Select bibliography:
churches,
their furnishings, and use
This page is being built up gradually. Offers
of expert help gratefully received!
The select bibliography is organised by subject.
It concentrates on standard works, and recent works with good bibliographies.
At the moment the bias of this list is heavily towards Britain: we would welcome your help in extending the coverage. For the time being, Cathedrals and major churches lie outside our intended scope.
If you have any suggestions for additions to the bibliography, please send us an e-mail.
Animal myths, effect on church
imagery
Ecclesiological Society
Fonts
Iconography, medieval
London Churches
Mass dials
Musical
Instruments, images of in medieval churches
Saints, church dedications to
Screens
Topography, impact on churches
Victorian churches
Allen, J. Romilly, Christian Symbolism in Great Britain and Ireland
before the thirteenth century, London, 1887.
Chapter six deals with the bestiary. Old work, but still valuable.
Anderson, M. D., Animal Carvings in British Churches, Cambridge,
1938
Well informed study. Bibliography.
Beer, Rudiger Robert, Unicorn: myth and reality, London, 1977
Good introduction. Bibliography.
Drury, R. W. & Drury S. S., In Pursuit of Pelicans: unposted
letters to friends, Concord, N.H. USA, privately printed, 1931
Charming, quirky, pieces on pelican symbolism and its expression
in British, European and some American churches. List. No bibliography.
Hicks, Carola, Animals in Early Medieval Art, Edinburgh, 1993
Discusses British art of the sixth to eleventh centuries. No bibliography.
Husband, Timothy, The Wild Man: medieval myth and symbolism,
New York, 1980
Rather few ecclesiastical examples, but a splendid book with bibliography
to match.
Robinson, Margaret W., Fictitious Beasts: a bibliography, London,
1961
Very full bibliography, by category.
White, James, The Cambridge Movement: the ecclesiologists and the
gothic revival, Cambridge, 1962.
Early history of the Ecclesiological Society (formerly the Cambridge
Camden Society).
Christopher Webster and John Elliott, 'A Church as it Should Be':
the Cambridge Camden Society and its Influence, Shaun Tyas, High
Street, Donington, Lincolnshire, PE11 4TA, UK or email apwatkins@email.msn.com,
2001, ISBN 1900289350.
New book on the early history of the Ecclesiological Society (formerly
the Cambridge Camden Society). Click
here for details.
Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London, 1908 (reprinted
1985).
General introduction to English fonts and their covers. Old, but
still useful.
Kuehn, Regina, A Place for Baptism, Chicago, 1992
Contemporary Catholic discussion of font design, well-illustrated,
but no bibliography
Nichols, Ann Elhenholm, Seeable Signs: the iconography of the seven
sacraments, 1350 – 1544, Woodbridge, 1994
Discussion of seven sacrament fonts. Good bibliography for medieval
fonts.
Nordstrom, Folke, Medieval Baptismal Fonts: an iconographical study,
Umea, 1984
Europe-wide study of the iconography of medieval fonts. Bibliography.
Friedman, John B. & Jessica M. Wegmann, Medieval Iconography:
a research guide, New York, 1998
Annotated bibliography to this huge area of study
Top of page
Blatch, Mervyn, A guide to London Churches, 1995
Pocket size gazetteer
Bradley, Simon & Nikolaus Pevsner London: the City Churches,
1998
Relevant entries from the City of London Pevsner in a handy format
with a useful introduction
Evinson, Denis, Catholic Churches of London, Sheffield, 1998
Scholarly description of many Catholic churches, with further reading.
Clarke, Basil F. L., Parish Churches of London, London 1966
Wonderfully informed description of individual churches in London.
Attempts to mention every church.
Jeffery, Paul, The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren, London,
1996
Very important work, superseding previous works on this subject.
Bibliography.
Leonard, John, London’s Parish Churches, Derby, 1997
Chronologically arranged, with an interesting selection of twentieth
century churches.
Young, Elizabeth & Young, Wayland, Old London Churches, London,
1956
Mostly churches before 1830. Brief discussion of sources.
Very complete bibliography on these home-made sundials often found outside medieval church doors.
Montagu, Jeremy & Gwen, Minstrels and Angels: Carvings of Musicians
in Medieval English Churches, 1998
Excellent and well-illustrated study, with gazetteer and bibliography
Top of page
Orme, Nicholas, English Church Dedications with a survey of Devon
and Cornwall, Exeter, 1996
Excellent modern study with full bibliography.
Bond, F. Bligh & Camm, Dom Bede, Roodscreens and Roodlofts,
London, 2 vols., 1909
Medieval and post-reformation screens, with a catalogue of West
Country examples
Bond, Francis, Screens and Galleries in English Churches, London,
1908
Good introduction to medieval screens.
Vallance, Aylmer, English Church Screens: being great roods, screenwork
& rood-lofts of parish churches in England & Wales, London,
1936
Medieval screens, with brief mention of post-Reformation examples.
Emphasis on Kentish examples.
Morris, Richard, Churches in the Landscape, London 1989
Very full treatment of the topic for English churches, dealing with
such topics as the location of churches and the geographical determinants
of their appearance and structure. Extensive bibliography.
Two useful starting points for churches:
Curl, J. S., The Book of Victorian churches, London,
1995
Howell, Peter & Sutton, Ian (eds.), The Faber guide to
Victorian churches, London 1989
.
Stanton, Phoebe, B., The Gothic Revival & American Church
Architecture: an episode in taste 1840-1856, London, 1968 and 1997
A standard work for the USA.
.