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 Piety
Proclaimed:
An Introduction to Places of Worship in Victorian England
Religious buildings erected during the reign of Queen Victoria
are not only numerous, but offer a wide range of architectural
styles, fine furnishings, and much else besides. They were expressions
of the importance of religion in that period, and their existence
and qualities were often related to the aspirations of clergy,
laity, and individual benefactors. The finest buildings were,
even more, the result of a passionate commitment to an architecture
based on scholarly studies known as Ecclesiology. Curl places
religious buildings in their complex settings, and highlights
the religious atmosphere, arguments, and controversies of the
time. He charts the progress of the Gothic Revival, explains differences
in the architecture of various denominations, and outlines the
influence of the chief protagonists involved. The book contains
a wide range of photographs old and new (some specially commissioned),
as well as an extensive glossary and a bibliography.
Piety Proclaimed. An Introduction to Places of Worship in
Victorian England (London: Historical Publications Ltd.,
2002)
ISBN: 9780948667770 (hbk.)
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Reviews
'a useful and necessary book....Curl synthesises recent work
in the field, competently summarises a crowded period, and gives
it...combative application for the general reader. He also provides
a valuable service in toppling sacred cows of historical interpretation...
A restoration of balance has long been needed, and this is strengthened
by magnificent colour plates by Martin Charles and well-chosen
illustrations that show churches in their original integrity.'
The Catholic Herald
'...a very good introduction to Victorian places of worship...Curl
writes well and has an easy-to-understand style. ...A very good
read...'
Ecclesiology Today: Journal of the Ecclesiological Society
'...perhaps Curl's most important book to date....He takes a personal
delight in how these churches were meant to function ritually,
and displays a detached aesthetic judgement, reserving his rare
flashes of malice for Evangelicals and Nikolaus Pevsner. With
confident....scholarship, Curl traces the complex political and
spiritual tensions of the century. All his wide learning is expressed
precisely within the flow of the text...'
The Architects' Journal
' ...a most useful addition to the literature..., well researched,
generously illustrated, with an excellent bibliography, a glossary
that is much more than an alphabetical list of architectural terms...,
and a reliable index. In wonderfully spirited fashion Curl lists
the various problems when considering Victorian churches, the
"distortion of truth" by some architectural writers
(and it is not difficult to know who he means), our secular society,
and the behaviour over the last forty years or so of the various
denominations themselves...'
The Antiquaries Journal: The Journal of The Society of Antiquaries
of London
'...an enjoyable and useful book...Curl's knowledge could properly
be called encyclopaedic...The narrative is...efficient and concise...The
selection of churches discussed is truly representative: a real
achievement given such an embarrassment of riches'
The Tablet
'With its plentiful illustrations and its patient explanations
of the liturgical context, this is the most comprehensive introduction
to Victorian churches in print. Curl thunders from his pulpit
in the tradition of the great Victorian preachers...'
The Victorian: The Magazine of The Victorian Society
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