A transporting and gloriously entertaining journey through the hidden lives of England’s rural parish churches – from building conservator and church ‘rescuer’ Rachel Morley

‘Glorious. A work of rare historical insight and dazzling poetic beauty’ Dominic Sandbrook

‘An enchanting voyage . . . filled with love, joy and humour’ James Fox

‘Wonderful . . . Rachel Morley speaks for the churches of England’ Tom Holland

The poet John Betjeman coined the phrase ‘church crawling’ to describe his days out visiting churches. In the spirit of Betjeman, Rachel Morley’s book captures the magical experience of poking around a dusty village church, only to have it transform – through her expert eyes – into a portal to the past, one that brings England’s people and history to life in the most colourful, moving and unexpected ways.

Through their wall-paintings and monuments, their graffiti and plaques, their jumble of furniture and curios, Morley shows these buildings to be the expression of centuries of communal memory and folk culture – time capsules of connection to ancient and medieval ways of thinking, to revolutions and wars, to lives both glorious and humble.

‘Astonishing . . . captivating and original’ Suzannah Lipscomb

‘A thrilling, brilliant book which will make you see these beautiful buildings with new eyes’ Alice Loxton

‘Wonderful . . . Rachel Morley gets to the heart of the parish church. It could have no more faithful friend’ Simon Jenkins

‘Delightful, illuminating’ Tracy Chevalier

‘A shimmering paean to the parish churches of England, sparkling with history, humour and wisdom’ Anna Keay

"Wonderful . . . a highly individual and illuminating exploration of our parish churches and the many stories they have to tell us . . . [Morley] cares deeply about our precious legacy of twelve thousand-plus parish churches, almost every one of which contains something of interest, and most of which have a great deal more to offer in terms of beauty, heritage, architecture and history. Morley is alive to all of this, and her book is not only learned and wide-ranging but eloquent and heartfelt" - Literary Review

"This charming guide . . . makes a convincing argument that [churches] are the key to English art, architecture, the national character and even the language" - Spectator

"Cleverly converts the delights of discovery into a cumulative and purposeful argument about why we should cherish these buildings and what makes them so special . . . an engaging mix of autobiography, literary reference and analysis . . . perfect for the bedside . . . an absorbing read . . . Morley writes beautifully" - Country Life

"Rachel Morley is perfectly placed to write on her subject . . . her book is wonderful and deserves a wide readership" - Church Times