Two Volumes

The relationship between architecture and religion in seventeenth-century England is a problematic one. Despite the apparent ease with which separate theological positions can be allied to a preference or distrust of visual display, closer examination reveals several examples which do not reflect such a directly causal relationship. The conventional model offered by architectural history is still largely dominated by a polarization between two extremes. On one hand is advanced Protestantism, which distrusted architecture’s potential deployment at the service of religion. On the other is a High-Church or Laudian position which attempted to recover visual richness and elaboration as a prerequisite for ecclesiastical architecture. Building upon the recent advances made in historical scholarship of the early Stuart Church and in architectural history, this thesis explores the relationship between religion and architecture through three distinct types of chapel architecture. The first are the royal chapels of the Jacobean Court, which were renovated to give visual expression to current religious policies. The second are episcopal chapels, which are here presented within thei