[A] treasure of a book...riveting... If the loss of our lovely country churches strikes you as tragic then I urge you to read Strong's passionately penned book and to pass it around among your friends

Riveting... Strong tells this story with expertise and a highly readable style. He always shows the physical presence of the church as a building in the context of its time. Anyone who ever enters a church and wonders why it has come to look exactly as it does will find an answer within these pages

Anyone with the slightest interest in the English parish church, of its life today, or its history - or who is only conscious of the same draw of curiosity they give out- will be intrigued, informed and enchanted by this lucid, and occasionally provocative, account

A charmingly produced book... Roy Strong's style, too, is gentle while erudite, affectionate but realistic... His intimate knowledge of one of England's most neglected institutions is profound

Strong's short but rich history of the country church will be a great help in understanding the changes to the physical fabric of our churches over the last five centuries

Roy Strong's enthusiasm for his subject is almost tactile as he [praises the loveliness of the old buildings, explains the places they occupied in the community and describes the changing experience of parishioners through the ages

Roy Strong has written an indispensable book

Ideal further reading