There are few modern studies of the impact of nonconformity at a rural and local level in Great Britain. This dissertation attempts to see what a multi-disciplinary approach - using archaeology, architectural history, historical sources and oral narratives - focusing in particular on the landscape and the material remains left by Dissenting Groups, can add to our knowledge and understanding of their origins and development. It then takes this knowledge and applies it to answer or inform several of the important questions being posed by others involved in the study of nonconformity across a variety of academic disciplines. It considers the impact of three very different groups in three contrasting landscapes, each landscape covering a progressively larger geographical area: The Strict and Particular Baptists of Grittleton, a village in north Wiltshire; the Associate Congregation on the Orkney island of Stronsay; and the Bible Christians on Exmoor and Brendon in Somerset. The study concludes that these different non-Conformist congregations had a material impact on their landscape, and often viewed the landscape in unprecedented and unusual ways, although the material remains are often fragmentary and sometimes disappointing. Particular individuals at a local leve1 and the power of faith in congregations often had a remarkable impact on the landscape The Dissertation shows how these buildings and landscapes are often neglected and under continuing threat: in Orkney, for example, the author surveyed several Dissenting Kirks for the first time ever; many Chapels throughout Great Britain face demolition, conversion or gradual decay and ruination; the collective memory is shrinking as members of congregations and smaller sects literally die off.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:702158 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Butler, Matthew Nicholas |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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