<p>They are dotted around the British Isles, houses of God, that are now lost in time, and forgotten.</p><p>Left to neglect, renovated for commercial use, or simply demolished completely, with no trace left other than photographs or illustrations to mark their existence.</p><p>But, at one time or another, they were more than simply bricks and mortar. They represented the glue of life for countless communities, large and small, no matter what faith they professed, nor rich or poor. Just as we rightly celebrate the glorious buildings still thriving - offering succour to dwindling congregations - in books such as Simon Jenkins England's Thousand Best Churches, we should also celebrate the many churches which have been lost through history.</p><p>Architectural commentator Matthew Hyde travels the length and breadth of the country to seek out and tell the biographies of a wide variety of Churches now lost to history. From buildings erected to workshop God, as well as defy the elements in Orkney; to abbeys destroyed in Henry VIII's dissolution programme; to royal churches were erected in North Wales; to those now sadly submerged under newly built reservoirs in Cumbria and the terrible cost of aerial warfare, which resulted in their total destruction from Hitler's Blitz in World War Two.</p><p>Complete with archive photography and illustrations mirroring their glorious past, to personal photography from the author of how many look today, shrouded in undergrowth, left as ruins, and some completely gone forever. It is an emotional and poignant tribute to the many buildings that were at one time, the house of God.</p>