England is very rich in parish churches from all periods, from the early medieval to the 20th century. These are or were at the centre of town and village life. England’s great cathedrals, from Canterbury in the early Middle Ages to Liverpool and Coventry in the 20th century, are important not only in British but also European architectural history.
We will look at examples big and small of churches and cathedral to explore their diversity of style and how they express changing patronage and chart the course of religious and social history.
Some churches have remained small, whilst others were rebuilt or expanded by the patronage of nobility and trade, especially in East Anglia, the Cotswolds and London after the Great Fire of 1666. Cathedrals on the other hand were frequently priory churches of dissolved monasteries. Some were rebuilt as a result of fire or wartime destruction, whilst others were created to serve new diocese in the nineteenth century.
This course will attempt to place these great treasures at the heart of British history, as expressions of period and locality. We will also look at the question as to how far churches, made redundant due to modern attitudes to religion and population changes can be put to new use.
This course is part of the Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) programme.