Church architecture is the design and construction of buildings for Christian worship, from small parish churches and chapels to great abbeys and cathedrals. In Britain it forms one of the richest bodies of historic architecture, and its forms, ornament and furnishings have influenced domestic building and decorative art for centuries.
English church architecture is usually described in a sequence of styles: Anglo-Saxon, Norman or Romanesque with round arches and massive walls, and the Gothic phases known as Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular, distinguished by pointed arches, tracery and soaring vaults. After the Reformation fewer new churches were built until the classical churches of Sir Christopher Wren and his successors rebuilt the City of London following the Great Fire. The Victorian Gothic Revival, promoted by A. W. N. Pugin and the Ecclesiologists, brought a vast programme of new building and restoration. Redundant and remodelled churches have released a steady flow of pews, pulpits, lecterns, altar rails, stained glass, carved stonework and lighting onto the antiques market. Such pieces are prized for their craftsmanship and scale and are now used widely in homes, restaurants and gardens.
