The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 marked the end of a near quarter-century of wars with France, during which there had been only limited church building, but the population had grown by over two million and, in addition, many people had moved from rural to urban settlements. The need for more churches was both desperate and better understood, the latter thanks, in part, to the publications of the Revd Richard Yates, discussed in Chapter 1, which brought home to all the shortage of places, and the widely perceived dangers to the fabric of society of not addressing the issues. In 1818 the Church Building Act was passed to provide £1,000,000 of government finance for building – augmented by a further £500,000 in 1824 – administered by a board of Commissioners. Also in 1818 was formed the Society for Promoting the Enlarging and Building of Churches and Chapels, which quickly became known as the Church Building Society and in 1828 as the Incorporated Church Building Society (ICBS). Its aim was to secure private donations to enlarge existing churches and, to a lesser extent, build new ones. There were also numerous other initiatives from individuals keen to build a new church using the conventional funding model of garnering subscriptions. Peace brought renewed interest in church building, and after years of only limited activity, a new generation of clerics and worshippers endeavoured to address this pressing need.

By around 1820 all three of these funding strands – the Commissioners, the Church Building Society and individuals – had become commendably dynamic; it was a dynamism that would last through the century. Now, for the first time, church building was being considered at a national level. On an unprecedented scale, the shortfall of provision was analysed in detail, debated rationally and solutions identified. And often these initiatives were usefully recorded by committee clerks and discussed in publications. For the first time, there were clear and unambiguous statements about what should be done and the architectural implications of doing so. There were also a number of published designs to help inform discussion. In this chapter, the focus is on the Commissioners’ and the ICBS's impact on architectural matters: style, size and plan shapes. However, the need for economy cannot be exaggerated; but this was not parsimony, as savings on one project meant additional funding for another one.