Monasteries are among the most intriguing and enduring symbols of England's medieval heritage. Simultaneously places of prayer and spirituality, power and charity, learning and invention, illusion and superstition, they survive today as haunting ruins, great houses and as some of our most important cathedrals and churches.

This book examines the growth of monasticism and the different orders of monks; the architecture and administration of monasteries, the daily life of monks and nuns, the art of monasteries and their libraries, their role in caring for the poor and sick, their power...

For over a thousand years stories of Christian belief and great moments in British history have filled the windows of our cathedrals and parish churches. The glow of painted and stained glass, its radiant colours and vivid pictures, has inspired generations of audiences and artists.

This beautifully illustrated book traces the development of a unique art from its earliest beginnings in Anglo-Saxon England to the present day. It includes fascinating descriptions of medieval and renaissance glass, the religious upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which saw thousands of...