The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments

Abstract

In 1839, John Mason Neale and Benjamin Webb founded the Cambridge Camden Society, to reclaim lost art and architecture much as their Oxford counterpart reclaimed lost doctrine. The society played a central role in fueling the Gothic Revival in English church architecture. Their most extensive argument came with The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments, which combines their translation of a 13th century work with their own extended introductory essay. The article excerpts their arguments about the importance of symbolism and sacramentality in church architecture.