"I wanted to do what the commissioners under Edward VI and latterly under Elizabeth had done with the roods, take an axe and hatchet the utterly awful kipper coloured choir stalls and pews, drag them out of the church and burn them."
It is argued that like the monarchy, the Church of England has been fighting a "rearguard action" for many decades. Church buildings have suffered as a result, with leaking roofs, locked doors and cold services once a week for an aging congregation. But there is a revival under way not always appreciated by the casual observer - and it is sweeping the land. Parish churches and cathedrals are once again becoming alive with activity, remembering a time when they were once the most important buildings at the centre of any community. This lecture considers how the cry for "flexibility" is creating challenges as well as opportunities for churches and a veritable battleground of conflicting attitudes.
DRAWING BY ANTHONY RUSSELL OF LULWORTH CHAPEL, DORSET