Reading has many places of worship serving a number of faiths and sects. This book describes and tells the stories of ten of the more historically and architecturally interesting ones: the three parish churches founded in medieval times; Greyfriars, which was in secular use for many years; Roman Catholic St James's, Pugin's first ecclesiastical work; Victorian edifices serving a rapidly growing population; nonconformist and dissenting chapels; and the Friends' Meeting House, where both Huntley and Palmer are buried. Further chapters cover churches in the suburbs and the rise of other faiths, some of which worship in former Christian buildings. A variety of architectural styles are revealed, including medieval gothic, classical, neo-gothic and neo-Norman, Moorish-Byzantine, and Islamic. There is work by famous architects, including Waterhouse, Bodley and Comper. Inside the churches are some notable and curious fixtures and fittings: a rood screen from a cathedral in Birmingham, carved stonework from Reading Abbey, and a monument to a mathematician adorned with the five regular geometrical solids. Illustrated by Sally Castle with strikingly atmospheric linocut prints of the buildings and embellished with exquisite drawings by Martin Andrews, this book sheds new light on our often overlooked ecclesiastical heritage.

Adam Sowan is a local historian based in Reading. An explorer at heart, Adam jumped at the offer of early retirement from the Civil Service and has since spent his time exploring the history and topography of his adopted town, Reading. He is interested in architecture and is an editor of Reading Civic Society's magazine. Sally Castle has designed covers and illustrated over thirty books for Two Rivers Press. She has a reputation for original hand lettering, and a particular interest in linocut printmaking, environmental lettering and mixed media artwork. Notable public work includes the Walking Words panels at Chatham Place in Reading and the Forbury Square stone, also in Reading. As well as commissioned work, her experimental lettering and paintings are regularly exhibited in galleries and exhibitions. Martin Andrews was a museum and exhibition designer for many years and since 1990 has been a Lecturer in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. He is a printing historian, has lectured widely in Britain and abroad and published numerous articles as well as Fox Talbot & the Reading Establishment (Two Rivers Press, 2014) and an extensive biography of the author and artist Robert Gibbings.