Churches in Britain are the product of the simplest of concepts: the need to protect the symbol of the Christian faith and those who brought the word; and then to protect those who came to listen and worship. Beginning with modest buildings in timber and thatch, and then in stone, England's churches developed and evolved. They grew in size and complexity as their builders better understood how to cope with stresses and strains placed on the fabric, and as the need arose to admit increasingly large congregations. The driving factors were religious beliefs and building materials. Each period built on what had gone before, and the builders remodelled, always adding the product of their own building expertise and embellishing with decorative motifs that were in fashion at the time. Sometimes, church evolution stopped or took a sudden and unexpected turn, influenced by trends in liturgy, theology, Puritanism, fashion or retrospection. Politics, social matters and warfare all shaped English churches, and much evidence of the history of the land is written in them. This book takes the reader on an architectural journey. It describes how churches were built in each period, the building materials used, what the reader can expect to find in churches all around the country, and how to understand their architectural history and heritage. Book jacket.