DAVID ADAMS finds a website which should be of interest to any keen to know more about UK churches…
This is the UK-based website of The Ecclesiological Society which describes itself as being an organisation “for those who are interested in and enthusiastic about church history and church architecture”. While the society’s website features news and events relative to the society’s members (and invites new members to join), for the non-member user, it’s the many resources on the site which catch the eye. These include detailed information about a series of churches (although by no means comprehensive) located across the country – from Leeds Minister in Yorkshire to Bristol Cathedral and the Church of St James the Less in Pimlico, London – as well as a page of links to sites about churches in localities across the country. For the tourist interested in exploring churches themselves there’s also a resource called “Church Crawls” which features, at this stage, three downloadable “crawls” around churches in an area – from a route near the Cheviot Hills to one near Bristol and another in Suffolk (we can only hope more of these will be added!). The site also features a page of links to other church-related organisations – from the Cathedral Architects Association to Scotland’s Churches Trust – as well as historic and downloadable copies of the society’s publications and the chance to sign up for an e-newsletter. Worth taking the time to explore if you have an interest in church architecture in the UK.
