Fifty churches in Suffolk, chosen for their beauty, historical or anecdotal interest, are here featured in a series of captivating photographic portraits by David Stanford. They range from bulky Saxon and Norman round tower churches through to a Restoration church influenced by Christopher Wren's London works. Many of these places of worship suffered the iconoclastic ravages of Puritan zealots, such as William Dowsing, who carried out a series of destructive trips across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in the 1640s, smashing and obliterating what were seen as 'superstitious images'. The results of these raids are visible in churches across the county, although some have miraculously survived relatively unscathed while others have been the object of Victorian restoration programmes, some sensitive, others eccentric.
David Stanford's atmospheric photography captures the spirit of these unique buildings as architectural heritage, as historic monuments and as places of Christian devotion.
... surprisingly fascinating, mainly because the buildings themselves are so peculiar - Independent on Sunday
What I especially love about this book is that its assembly seems to have been drawn almost at random ... welcome to a study in eclectic, eccentric ecclesiastical exploration. - Eastern Daily Press
Stanford perfectly captures, in words and pictures, these precious remnants of Saxon, Norman and Restoration society and religion. - Beautiful Britain
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