Church Architecture: A Glossary of Terms (Discovering S.)

Very informative and with a lot packed in to this small, slim and light lookup tool. Lots of good line drawings to illustrate each feature's short description. No need to carry a heavier book on your trips to cathedrals & churches, just slip this into your pocket or bag. Features arranged alphabetically rather than by architectural group so you do need to flick through if you don't know the name of something, but the line drawings make identifying features an easy process. A really useful find.

I'm interested especially in Gothic cathedrals. I bought this little (64 4.5"x7" pages) to act as portable reference. Portable it certainly is. A reference? Not really, but why? Quite sensibly, the book is organised alphabetically as an illustrated dictionary of terms. Unless you know the name of something, however, the illustrations are the way to search for what you want to know. The illustrations are mostly postage-stamp size, hand-drawn, black ink drawings. With drawings rather than black-and-white photographs, uninformative detail can be left out, to advantage. The drawings are free-hand sketches, however, so that intended straight lines and circles aren't. For some of the entries, the words are curious, if not downright misleading, with clear explanation too often sacrificed to brevity. All of this is a pity. The aim of the book is admirable: its execution is disappointing. Fewer but fuller accurate explanations, with competent drawings, and the book could achieve its purpose.

An very portable glossary of church terms with lots of illustrations. I've just volunteered for a survey project in London which is looking at the condition and significance of urban places of worship. Although I have been involved in many surveys and excavations they all deal with the remains of structures which predate urban environments. I was therefore in serious need of a descriptive vocabulary specific to churches, amongst others.This does the job, fits in my pocket, weighs almost nothing and was inexpensive. The illustrations are black and white sketches. There are only a few terms which I had hoped to find which appear to be missing, and they concern very small and specific areas of church architecture.Being a glossary it helps if you know what something is called before you look it up, particularly if that particular term is not illustrated. I find it most useful for working back from the illustration to the term, but of course not every term is illustrated. If every term was illustrated, however, it would be a vast book, which would undermine one of its key benefits. And to be 100% fair the text on the back cover says that the book is largely intended to demystify the tehcnical terms used in guide books, not to help people work back from the architectural features to the terms.Great value for money and does what it says on the box.

This i came on time at a very good price.a book that if you like churchs,this book is a must. A very good Seller too.

So so handy to any Professional undertaking church surveys or appreciates such fine architecture. Pocket book size with simple sketches has made this book second to my Building Construction Handbook.

good book.

It is only a glossary of terms. I anticipated a lot drawings and sketches pointing out the names of the various elements of the church building. Not very good

Small book; good illustrations and diagrams; concise explanations of the different types of architecture to look for when visiting churches.

A good reference.