Features
Follow us as we celebrate the annual events of the church calendar, appreciate the beauty of English bell-ringing, and tiptoe into a 12th-century country church in Sussex
The Ritual Year
In the Middle Ages, the Church shaped and gave meaning to people's lives through its ritual calendar. Alongside the great festivals, such as Christmas and Easter, marking important events in the life of Christ, there were dozens of saints' days, when individual saints were remembered. These festivals were marked with dramatic ceremonies in the parish church.
Ringing the Changes
For many people, the pealing of church bells, whether in town or country, is one of the most evocative sounds of life in England. Even if church attendance has dropped away sharply in the post-war era, the chiming of bells seems to reassure us that, somewhere, the functions of the church still endure.
Portrait of a Parish Church
Parish churches are so varied in construction, size and architectural style that it would be nonsense to talk of a typical church. Picture an ancient village church in the Home Counties, though, and you may well come up with something very like the church of St Andrew’s in Edburton, West Sussex.
Saving Grace by Dr Simon Thurley
Parish churches are a quintessential feature of the English landscape, but many face a perilous future.
