original_query: How has church architecture in England evolved over the past two thousand years?
query: How has church architecture in England evolved over the past two thousand years?
answer: Church architecture in England has evolved significantly over two millennia, transitioning from Saxon and Norman Romanesque styles (massive structures with semi-circular arches) to the Gothic style (featuring pointed arches, allowing for larger, unsupported spaces, and increasingly ornate tracery).  The Gothic period itself saw stylistic changes, from Early English to Decorated and finally Perpendicular styles.  The Reformation brought about destruction of internal decoration, leading to simpler, single-room churches in the 17th century. The 19th century saw a Gothic revival, with large Neo-Gothic churches built, before modernist and Brutalist styles emerged in the 20th century.