The church is the physical and spiritual center of the English village, and the churchyard surrounding it contains memorials that are more than simple markers. They are visible links between the living and the dead, valuable records of changing social patterns, and excellent examples of vernacular art and architectural design. The author deals with the pre-Reformation memorials, and then the headstones and chest tombs of the17th and18th centuries. These are followed by the Gothic Revival, the churchyard mausoleum, and modern memorials. Hilary Lees also devotes individual chapters to the symbolism of churchyard sculpture and to the rich variety of epitaphs to be found on tombstones. Illustrated with 100 evocative photographs, and with a Foreword by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, this book will delight and inform anyone with an interest in this local, visible, and historic evidence of England's past."