This web site exists to provide a place for news and developments in this fascinating subject area to be posted, and to direct interested readers towards the various relevant organisations, individuals and resources.
Britain's ecclesiastical buildings and sites, whether still in use for worship, in alternative use or surviving as ruins or earthworks, are an important and irreplaceable part of the nation's heritage. The ruined abbey, the parish church, the chapel or the cathedral with their associated sites and landscapes often preserve islands of archaeological remains within a constantly changing environment.
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) defines Church Archaeology as:
"...the complete historical study of the fabric and material remains of a church, above and below ground, in relation to its site, contents and historic setting and to its community".
With increasing recognition of these factors in recent years, church archaeology has developed as a separate discipline within archaeology, requiring specialist skills and knowledge, and increasingly the target of much dynamic new research. The CBA was instrumental in furthering these developments, and helped found the Society for Church Archaeology which seeks to support and disseminate new research and interest, particularly through its journal "Church Archaeology".
In England and Wales church archaeology exists to some extent within specific legislative parameters. These are the systems functioning under the "Ecclesiastical Exemption", operated by six denominations which have internal systems for approving alterations to listed churches and churches in conservation areas. These denominations are the Church of England and the Church in Wales; the Methodist Church; the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Baptist Union of Wales; the Roman Catholic Church; and the United Reformed Church. The Association of Diocesan and Cathedral Archaeologists seeks to develop curatorial standards within these systems.
A wide number of secular and ecclesiastical organisations therefore now exist which concern themselves with the subject, either in a voluntary or professional capacity, developing research and fieldwork standards. The links below attempt to provide an introduction to them.
Compiled by Dr Joseph Elders, Archaeology Officer, Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3NZ, tel 020 7898 1875, email joseph.elders@c-of-e.org.uk.
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Background image from Minerva Stone Conservation
Page last updated 11 May 2006 by Seren Langley