Links

 

Historic parishes and parish churches in the British Isles:

 

 

 

Historic parishes and parish churches outside the British Isles:

 

 

Network Partners



British Association for Local History BALH 



An association supporting local and regional historians with a journal (The Local Historian), a newsletter (Local History News), events like an annual 'Local History Day' and other service/networking activities.

 


The Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture

(University of York)


An initiative which seeks to explore and explain one of the most important influences on art, music, history, literature and architecture. The Centre, which supports teaching and research, produces books and innovative interactive resources, and works with partners to create interpretation schemes for important historic churches.

For parish-related work see especially the recent The English Parish Church Through the Centuries (interactive CD-ROM, published 2010) and the interpretation schemes at the York churches of Holy Trinity Micklegate and Holy Trinity Goodramgate.

The Tenth Warwick Symposium on Parish Research on 'Parish Studies Today' in May 2012 will be organized in association with the Centre.

 

Other links

  • A2A - Access to Archives: searchable database of English archival holdings, incl. parish records
  • Ad Fontes: association promoting research on historical documents relating to the Diocese of Como; includes details on a collaborative project on liturgical fragments by Felice Rainoldi e Rita Pezzola
  • 'Archiva Ecclesiae - Associazione archivistica ecclesiastica': platform for news, events, publications and source editions of the Italian Association of church archivists.
  • AHDS History [one of the five Centres of the Arts and Humanities Data Service which collects, preserves, and promotes the use of digital resources resulting from or supporting historical research, learning and teaching]
  • 'Armut, Not und Gute Werke: Soziale Stiftungen in Münster' (Germany) [exhibition on poverty, need and good works at the City Archive of Münster]
  • Borthwick Institute, University of York: archive with extensive range of parish-related records from the city and diocese of York and an online database of church court depositions (see "Cause Papers" on the "Sources" page of this website)
  • Buckinghamshire Stained Glass: covering some 1600 windows and compiled by Cliff and Monica Robinson.
  • ‘Building on History: The Church in London’: AHRC-funded project aiming to contribute to the self-understanding of the Diocese of London by transferring the insights of historical research into the people and buildings of the diocese and encouraging new historical enquiry amongst people within the diocese. The website contains resources such as guidance about how to conduct a 'history audit', write a parish guide and other ways to engage the local community.
  • 'Catholic Heritage': website aiming to offer a single point of access to archives & libraries of the Catholic Church, currently covering some 350 collections and 35,000 catalogue entries relating to England, Italy, Scotland and Spain.
  • Church House of South Tawton in Devon: images and information relating to a fifteenth-century building adjacent to the parish church of St Andrew, recently restored with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
  • Church Monuments Society: founded in 1979 for those with interests in church monuments of all types, periods and regions.
  • Churches Conservation Trust: dedicated to the conservation of historic churches no longer used for worship (with information on sites, events and fundraising activities)
  • Computatio: online resource for research, literature and exchange on late medieval and early modern accounts compiled by Otto Volk, Marburg
  • Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Medieval Stained Glass in Britain
  • 'Divine Inspiration': an initiative funded by English Heritage and the Diocese of Coventry; encourages Anglican churches in the diocese to be regularly open for heritage, for education, for use by the wider community and for pure enjoyment; provides information and help on engaging with historic buildings and welcoming visitors; collects ‘holy histories’ relating to monuments and parish communities; holds workshops, issues the ‘Gatekeeper’ newsletter and provides toolkits on practical issues like getting noticed, obtaining funding and writing statements of significance. Contact: Helen McGowan (helen.mcgowan@divine-inspiration.org.uk).
  • Early English Music (hosted by exlibris.org with information on biographies, context, style and extensive bibliography)
  • Early English Organ Project (rediscovering the sound of the sixteenth-century English organ and rebuilding instruments from the period)
  • The Early Modern Parish Church and the Religious Landscape (AHRC project directed by Andrew Spicer at Oxford Brookes)
  • Early Modern Worship Network (AHRC-sponsored research network linking historians, theologians, literary scholars and other early modernist directed by Alec Ryrie at Durham)
  • Early Music West Midlands (promoting early music across the Midlands)
  • Ecclesiological Society (organization and website dedicated to English church architecture, furnishings and liturgy; with plenty of links to relevant events, organizations; research projects and webpages)
  • 'European Network on the Instruments of Devotion ENID': project investigating devotional practices from the 14th to the 20th century (based at the University of Bergen in Norway)
  • 'European Policy Network for Historic Places of Worship': Collaboration of a group of organisations concerned with the preservation of historic places of worship, hosted by the English 'Churches Conservation Trust'.
  • 'European Reformation Research Group': scholarly network running an annual conference and publishing collections of new Reformation-related research
  • 'Friends of Friendless Churches': an initiative which has campaigned for the preservation of ancient but redundant churches since 1957. It now owns over 40 former places of worship, half in England, half in Wales, which are preserved as peaceful spaces for visitors and the local community to enjoy.
  • Gazeteer of the Religious Gilds and Services of Late Medieval Yorkshire (David J. F. Crouch, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York)
  • Guildhall Library, London: archive with extensive range of parish records from the City of London
  • 'Historical Resources': website offering videos, images, source editions, palaeography materials and other resources linked to parish history (compiled by Dave Postles for the Medieval Research Centre at the University of Leicester)
