666 had the beneficial effect of codifying the architecture and furnishing of new classical churches, the latter reinforcing the prevailing class system.  

The 19th century brought reform with the rise of Tractarian ecclesiology which launched a country-wide restoration movement, sweeping away the classical and unworthy to return the parish church to a version of its medieval form. The wealth and expansion of the population entailed building many new churches that developed their own style following intensive study of medieval art and architecture. The re-instatement of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in 1850 created a new parish system with over 3000 new churches built in England.  

The 20th century and particularly the two world wars brought about a democratisation of worship that has had a quite radical effect on parish church interiors. The recent steep decline in affiliation to formal religion has posed many challenges to these historic buildings and their future is uncertain. Nevertheless, they still contain much of the nation’s best art, but who’s responsibility is it now to maintain them? 

Presentation of the course 

The course will be taught with slide presentations, perhaps a short video or two and for the later centuries at least, some contemporary written accounts. Questions and discussion will be encouraged. 

Class sessions 

1. Getting going 600-1200: How were parish churches established and who by? The earliest surviving buildings are small and dark but begin to grow in size after the Norman Conquest and impressive schemes of decoration are more common.  

2. Expansion 1200-1500: It was not the slowly rising population, but new functions that required the expansion of churches. The use of bar tracery and higher masonry standards enable the evolution of what we know now as the Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic.  

3. The glories of the late medieval church 1500-1540: Wealth and piety combine to encourage decoration, glazing and furnishing to complement the great architecture. Personal devotion also encourages commemorative funerary sculpture. 

4. Reformation and Protestantism 1540-1800: The introduction of Protestantism caused major changes in both the management and appearance of the parish church which only really settled after the 1660 Restoration when churches became galleried preaching boxes and new buildings took on a classical guise.  

5. Yesterday and Today 1800-2023: Church reform was underway before the Tractarianism promoted a return to medieval styles of worship and architecture, which after 1900 began to adopt new forms related to wider architectural styles, not least Modernism. The Liturgical Movement promoted new types of worship after World War II which, coupled with a decline in attendance, has entailed some radical changes. 

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are: 
1.The ability to distinguish the main architectural styles seen in English parish churches. 
2. An understanding of the principal forms of worship and how they affected the layout of English parish churches over the centuries. 
3. Recognition of the use of material culture in worship and for personal commemoration.  

Required reading 

There are no required readings for this course. However reading one of the works of Jon Cannon (medieval) or Simon Bradley (all periods) would be an excellent introduction to the subject 

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.