Churches of Essex

Essex boasts a large number of important religious buildings. Yet many are little-known, despite Essex containing churches of Saxon origin, the oldest timber framed church in the country and one of the best Arts and Crafts churches in Europe. In this book church historian John E. Vigar shares the wealth of religious architecture to be found in Essex, from the plain and simple to huge, impressive, buildings displaying mediaeval wealth. Several parish churches were originally home to a monastic community, and Waltham Abbey can boast of the tomb of a King of England. Flint and timber are the usual building materials encountered, together with brick, and the furnishings of Essex churches can be in a league of their own with a huge range of monumental brasses and magnificent monuments to families with London connections. In the nineteenth century few Essex churches escaped wholesale improvements by the Victorians and in the twentieth century many churches were beautified by the gift of stained-glass windows. Here readers will find churches both small and large, simple and quirky, each one representing the tastes, finances and lives of generations of Essex residents. This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Essex over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this attractive county in England.