Books

‘A heavenly book, elegant and thoughtful. Get one for yourself and one for the church-crawler in your life!’ Lucy Worsley

Christianity has been central to the life of Britain and Ireland, and to those of us who live here, for almost 2,000 years. It has given us laws, customs, traditions and formed our national characters. From a persecuted minority in Roman Britannia through the ‘golden age’ of Anglo-Saxon monasticism, the devastating impact of the Vikings, and the alliance of church and state after the Norman Conquest to the turmoil of the Reformation that saw the English monarch replace the Pope, and the Puritan Commonwealth then replace the king, it is a tangled, tumultuous story of faith and achievement, division and bloodshed. In my most recent book, If These Stones Could Talk, published in October 2022 by Hodder, with wonderful line drawings by artist-architect Stephen Tsang, I set out on a journey through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to 20 churches, abbeys, chapels and cathedrals, both grand and humble, ruined and thriving, ancient and modern, which century by century chronicle how a religion that began in the Middle East came to define our past and shape our present.

In exploring the stories of buildings that are still so much a part of the landscape, the details of their design, the treasured objects that are housed within them, the people who once stood in their pulpits and those who sat in their pews, a narrative grows of what Christianity has meant to the nations of the British Isles, how it reflected the relationship between rulers and ruled, and the sense it has given us of who we are and how we live with each other. It is, I hope and intend, as much a book for those with no faith, or a ill-defined sense that there may be something more to life than meets the eye, as much as for those who go to church occasionally or every Sunday. Because over the past 2000 years religion has been so bound up with political upheavals, social change and economic development, the story of these churches, and hence of Christianity, is all of our stories. Moreover, somewhere close to where we live, there is going to be a beautiful, history-filled and thought-provoking church building that is free to enter, open all hours, and probably empty for long periods for most of them. Some who wander round them call themselves church-crawlers. Why not give it a try? Its one way of getting you 10,000 steps each day. And there will be, I promise, no pressure once inside to sign up to any creed. Probably you will be pleasantly surprised.

About Peter

Peter Stanford is an award-winning British writer, journalist, broadcaster and campaigner, best known for his biographies and books on the history, theology and cultural significance of religious ideas and his work as director of the Longford Trust for prison reform.