  • Imitatio Mariae: Interdisciplinary project studying medieval Marian motifs in Old Swedish texts and art in order to acquire new knowledge of ideals of women as well as of the interplay between medieval religious texts and artworks. Based at Umeå University and directed by Prof. Jonas Carlquist.
  • 'Inspired': English-Heritage backed campaign to tackle the problems facing England's places of worship
  • 'Le istituzioni storiche del territorio lombardo - Civita': online database of the range and development of secular and ecclesiastical institutions (including local communities / parishes) in the provinces of the Italian Lombardy region from the Middle Ages to the present day; collaborative project involving the Lombardy Region and the University of Pavia under the direction of Roberto Grassi.
  • Limburg Diocesan Museum (online exhibition of cathedral treasures and religious art from the diocese of Limburg, Germany) [Museum flyer in English (pdf-file)]
  • Making the Church Holy: The Fabric of the Sacraments 800-1800 [research initiative co-ordinated by Andrew Spicer, Oxford Brookes]
  • Monumental Brass Society: website of the society for those interested in any aspect of monumental brasses in all countries
  • National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies NADFAS: co-ordinates a project of 'church recording', in which volunteers compile records of the contents of England's churches, thereby promoting the recognition and preservation of the rich artistic heritage to be found in places of worship of all religions.
  • National Churches Trust: a national, independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK; in 2011, it launched the report of its National Survey, looking at how the UK's church buildings are maintained, funded, managed and used by their communities. Thousands of churches participated in the exercise, which establishes new and up-to-date facts about the state of the country's places of worship.
  • 'Norfolk Churches Trust': exists in order to protect through financial aid and advice the many architecturally precious religious monuments of the county. Norfolk contains the greatest concentration of medieval churches in the world built as a result of the vast wealth created by wool. Of the 921 that were originally built, 659 remain: a testament to their skilful construction from flint – one of the most unforgiving materials, in a region devoid of freestone.
  • The Parish Chest: website offering information and materials (parish registers, charts, census records, maps, societies etc) for genealogists.
  • The Parish Clerks Company: website of the Church of England (wo)men appointed to one of the 150 parishes associated with this London company incorporated 1441-2 (with historical information)
  • Pauper Lives in Georgian London: findings of ESRC-/Wellcome-funded projects dedicated to the reconstruction and analysis of the lives of those who inhabited the parish workhouse of St Martin’s between 1725 and 1824 (co-directed by Jeremy Boulton/Newcastle and Leonard Schwarz/Birmingham)
  • Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society (publishes journal and editions / facsimiles of plainsong; organizes conferences)
  • Researching Historic Buildings in the British Isles: includes information on sources for churches (compiled by Jean Manco)
  • 'Refo 500': an international project, co-ordinated by the Dutch Foundation, sponsoring conferences and other events in the run-up to the 500-year anniversary of the publication of Luther's theses. The activities are organized around spheres (historical, theological etc) and themes (learning and education, confession and conflict, money and power etc).
  • 'Revealing Royal Arms': site dedicated to the 'beauty and meaning' of this prominent feature of post-Reformation parish furnishings, surviving in about 15 per cent of churches (80 of which in the care of the 'Churches Conservation Trust'). Includes contributions by Chloe Cockerill and Sally Woodcock on their general evolution and constituent parts, a historical timeline and related links.
  • Schede storico-territoriali dei Comuni del Piemonte: database of archival / printed primary sources and historical scholarship on communes in the Italian province of Piedmont, from the Middle Ages to the present day, with information on parish structures and particular attention to communal boundaries (directed by Renato Bordone, Paola Guglielmotti, Sandro Lombardini, Angelo Torre and administered by Laura Baietto under the auspices of the Centro di ricerca sulle istituzioni e le società medievale at the Dipartimento di Storia, Università di Torino)
  • 'Social Sites - Öffentliche Räume - Lieux d'échanges 1300-1800': an international network established among members from the Universities of Dresden, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and Warwick in March 2003 and supported by an 'Academic Collaboration' grant from the Leverhulme Trust. This initiative investigates perceptions of space in premodern Europe, with reference both to contemporary awareness and modern theoretical approaches.
  • 'Society for Reformation Research': North American association promoting scholarly exchange on the Reformation period, incl. sponsorship of the journal Archive for Reformation Research
  • 'The Story of England': BBC TV series presented by Michael Wood charting English history through one place - Kibworth in Leicestershire.
  • 'Villanelle: Association d'Histoire du Village' (France) [sources, texts and activities relating to research on French villages]
  • Vision of Britain through Time (website offering historical information on places and parishes in Britain, e.g. from maps and travellers' reports)
  • Wallpainting Interpretation Project: dedicated to the study and dissemination of wallpaintings in over 80 churches in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
  • Warwick Symposium on Parish Research (annual meeting of parish researchers dedicated to a specific theme)
  • Warwickshire and Coventry Historic Churches Trust: supports churches in the regions with a range of activities.
  • Warwickshire Local History Society: runs lectures / workshops, produces Warwickshire History as well as other publications and acts as an umbrella organization for local history societies in the region.

 

For links to source materials see 'Parish Sources'

 

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Death (14thC) from Ashby St Ledgers Parish Church
'Death', 14thC wall painting
(Ashby St Ledgers, Northants).
Photo: BK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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'St Christopher', mid-15thC wall painting
(Horley, Oxon). Photo: BK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 17thC Parish Church of Oron (Vaud)

The 17thC (reformed) parish church of Oron
(Switzerland). Photo: BK

































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Cow charity endowed at Burford (Oxfordshire). Photo: BK