Places of Worship – call for papers

As part of its long-running series Twentieth Century Architecture, the Society is planning a journal for publication in 2021 (no.15) on religious architecture from 1914 onwards, as a follow-up to the 1998 journal The Modern Church. We are aware that the subject is generally under-researched and published, and that this dearth of documentation and historical interpretation has detrimental consequences from a conservation point of view at a time when religious buildings are more than ever under threat.

Proposals are invited for papers on lesser-known and unpublished buildings, designers or patrons. Furnishing and decoration, including stained glass and murals, may be considered, especially where they are found in buildings of the post-1914 period. There will be an introduction by the editors giving an overview of the subject, and there is scope also for more general articles not specifically linked to buildings but related to ideas, publications, exhibitions, organisations etc. While we may expect the majority of the content to cover churches of various kinds, we are keen to include corresponding buildings for congregational use by other religious groups. We are not imposing an end date but have a working assumption that content should not be from after 2000.

As usual with this series, there is a desire to cover material from all regions of England, with Scotland, Wales and Ireland also eligible. Since the main work of the Society is in conservation, it will be relevant to propose subjects where there have been threats to buildings.

Delivery would be 1 March 2020, length 2000-5000 words, with up to 10 images per article. Contributors are expected to provide and pay for images of publishable quality. Articles will be peer reviewed. Contributors with varied backgrounds and experience, including architects who worked on relevant buildings, are encouraged to submit proposals.

In the first instance, please send your ideas by 1 September 2018 in the form of an abstract up to 300 words with a brief CV and list of publications to date to elain.harwood@HistoricEngland.org.uk who will also answer any queries. Abstracts will be reviewed by the editorial committee of the journal, drawn from members of the Twentieth Century Society Publications Committee, and selected for full submission. Completed texts will be peer-reviewed.

Note: Twentieth Century Architecture is the scholarly journal of the Twentieth Century Society, which aims to appear biennially. Members of the Society receive a copy as part of their subscription, and additional copies are printed for sale (mostly online).

The policy of the journal is to publish themed issues with substantial new research on architecture in Britain after 1914, supported by archive and new photography, plans and other drawings as appropriate. Past issues of the journal are available for researchers on JSTOR, new titles being added after a delay of three years.

The editors are Dr. Timothy Brittain-Catlin, Dr. Elain Harwood and Dr. Alan Powers. The journal is designed by Dalyrmple (Edinburgh) and produced to a high standard with colour illustrations. No.13, The Architecture of Public Service, was published in May 2018.