ions of the Saxon church required immersion and not sprinkling,
it is possible that these were the Saxon fonts.

Such then is the necessarily brief attempt to describe the main lines on
which our old churches were planned, and the motives and ideals which
animated their builders, who, being impressed with the dignity and
mystery of the works of God, made their churches symbolical of the
portions of the Christian life; the porch signifying baptism, the nave
the life militant on earth, and the chancel the life eternal; while
every little ornament, piece of sculpture and enrichment was designed to
remind the worshippers of their faith, of its hopes, blessed promises
and rewards.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY BRITISH CHURCHES.

In dealing with the introduction of church architecture into our own
land, the task would be much simplified if one could state with
certainty when the first church was built on British soil. Some
historians assert that the Church of England as it is constituted to-day
dates no further back than the moment when S. Augustine and his
followers landed on the shores of Kent in the year 596, yet one is
probably justified in assuming that a church existed in these islands
for centuries previous to the arrival of the Roman missionaries.
Unfortunately we have no records to guide us as to the date of this
earlier settlement, and the name of the first Christian missionary to
heathen Britain has still to be discovered. "We see," says the quaint
old historian, Thomas Fuller, "the light of the word shined here, but
see not who kindled it." The first Christian building of which we have
any record was probably that erected at Glastonbury before the year 300,
but that this was the first Christian settlement cannot be alleged with
certainty.

There are many traditions concerning the introduction of Christianity
into Britain, some of which may probably have some bearing on the truth,
but the whole subject is involved in considerable obscurity. One of
these numerous traditions is to the effect that the British King
Caradoc, after being taken prisoner to Rome, was allowed to return, on
condition that several members of his family remained as hostages; and
whilst serving in this capacity, his mother, son, and daughter are
stated to have become converts to Christianity, the doctrines of which
faith they spread in their native land on their return thereto. Another
tradition is to the effect that S. Paul himself visited