The Historical Growth of the English Parish Church

This book by historian A. Hamilton Thompson offers exactly what the title promises. A history of the parish churches in England on account of the conditions under which they were built and who their builders were. It also aims at (in the author's own words), “to remove the popular idea, still current even among educated people, that church architecture is mainly due to the profuse benefactions of the religious orders.” The book includes a special chapter on the history of 'chantry foundations' that were crucial to the funding of churches.