The churches of Great Britain might be regarded as monuments which have been so closely studied by antiquaries for well over a century that they could scarcely be expected to be a fruitful subject for new intensive investigation. But in fact the true story is quite different; the antiquarian interest of the past was largely concentrated on architectural history and while much of that field has indeed been well explored there are many other fields that have scarcely been touched. In January 1972, the Council for British Archaeology set up a Committee to co-ordinate and encourage archaeological research on places of worship in Great Britain, and in particular to develop a research policy which would include both pure research and also the recording of all archaeological evidence that might be endangered when places of worship and their sites are threatened with alteration whether in normal circumstances or because of change of use.