St Bede’s Catholic Church in Pyrmont Street is the oldest, continuously functioning church on the Pyrmont peninsula. The Sydney Morning Herald article on the laying of the foundation stone (7/2/1867) stated that, when completed, the new church would be “a very neat and elegant structure

The Great Fire that swept through London in 1666 is estimated to have destroyed at least 13,000 houses and some 88 churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral. But this tragedy had a silver lining: it presented Christopher Wren with the opportunity to create one of the most impressive groups of buildings in the history of architecture. In 1667 Wren was appointed Surveyor in charge of rebuilding the churches. In the years that followed—and with the assistance of, among others, Nicholas Hawksmoor and Robert Hooke—he rebuilt St. Paul’s and 51 churches. There is extraordinary variety in the solutions he adopted to solve the problem of building rational, classical buildings on irregular medieval sites. He also had the good fortune of being able to call on craftsmen of exquisite skill. The other central event in the story of London’s churches is the Fifty New Churches Act of 1710. 50 was optimistic; but the dozen or so "Queen Anne Churches" which resulted from the Act were wonderful. The book closes with the more restrained churches built by James Gibbs, whose St. Martin-in-the-Fields, completed in 1724, became the prototype for many colonial churches, especially in North America, over the next 100 years.

The United States has the second largest Jewish community in the world with a wealth of history and architecture spanning 363 years. From the earliest Jewish congregations established in the original thirteen colonies, to the later congregations established in the central and western regions of the country, beautiful synagogues were built and vital communities were created and thrived. Jewish congregations and their members contributed to the life and success of small towns and large cities alike. America's Pioneer Jewish Congregations: Architecture, Community and History takes the reader on a tour of the oldest existing Jewish congregation in each of the 50 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. It highlights the history of each congregation and includes photographs of the various buildings that housed these congregations over the years. Some are one of only a few synagogues in a particular state, while others are part of a statewide Jewish community with hundreds of synagogues. The whole spectrum of American synagogue life is represented in all its diversity.

Traces Pope Julius II's controversial early sixteenth-century construction of a new basilica in place of the Emperor Constantine's millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica, documenting how building efforts spanned two centuries and more than two dozen papacies while incorporating the contributions of such master artists as Michelangelo and Raphael. Reprint.

The basilica is symbolic of the history of Christianity in Ethiopia. Aizan, the first Christian king of the Aksumite empire was responsible for the creation of the large, five-aisled church of M?ry?m ??yon, sadly destroyed in 1535, and since then many hundreds of basilicas have been built in Ethiopia, many, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lalibela, literally 'hewn from the rock'. In this book, architectural historian and architect Mario di Salvo considers the unique architectural features of Ethiopia's basilicas and explains how they developed over time. Featuring almost 200 colour illustrations, this book is an attractive and comprehensive guide to some of Ethiopia's most inspiring religious buildings

They are dotted around the British Isles, houses of God, that are now lost in time, and forgotten. Left to neglect, renovated for commercial use, or simply demolished completely, with no trace left other than photographs or illustrations to mark their existence. But, at one time or another, they were more than simply bricks and mortar. They represented the glue of life for countless communities, large and small, no matter what faith they professed, nor rich or poor. Just as we rightly celebrate the glorious buildings still thriving - offering succour to dwindling congregations - in books such as Simon Jenkins England's Thousand Best Churches, we should also celebrate the many churches which have been lost through history. Architectural commentator Matthew Hyde travels the length and breadth of the country to seek out and tell the biographies of a wide variety of Churches now lost to history. From buildings erected to workshop God, as well as defy the elements in Orkney; to abbeys destroyed in Henry VIII's dissolution programme; to royal churches were erected in North Wales; to those now sadly submerged under newly built reservoirs in Cumbria and the terrible cost of aerial warfare, which resulted in their total destruction from Hitler's Blitz in World War Two. Complete with archive photography and illustrations mirroring their glorious past, to personal photography from the author of how many look today, shrouded in undergrowth, left as ruins, and some completely gone forever. It is an emotional and poignant tribute to the many buildings that were at one time, the house of God.

Describes how a fifteenth-century goldsmith and clockmaker, Filippo Brunelleschi, came up with a unique design for the dome to crown Florence's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, in a dramatic study set against the turbulent backdrop of Renaissance Italy. Reprint.

Describes how a fifteenth-century goldsmith and clockmaker, Filippo Brunelleschi, came up with a unique design for the dome to crown Florence's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, in a dramatic study set against the turbulent backdrop of Renaissance Italy.