If These Stones Could Talk: The History of Christianity in Britain and Ireland through Twenty Buildings

by Peter Stanford

'A heavenly book, elegant and thoughtful. Get one for yourself and one for the church-crawler in your life!' Lucy Worsley

Christianity has been central to the lives of the people of Britain and Ireland for almost 2,000 years. It has given us laws, customs, traditions and our national character. From a persecuted minority in Roman Britannia through the 'golden age' of Anglo-Saxon monasticism, the devastating impact of the Vikings, the alliance of church and state after the Norman Conquest to the turmoil of the Reformation that saw the English monarch replace the Pope and the Puritan Commonwealth that replaced the king, it is a tangled, tumultuous story of faith and achievement, division and bloodshed.

In If These Stones Could Talk Peter Stanford journeys through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to churches, abbeys, chapels and cathedrals, grand and humble, ruined and thriving, ancient and modern, to chronicle how a religion that began in the Middle East came to define our past and shape our present. In exploring the stories of these buildings that are still so much a part of the landscape, the details of their design, the treasured objects that are housed within them, the people who once stood in their pulpits and those who sat in their pews, he builds century by century the narrative of what Christianity has meant to the nations of the British Isles, how it is reflected in the relationship between rulers and ruled, and the sense it gives about who we are and how we live with each other.

'There is no better navigator through the space in which art, culture and spirituality meet than Peter Stanford' Cole Moreton, Independent on Sunday

Genres: Nonfiction, History

359 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 14, 2021

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

If These Stones Could Talk tells the story of Christianity's development and evolution in the last century in the UK. The structure of the book works really well to tell this story with the author visiting and describing his visits to 20 different churches. He uses each church as an example of the religious nature or events of the century that he is describing, and it really helped me to visualize the changes that have occurred over time.

Peter Stanford deftly intertwines the history - political, religious, and cultural - with stories of individuals and families, and wonderful descriptions of the regions and churches he visited. His writing style really brought the history to life, and I have already used to book to write down several churches to visit.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history of Christianity in this country told through 10 churches. It all adds to my historical knowledge of the country.

[Glenn Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so loved this book I would save it for when I had an undisturbed half-hour. It's a lucid, irenic, generous, walking-pace tour of British and Irish church history, stopping off, as it were, at twenty sites, each resonant of a century. Peter Stanford's writing is longer on church history than on church architecture, which I liked, and like many others, I found it put in order for me the jumble of names --Augustine and Cuthbert and John Knox and Wesley-- that had gathered in my head like an untidy sock drawer.
Lovely book.

[Richard Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Stanford uses twenty different churches (plus a few cameos) to explore twenty centuries of the history of Christianity in the British Isles – which sounds an ambitious task, and it really is. It's a history of the religion, rather than strictly of the place or people, which does affect the slant of how events and trends are perceived (a decline in church attendance might be less important in other history books, for example). It's also probably inevitable that is really a history of Christianity in England (and occasionally Scotland, and, briefly, Wales and Ireland).

Telling a history through church buildings, however, remains a fascinating project. Stanford has a wealth of examples to chose from, as well as a wealth of knowledge and research to display (although I could ask for a little more suggested reading). He gives a robust defence of the practice of church-walking and the value of using a church for telling histories – even in what is no longer a 'churchy nation', where the flow of history in ancient places won't reach back to the ancestors of everyone now living in these islands.
The discussion of architecture is very light, and the stones don't so much talk as direct the reader to interesting events, before quickly being left behind. Certainly, with twenty centuries to cover, Stanford doesn't hang around, and the pace is snappy and engaging. You'll not find many accounts of such a long period that cover so much ground and detail.

My biggest gripe is probably the structural decision to have each chapter dedicated to one church and one century. The second chapter, for example, covers the second century AD/CE (using a shrine not actually recorded until the 1070s). The problem is that historical trends don't obey those arbitrary divisions, and Stanford is forever nipping back and forth into the previous or next century in order to make his point. The Industrial Revolution didn't stop in 1800. I'd personally have preferred a church to illustrate a theme rather than a specific century. On the plus side, this structure almost forces him to give equal attention to all of the centuries, rather than spend ages on, say, the Reformation, while skimping on other periods. If only there were more evidence to fill those first few centuries...

On the whole, a very readable and broad account of Christian history in England, with plenty of tips for places worth a visit.

[idle-brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the subtitle of the book, I expected this to be more about church architecture, or specific historical events of note/relics/people buried there for each site. Instead, If These Stones Could Talk is a very… thorough history of Christianity in Britain and Ireland, which by chance mentions these twenty buildings in passing (and normally as a segue to get back to the hard historical names and dates).

It was still interesting, but not quite what I was looking forward to reading.

[Michael Hillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this appears to be a book about church architecture, that is misleading. Rather, the author uses, in each chapter, a specific church as a starting point to discuss the history of Christianity in the UK for each century.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A combination of: a set of churches to visit
AND - a history of the church in this country!
Clearly written - both interesting and informative! Complete with lovely line drawings…
So glad I’ve read it, as I came across this book by chance…

[Syd Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this in London which is kinda swag. Really good exposition of 2000 years of Christianity in the UK! Slow burn because it gets into the nitty gritty facts but I enjoyed it!

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was definitely more interested in the earlier chapters, basically the 1500s and before. The last couple chapters dragged for me because I am not as interested in more recent history.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous. What a clever idea and a very engaging read.

[Freya Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic account of Christianity’s history in this part of the world, told on a journey through a range of church buildings, from well known sites to forgotten gems. Stanford successfully captures the wonder of discovery that can take place when you wander into a church and pause to consider its past, while simultaneously sharing the overall story and the movements and characters that formed it. Each building has been marked by the people surrounding it, ultimately leading to the religious, cultural and political landscape we know today. I learnt a lot from this book, which established certain stories I was familiar with and slotted them in amongst many stories I was not.

Reading this book will make you want to drop everything and go and explore a load of ancient churches! Luckily there are many to see, and even the smallest amongst them has played a part in individual lives as well as our shared history.