Churches & cathedrals are visited by millions of tourists as well as worshippers each year. But many people do not realise that church buildings are packed with images, symbols & meanings that often need explanation. This handy guide will unlock all the treasures they contain. The stunning colour photographs show the very best in church art & architecture
- from paintings, fonts & altars, to pew ends, choir stalls & stained glass windows, & the accessible text talks you through the significance of church features. It

Includes:: sections on:
- The basics: imagery, themes & history
- Church architecture, inside & out
- Symbols, colours & words
- Representations of God, Jesus Christ & the Virgin Mary
- Recognising Saints & Angels
- Scenes from the Old Testament. It is the ultimate reference for anybody who wants to know more about what they see in a church or cathedral from the significance of church layouts, the symbolism of key scenes & the importance of small details.








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Why was heraldry so important to the families for whom houses were built? How does the layout of a house reveal the values of the people who lived in it? By reading the architectural features of a house
- even simple items such as windows, doors, chimneys & staircases
- we can learn so much about the past. Interiors, as well as exteriors, have a story to tell, with floor layouts & contents of rooms revealing much about the people who built & lived in them. We can also read the iconography of a house: its symbols & images, spanning subjects such as classical mythology, religion & British history. Heraldry too is an essential tool for understanding much of the details found in country houses, from coats of arms to crests, or fireplace decorations & ceiling bosses. Through all this, we gain a glimpse into the social world of the families who lived there
- & discover that the stories of many country houses are inextricably linked by marriage, royalty or political or military service. Richly illustrated with stunning photographs from the unique archive of Country Life magazine, this book is a joy for all those who want to learn more about our heritage, art & architecture, & the essential characteristics of a classic country house.


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What constitutes a village? What is the significance of the maypole? What was the true purpose of a village green? What is a `moot hall`? What is the origin of lich-gates? What was the real role of a yeoman? How come whole villages have disappeared over the centuries? This book reveals the answers & provides all the tools a village detective will need. Village history, points out the author, is embedded in the village landscape. Village stories can, therefore, be `read`: this book will reveal how. Arranging the book thematically, chapters cover ancient villages; the village green (including maypoles, pubs & ponds); the village church; cottages & farmsteads; village architecture (including lock-ups & market crosses); village casualties; fishing villages; clachans & fermtouns; &, villages of the modern era. Drawing on dozens of real villages as examples, the author, an expert on the landscape, matches up popular images & perceptions with the realities of old village life & history. Illustrating his theories with photographs, maps & drawings, he shows how amateur enthusiasts can pursue local village history with fascinating results. Covering the whole of Britain, he also points out key regional differences
- for example, why villages in Scotland follow a different pattern to villages in Engl&. This is a fascinating book that will delight lovers of local history everywhere.
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This book is a practical primer to looking at architecture & all the elements that are included in buildings, from cornices & friezes to columns & porticos
- all facets of buildings are included. Each chapter takes an architectural element & looks at its variety across various historical periods & geographical locations. Examples are shown through dozens of fine engravings with extended captions, creating a dip-in read & an effective I-Spy guide. Additional sections look at the clues offerred by history, geography & religion (with a timeline showing how & where architectural elements have been introduced), & at the significance of the ornaments.
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How to Read Castles is a travel-sized primer that takes a strictly visual approach to castle architecture, building up the reader`s vocabulary of castle types, styles, & materials, & showing how these aspects can be recognized across architectural features from the floor-plan & moat, to the towers & crenulations. Focusing on the period from the 10th to the 16th century, & crusading across the globe from a Welsh motte-&-bailey to a Japanese hirajiro, this is both architectural reference & visitor guide-showing the reader how to read the stories embedded in every castle`s stones. Castles once dominated the landscape as seats of power & symbols of wealth & status, providing a means of control over borders, passes, routes & rivers. Armed with this book you will be able to unpick their histories & see how they shaped the land around them. From rugged coastline defences to soaring mountain fortresses, this book takes the reader on an international journey of discovery, exploring some of the most inspiring & impressive architecture history has ever seen. ...

This handy, easy-to-carry book provides the reader with a strictly visual approach to reading the architecture of churches. Covering all the ecclesiastical building types of Western Christianity, readers are taken on a journey tracing the development of the church building from the simple stone halls of the Anglo-Saxon period right through to the eclectic designs of the nineteenth century. Another addition to the bestselling How to Read series, How to Read Churches is a practical guide, showing readers how to search for architectural clues that tell hidden stories expressing the liturgical function & spiritual symbolism of a church building. The perfect companion to How to Read Buildings. ...

Garden visiting has never been more popular but not many of us understand what we are looking at when strolling through a beautiful garden
- are we looking at an original landscaped sit or a re-creation? Is the planting matter authentic or made up of modern hybrids? Are the steps & terracing in the Italianate style or are they Arts & Crafts? The truth is that most gardens of any age are like a palimpsest: successive generations have changed & influenced the soft & hard fabric of the place over time. Inevitably many of the gardens we wander through today are an amalgam of changing fashions & circumstance. How to Read Gardens provides the reader with all the knowledge he or she needs to tease out the clues that will tell the complete story of a garden`s past. From the grandest estate to the smallest suburban plot, this book will enliven & inform every visit.
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How to Read Houses is an insider`s guide to recognising & appreciating the diversity of domestic architecture that reflects the location, the fashion & the technological savoir-faire of the age
- from Tudor timber-frames to the truly unconventional. Houses are arranged by period & style, including Renaissance, Neoclassical, Arts & Crafts, Modernist & many more besides. Featured houses range from Sutton House in London to Port Sunlight in Merseyside; from St Fagans in Cardiff to Hill House in Glasgow. Compact enough to travel with you, yet comprehensive enough to provide real answers, with real examples, this handy reference guide:
- provides an understanding of the architectural vocabulary along with the visual clues that identify any house style & its historical context
- enhances the appreciation of visits to landmark houses & lays the foundations for an architectural exploration of your own home or area
- explores the main architectural styles, as well as the materials & components of a house through beautifully rendered illustrations, photographs of classic examples & the words of a friendly expert.



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What makes a work of literature good or bad? How freely can the reader interpret it? Could a nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep be full of concealed loathing, resentment, & aggression? In this accessible, delightfully entertaining book, Terry Eagleton addresses these intriguing questions & a host of others. ” How to Read Literature” is the book of choice for students new to the study of literature & for all other readers interested in deepening their understanding & enriching their reading experience. In a series of brilliant analyses, Eagleton shows how to read with due attention to tone, rhythm, texture, syntax, allusion, ambiguity, & other formal aspects of literary works. He also examines broader questions of character, plot, narrative, the creative imagination, the meaning of fictionality, & the tension between what works of literature say & what they show. Unfailingly authoritative & cheerfully opinionated, the author provides useful commentaries on classicism, Romanticism, modernism, & postmodernism along with spellbinding insights into a huge range of authors, from Shakespeare & Jane Austen to Samuel Beckett & J. K. Rowling. ...

Over 2, 000 years of settlement give London its unique architectural heritage. Unlike Haussmann’s Paris, neither monarch nor politician imposed their will; private ownership & enterprise shaped the city & defined its parts. Elegant West End squares & crescents hallmark the Classical townscape that emerged between 1600 & 1830, but medieval, Tudor & Victorian enclaves identified by occupation, class or guild make their own design statement, notably in the City & East End. From its renewal after the Great Fire of 1666 as a centre of commerce, culture, finance & as a railway hub, the seat of power & law, How to Read London reveals through the built environment how London’s domestic, civic & commercial landscape has evolved & adapted from imperial capital to global city. ...