S. Swithin, Compton Beauchamp, Oxfordshire By Simon Cotton The Vale of the White Horse is probably the finest scenery in Oxfordshire. It takes its name from the Uffington White Horse, a Bronze Age figure cut into a grass-covered hilltop that exposes the white chalk beneath. Compton Beauchamp is a very small settlement nearby, located beneath the Downs. Near a moated manor, … [Read more...] about Baroque Splendor in the Vale of the White Horse
church architecture
The Church That Came Back From the Dead
Cornerstones St. Mary, Houghton-on-the Hill, Norfolk By Simon Cotton Two English villages, nearly 100 miles apart, share the same name. The village of Houghton-on-the-Hill in Leicestershire is a thriving place, with a population of around 1,500. The A47 trunk road passes through Houghton — drive 90 miles along this road, heading east, and you find the Norfolk village of … [Read more...] about The Church That Came Back From the Dead
The Whirligig of Time in Isle Abbots
Cornerstones By Simon Cotton Different parts of England are associated with churches in particular architectural styles. County Durham has a number of early Anglo-Saxon buildings, like Escomb and Monkwearmouth, and there is a famous school of 12th-century Romanesque work associated with Herefordshire. If you want to see early 14th-century Decorated work, especially … [Read more...] about The Whirligig of Time in Isle Abbots
Come Into the Fields With Brother Jimmy
A Mission in the Cotton Patch By Stephen Herbert Neatly tended fields and their boundaries define most of southwest Georgia. More than any other part of the state, the southwest resembles the American Midwest: the skies are open, the land more accommodating. From here across to east central Georgia, the soil is loamy and loose; more fertile and forgiving than the hard, … [Read more...] about Come Into the Fields With Brother Jimmy
A New Post-earthquake Church
A new “church from scratch” built after the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, will be consecrated early next year. The members of All Souls Church began using their new building on the parish’s feast day in early November, and the Bishop-elect Peter Carrell dedicated the church Nov. 3. Carrell will return to the church early in 2019 with Archbishop Philip Richardson, … [Read more...] about A New Post-earthquake Church
Historic Churches: Six Cases
By Kirk Petersen As attendance dwindles in many historic Episcopal congregations, so does pledge income, and it becomes harder and harder to maintain beautiful old buildings with slate roofs and soaring arches in the nave. Some churches have closed, and more will need to. There’s a special reluctance to close truly historic buildings, but saving them often requires resources … [Read more...] about Historic Churches: Six Cases
The Shackles of the Present
Review by Matthew AldermanA lesson from the book of Unintended Consequences. Some years ago, a cathedral underwent a renovation in which all the pews were removed, the reredos ripped out and replaced with a little table in the nave, and a large synthronon with bishop’s throne placed in the center of the apse. Much of the colorful wall decoration was painted over in tasteful … [Read more...] about The Shackles of the Present
Hero of British Architecture
Review by Joseph Goldkamp At the end of the Second World War, the United Kingdom stood victorious with its allies, but with significant damage to its infrastructure, particularly much of its historic architecture. The necessary effort to rebuild Britain was hindered, however, by the poor state of the economy and the subsequent development of a culture that the historian … [Read more...] about Hero of British Architecture