‘A group of Cambridge undergraduates succeeded in transforming the appearance of every Anglican church in the world.’ (J. Mordaunt Crook)
The vehicle for this transformation was, to a considerable extent, the items reproduced in this book, and rarely in the history of publishing can a set of pamphlets have had a more profound influence. In the course of Victoria’s reign, the setting of Anglican worship was transformed: out went the galleried ‘preaching boxes’ with their cosy box-pews, plaster ceilings and unsightly stove pipes; in came long chancels lined by choir stalls and focusing on the altar raised on steps, open seats for the congregations, and all dressed in the Gothic style of the Middle Ages.
A substantial introduction tells the story of this revolution and the facsimilies of the eight documents - which have never been reproduced before and are only available in a small number of specialized libraries - make this a key volume for both research scholars as well as those with a more general interest in Victorian architectural church history.
The documents which will be republished as part of this volume are:
The Society's Laws
Address delivered at the first Evening meeting ... by the President, 1840
A Few Hints on the Practical Study of Ecclesiastical Antiquities, 3rd edition, 1842
Church Enlargement and Church Extension, 1843
A Few Words to Church Wardens ... No 1 ... Suited to Country Parishes, 1841
A Few Words to Church Wardens ... No 2 ... Suited to Town and Manufacturing Parishes, 1841
A Few Words to the Parish Clerks and Sextons on Country Parishes, 1843
A Few Words to Church-Builders, first edition, 1841
A Few Words to Church-Builders, second edition, 1842
A Few Words to Church-Builders, third edition, 1844
Christopher Webster has written extensively on the architecture of the first half of the nineteenth century and is a leading authority on the Cambridge Camden Society.
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