Church Crawling

About the book

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

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...