Medieval Church Architecture

by Jon Cannon

By the end of the medieval period, Britain's churches already had an architectural heritage of one thousand years, much of which remains on view today. This guide by architectural historian Jon Cannon uses high-quality photographs and diagrams to help us to analyze the leading changes in style from the Anglo-Saxon period, through the Romanesque as far as Gothic and Perpendicular. By identifying various clues left by each period, he enables us to date architectural features and styles, and explains the technical terms applied to them. If you have ever wondered how your church or cathedral developed, and want to know your triforium from your blind arcade or your vault from your hammerbeam, all the answers are here.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative and interesting overview of the developments within (mostly) English medieval church architecture, starting at the Norman / Romanesque and moving deftly through to the Tudor period. The author's style is engaging and the text does well to keep a suitable pace throughout what is a incredibly detailed and often technical subject matter. I very much enjoyed it and was equally enlightened by it and the book makes great starter reading for anyone interested in the subject matter.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannon's book is invaluable to understanding the subject of English Gothic architecture. Commencing with the Romanesque period, his chapters offer a concise format demonstrating when specific devices were adopted. It includes relevant illustrations and a handy glossary of terms. Expanding on older historiographical theory, it offers easy readability and an erudite road map through the Gothic period. All students of art history and medieval archaeology should own this book.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great starter for information about medieval churches and how to approximately date them when you visit, what architecture is reliable to use to figure out the period and style of the building. It was really interesting, defiantly a subject I want to explore more as my only drawback for this was it got a little technical and lost me at certain things.

[Ricky Balas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent scholarly work on a fascinating topic! I'm enrolled in his online course via Oxford and it serves as a great companion to our study of church architecture.

[Helena Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent-sized and very well researched/written book that provides a very good introduction and foundation for understanding medieval church architecture. Good illustrations.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and attractively illustrated.
This has definitely earned it's place on my bookshelves.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misleading title. It is only about the churches in the British Isles.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable vade mecum for any enthusiast of medieval English churches.