Major interdisciplinary study of medieval church porches, bringing out their importance and significance. The church porches of medieval England are among the most beautiful and glorious aspects of ecclesiastical architecture; but in comparison with its stained glass, for example, they have been relatively little studied. This book, the first detailed study of them for over a century, gives new insights into this often over-looked element. Focussing on the rich corpus of late-medieval East Anglian porches, it begins with two chapters placing them in a broad cultural outline and their context; it then moves on to consider their commissioning and design, their architecture and ornamentation, their use and their meaning. This book will appeal to all those interested in church fabric and function.

"A valuable book which which rescues an important element of our medieval churches from scholarly neglect and greatly adds to our understanding." - ECCLESIOLOGY TODAY

"[A] thought-provoking study" - THE RICARDIAN

"[The] first monograph of its kind in over a century, and is likely to become, and remain, the authoritative text on the topic." - HISTORY

"[This] is a significant and substantial study with wide implications for English medieval religion" - THE JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

"As someone who has spent most of the last decade and more visiting and studying East Anglian churches, often in minute detail, I can only state that this work is an inspiration to do just that. It is a rarity when a volume appears that allows you to see a subject that you thought you were largely familiar with, through totally fresh eyes." - Norfolk Archaeology