Covers:- Berkshire-Cornwall-Isles of Scilly-Devonshire-Dorset-Hampshire-Isle of Wight-Somerset-Wiltshire.

Nonconformity flourished in the north of England from the 17th century. Great preachers found refuge in the area, new denominations arose in the growing population and many an early meeting-house remains as witness to an age of turbulence and enthusiasm. The history of more than three centuries is visible in the range of nonconformist buildings explored in this volume - from the earliest Puritan chapel to the magnificent edifices raised by 19th-century manufacturing moguls. This volume presents a full record of buildings. Some still stand, some have been rebuilt and in others the process of rebuilding continues. Sadly buildings have been lost, but the breadth of knowledge contained in this volume is an encouragement to campaign for the survival of this diverse aspect of English architecture.

This book provides a fascinating account of the architecture and historical development of the Quaker meeting house from the foundation of the movement to the twenty-first century. The Quaker meeting house is a distinctive building type used as a place of worship by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Starting with buildings of the late-seventeenth century, the book maps how the changing beliefs and practices of Quakers over the last 350 years have affected the architecture of the meeting house. The buildings considered are illustrated, predominantly in colour, and are from England, Scotland and Wales, with some consideration of colonial American examples. The book commences with an introduction which provides an accessible account of the early history of Quakerism and it concludes with a consideration of whether there is a Quaker architectural style and of what it might consist.

This fourth volume completes the series of inventories on Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-houses carried out by the RCHME - Central England (published 1986), South-west England (1991), Northern England (1994). This volume focuses on the east of England from the Channel to the Humber and encompasses the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Essex, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex. Each entry includes a short history and description of the building, many with illustrations or photographs.

William Sweetland was a Bath organ builder who flourished from c.1847 to 1902 during which time he built about 300 organs, mostly for churches and chapels in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, but also for locations scattered south of a line from the Wirral to the Wash. Gordon Curtis places this work of a provincial organ builder in the wider context of English musical life in the latter half of the nineteenth century. An introductory chapter reviews the provincial musical scene and sets the organ in the context of religious worship, public concerts and domestic music-making. The book relates the biographical details of Sweetland's family and business history using material obtained from public and family records. Curtis surveys Sweetland's organ- building work in general and some of his most important organs in detail, with patents and other inventions explored. The musical repertoire of the provinces, particularly with regard to organ recitals, is discussed, as well as noting Sweetland's acquaintances, other organ builders, architects and artists. Part II of the book consists of a Gazetteer of all known organs by Sweetland organized by counties. Each entry contains a short history of the instrument and its present condition. Since there is no definitive published list of his work, and as all the office records were lost in a fire many years ago, this will be the nearest approach to a comprehensive list for this builder.

This book discusses the liturgical arrangement of Anglican churches in the period between the Reformation and the Oxford Movement, challenging many widely held assumptions and prejudices. A revised edition of a classic work, this volume offers a new Foreword and Appendix, and an updated Index and bibliography.