English Churches in Europe – next book from John Hudson Publishing, to be published October 2026. Opportunity to subscribe in advance at pre-publication price – see below

English Churches in Europe: An architectural and social history by James Bettley, tells the story of Anglican worship on the mainland of Europe, from the Reformation, when Calais was an English possession, until the 20th Century. From 1815, with peace in Europe, followed by development of railways, the English began to travel widely, initially for purposes of health, which developed into other leisure and sporting activities, and in pursuit of trade. Where the English went, the Church of England went too, with congregations often meeting in communal or shared spaces, sometimes seasonally with summer chaplaincies in tourist areas. Increasingly, churches were built specifically for Anglican worship, to serve visitors and trading communities and also diverse expatriate groups including railway workers, governesses and even jockeys. Some were built by subscription, and others provided by hoteliers who needed to reassure English visitors they could worship in a familiar manner, or by such unlikely means as a fundraising fete at a Fisheries Exhibition in Berlin. The style of some reflected the vernacular of the host countries, while others were designed by British architects including such notable figures as Street and Blomfield. Some of the churches appear as if they could have been transplanted from an English suburb or village. The same controversies which raged in Victorian England over ‘high’ and ‘low’ liturgy and which building types were more ‘churchlike’ were replicated in Europe, and in some larger centres, different churches and clergy reflected the various wings of Anglicanism. The bishops with oversight of these chiurches from afar had a much harder task of maintaining discipline than within England, and the story includes many ‘lively’ characters who ploughed their own furrow and didn’t stick to the conventions of the Church of England. At the height, there were 300 Anglican churches in Europe, from Tangier in the south – well, almost Europe – to Archangel in the north, and a surprising number remain in use today, for worship by Anglicans or other denominations, or in other uses.

In this book James Bettley, author of the Pevsner Buildings of England volumes on Suffolk, Essex and Hertfordshire, presents his many years of research into this subject, in a hardback book of over 500 pages and with an equal number of illustrations, both recent and historical, which combines scholarly coverage of the architecture and the social background with quirky stories of the tobogganing dean, and of the then-Archbishop of Canterbury and ‘Mr and Mrs Lewes’ (novelist George Eliot and her partner) staying at the same hotel in Murren, Switzerland.

The book when published in October 2026 will be available through all the usual channels via distributors Boydell & Brewer, in print and digital editions, and directly from them, but there is an apportunity to subscribe in advance, and to receive a copy signed by James Bettley, with your name included in the book as a subscriber, for £70 compared with the price on publication of £90. To take advantage of this, contact me at john@johnhudsonpublishing.com for more information.

March 2026

Late-Georgian Churches shortlisted for the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion by SAHGB

I’m delighted to congratulate Christopher Webster on his book being shortlisted for the the Hitchcock Medallion by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. It’s awarded annually to a monograph which ‘makes an outstanding contribution to the study or knowledge of architectural history’ and arguably the most prestigious recognition in the disciplne. Fingers crossed therefore for the announcement of the winner in December, but there is strong competition, and being shortlisted in itself is a huge and deserved achievement for Chris, and very gratifying for the first book to appear from my fledgling publishing operation to be honoured in this way.

22nd September 2023

John Hudson Publishing